It's difficult to imagine a world without photography today – capturing snaps of iconic landmarks and landscapes is one of the great joys of travelling. But photography was only invented in the 1830s, gaining in popularity and accessibility throughout the 19th century. Here we've gathered a special collection of early photos that offer a glimpse into the America of yesteryear. 

After the war, many veterans poured into New York City in the hope of finding work. However, a recession in 1866 meant that employment was difficult to come by. This photo from the 1860s show a very different Wall Street to the one we're familiar with today. There are horse-pulled carts in place of tourists and taxi cabs, and soaring buildings like 40 Wall Street are yet to pierce the skies. 

New York isn't the only city that's almost unrecognisable in 19th-century photos. Today Nashville is associated with winking neon lights, lively honky tonks and lofty skyscrapers like the "Batman Building" (officially the AT&T Building). However, this 1860s view from the Capitol shows low-rise homes interspersed by trees and backed by wilderness. 

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From budding metropolises to the wilds of the Frontier State: this image dates back to 1868 and shows a group of indigenous peoples sitting on Alaska's Rock Cod. In the background, you can make out Fort Wrangle and Wrangell Island. This area of southeast Alaska has long been inhabited by the Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian and Tlingit tribes. 

Discover Alaska's most beautiful sights here

America's cities shifted and swelled during the 19th century – but there's something remarkably comforting about Mother Nature's constancy when she's left to her own devices. This breathtaking shot from 1869 shows Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs (prior to the park's founding), their travertine terraces not so different from today. 

This photo also predates the founding of America's first national park. It captures the team from the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 who explored and surveyed the land that would ultimately become Yellowstone. Their pack train is papped here beside Mirror Lake, a glittering natural wonder that lives up to its name. 

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Today Yellowstone National Park is a recreational hotbed, with travellers coming from far and wide to hike and bike, and to boat on Yellowstone Lake. But in the park's early days, folks were only just getting used to Yellowstone's potential for adventures. The Annie (pictured here in 1871) is purportedly one of the first-ever boats to be launched on Yellowstone Lake. 

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From America's revered natural wonders to one of its most iconic landmarks – the Capitol Building has been tinkered with plenty since its cornerstone was laid in 1793. It's instantly recognisable in this photo from the 1870s, though. The image was taken after the erection of the Capitol's distinctive cast-iron dome in the 1850s–1860s. A huddle of men pose before the monument. 

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The 1890s would change Alaska forever, as the Klondike Gold Rush saw prospectors pour into the Frontier State and Canada's Yukon. But gold was mined here before the famous gold rush and the Treadwell Gold Mine operated on Douglas Island from 1881. The busy mine, pictured here in 1889, was a hive of activity at the end of the 19th century, shifting some $70 million of gold during its operation. 

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America's cities were changing shape through the 1890s. The Big Easy is famed for its street cars and though they date back to the 1830s, electric-powered versions made their debut in this decade. They're captured here in 1895, alongside traditional horse-drawn carriages. Can you spot the glinting sign for the Orpheum Theater too? 

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This photo predates the founding of Grand Canyon National Park by 20 years. The Havasupai people are thought to have lived in the Grand Canyon for some 800 years, and the park's founding in 1919 meant the tribe lost many acres of land. Here a group of Havasupai women are seen weaving baskets in 1899. Indigenous people still live in the Havasupai Indian Reservation today: just outside the boundary of Grand Canyon National Park, it's known for its incredible waterfalls. 

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The fun continued into the 1900s and Coney Island is captured here at the turn of the century. Sun-seekers revel on the sandy beach and in the waters of Lower Bay, as the striking tower of Dreamland theme park rises in the background.

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Farther down the East Coast, the Sunshine State was establishing itself as a major vacation spot too. Swish hotels were springing up, railroads were being built and steamboat tours were gaining in popularity. The main draw, though, was the powder-white beaches. This photo from 1903 captures a pair of 'sail bikes' advertising the historic Hotel Ormond, in Florida's Ormond Beach. 

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Some American cities are almost unrecognisable in their earliest photographs. Las Vegas was established in 1905 and this image pictures Fremont Street in its infancy: no soaring hotels, no neon-drenched casinos, no colourful cocktail bars. Instead, you can see old western-style building fronts, and no-frills venues including a bakery, a grocery shop and a furniture store. 

Learn more about the incredible story of Las Vegas and its history here

While Sin City has changed immeasurably in a century, the Grand Canyon was millions of years in the making. And it looks barely changed from this circa 1900 photo. Here two Victorian-era women gaze over the mighty landscape, silhouetted in their finery. 

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This poignant photo shows New York City from another perspective. Here, circa 1915, suffragist Elizabeth Selden White Rogers is seen promoting women's right to vote at a mobile platform in the Big Apple. A crowd of men look on. 

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