Mummies for Sale, Egypt, 1875
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a man casually selling an actual mummy on the streets of Egypt. This sight was actually a lot more common when this photo was taken back in 1875. During the Victorian era, Europeans became obsessed with Egyptian culture and history. As a result, they started buying mummies, and they weren’t treating them with the respect they deserved.
Street vendors like the one in this photograph were able to make some money off of this craze, and a lot of rich Europeans would purchase mummies to have at parties. Yikes. Thankfully, people don’t do this anymore, and the mummies of ancient Egypt receive the respect they deserve by being preserved in museums.