Press Release - 17 December 2013

Is this the world’s first selfie?

Leading genealogy site find evidence of first self-taken shot from 1920

Sydney, 17 December, 2013: The art of taking a ‘selfie’has taken the world by storm in the past 12 months. While an Australian man has laid claim to the term, which was recently added to the Urban Dictionary, leading genealogy website, findmypast.com.au has discovered that the concept itself dates all the way back to 1920.

Uncannily similar to the selfies of today, it is visible that two of the subjects’ arms are stretched out to prop up the camera. Unlike the selfies of today however, this required two subjects to hold the camera, given how heavy they used to be.

While the self-indulgent social media era is often to blame for the selfie craze, records such as these and countless other self-shot snaps found on findmypast.com.au suggests that the trend is another case of history repeating itself.

To find out if there are any historical selfies in their own family tree, Australians can visit findmypast.com.au and simply type in the name of the family members they wish to research for access to any records and photographs available.

Findmypast.com.au makes it easy for Australians and New Zealanders to learn about their past. Records featured on the site include immigration, probate, land and court, criminal and military records.

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