As someone with a bit of a historical bent, I found the following most fascinating.
In 1951, a collection of 3500 glass plate negatives from the nineteenth century were found. Digitally scanned, they can now be viewed and give glimpsed of what life was like back in 1872 and in the Gold Rush towns of Australia.
They can be viewed here, and a video about them viewed here.
The timing of finding this is rather intriguing, as there is a project I am working on that touches on aspects of this, and one of the characters just happens to be interested in photography, and would be using similar devices as took these photos.
Mist and Shadows 