Photo of the Day

Children and a dog pose on enormous lily pads in a pond, while adults in waders stand by them
December 15, 2019

Float On

Children on lily pads, ghosted figures, and oversized produce are just three of the quirkier trends in Victorian photography. We do not have identification for those in the photograph, but the Victoria amazonica water lilies grew in the backyard garden of Dr. Henry Bahson, a physician in Salem, North Carolina. Bahson’s lilies are some of the earliest known to grow outside of its native Brazil and outside of a greenhouse.

Photograph by Frank Hege, National Geographic

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