Madiera Wine Guide

Historic Madeira Photos: Old Funchal, Monte and Câmara de Lobos

These historic Madeira photos offer a fascinating visual record of the island behind Madeira wine. They show the harbour of Funchal, the roads and transport of Monte, the fishing village of Câmara de Lobos, rural houses, gardens, sugar cane, and everyday street scenes from an earlier Madeira.

For anyone interested in Madeira wine, these images help bring the story of the island to life. They show the landscapes, buildings, routes, and working communities that formed the backdrop to the trade in Madeira wine for centuries. If you are new to the subject, start with our main Madeira wine guide.

About this historic Madeira image collection

This page brings together historic image sets preserved from the former Madeira Wine Guide website. The photographs and prints are presented in the original album order so visitors can view them much as they appeared in the old booklets and souvenir sets.

Table of Contents

Views of Madeira (c. 1880)

Souvenir Madeira 4 (pre-1940)

Souvenir Madeira 1 (c. 1935)

Madeira Original Glossy Prints Series 2b (c. 1930)

What these historic images reveal about Madeira wine

Historic Madeira, living Madeira wine

Views of Madeira (c. 1880)

This black-and-white series captures an older Madeira of quays, gardens, transport, villages, and mountain scenery. For readers of Madeira wine history, the most striking images are those of Funchal and its harbour, since the city was the commercial heart of the Madeira wine trade.

Cover of the historic Views of Madeira photo booklet, circa 1880.
Cover of the Views of Madeira booklet published by John Payne & Son.
Historic black-and-white photograph of central Funchal seen from the pier entrance to town in Madeira, circa 1880.
Central Funchal from the pier entrance to town.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal looking east in Madeira, with the cathedral visible, circa 1880.
Funchal looking east.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal’s shoreline looking east in Madeira, circa 1880.
Funchal shoreline looking east.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal bay and the old harbour in Madeira, circa 1880.
Funchal bay and the old harbour.
Historic black-and-white photograph looking down from Monte towards Funchal in Madeira, circa 1880.
View from Monte down to Funchal.
Historic black-and-white photograph of the Se Cathedral in Funchal, Madeira, circa 1880.
Se Cathedral, Funchal.
Historic black-and-white photograph of the Dona Maria Theatre in Funchal, Madeira, circa 1880.
Dona Maria Theatre, Funchal.
Historic black-and-white photograph of the public gardens in Funchal, Madeira, circa 1880.
Public gardens in Funchal.
Historic black-and-white photograph of the Belmonte Hotel gardens in Monte, Madeira, circa 1880.
Belmonte Hotel gardens, Monte.
Historic black-and-white photograph of a bullock car used for transport in Madeira, circa 1880.
Bullock car in Madeira.
Historic black-and-white photograph of a hammock chair used for transport in Madeira, circa 1880.
Hammock transport in Madeira.
Historic black-and-white photograph of the funicular railway to Monte in Madeira, circa 1880.
Funicular railway to Monte.
Historic black-and-white photograph of a mountain sledge in Madeira, circa 1880.
Mountain sledge in Madeira.
Historic black-and-white photograph of a road and river view above Santa Luzia in Funchal, Madeira, circa 1880.
Road and river view above Santa Luzia.
Historic black-and-white photograph of a country cottage in Madeira, circa 1880.
Country cottage in Madeira.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Câmara de Lobos village in Madeira, circa 1880.
Câmara de Lobos village.
Historic black-and-white mountain view at Curral das Freiras in Madeira, circa 1880.
Mountain view at Curral das Freiras.
Rabacal, Madeira.

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Souvenir Madeira 4 (pre-1940)

This coloured souvenir set shows Funchal from the sea and from the pier, the railway to Monte, traditional transport, sugarcane cutting, and local life. It offers a useful bridge between the Madeira of the nineteenth-century wine trade and the island that later became known to a wider tourist public.

Cover of Souvenir of Madeira Album No. 4 from Funchal, before 1940.
Cover of Souvenir of Madeira Album No. 4.
Historic colour print of Funchal viewed from the sea in Madeira, before 1940.
Funchal from the sea.
Historic colour print of Funchal viewed from the pier in Madeira, before 1940.
Funchal from the pier.
Historic colour print of Funchal looking east in Madeira, before 1940.
Funchal looking east.
Historic colour print of the funicular railway up to Monte in Madeira, before 1940.
Funicular railway up to Monte.
Historic colour print of sugarcane cutting in Madeira, before 1940.
Sugarcane cutting in Madeira.
Historic colour print of a bullock car in Madeira, before 1940.
Bullock car in Madeira.
Historic colour print of hammock transport in Madeira, before 1940.
Hammock transport in Madeira.
Historic colour print of a typical Madeira house, before 1940.
Typical Madeira house.
Historic colour print of sledges coming down from Monte in Madeira, before 1940.
Sledge from Monte.
Historic colour print of a waterfall in Madeira, before 1940.
Waterfall in Madeira.
Historic colour print portrait of a local Madeiran man, before 1940.
Local Madeiran man.
Historic colour print portrait of a local Madeiran woman, before 1940.
Local Madeiran woman.

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Souvenir Madeira 1 (c. 1935)

This set focuses strongly on Funchal, Monte, Reid’s Palace, transport, and Câmara de Lobos. Together, these views help show how Madeira balanced an old working island economy with a growing visitor culture during the early twentieth century.

Cover of Souvenir Madeira Album No. 1 from Funchal, circa 1935.
Cover of Souvenir Madeira Album No. 1.
Historic photograph of a bullock car in Madeira, circa 1935.
Bullock car in Madeira.
Historic photograph of Câmara de Lobos village in Madeira, circa 1935.
Câmara de Lobos village, Madeira.
Historic photograph of Funchal from the east in Madeira, circa 1935.
Funchal from the east.
Historic photograph of Funchal from the west in Madeira, circa 1935.
Funchal from the west.
Historic photograph of a street in Funchal with an empty bullock drawn sled in the foreground and the tower of Sé Cathedral in the background, Madeira, circa 1935.
Street in Funchal with the tower of Sé Cathedralin the background.
Historic photograph of Funchal viewed from the sea in Madeira, circa 1935.
Funchal from the sea.
Historic photograph of hammock transport in Madeira, circa 1935.
Hammock transport in Madeira.
Historic photograph of the Monte funicular railway in Madeira, circa 1935.
Monte funicular railway.
Historic photograph of the Monte Palace Hotel in Madeira, circa 1935.
Monte Palace Hotel.
Historic photograph of Reid’s Palace Hotel in Madeira, circa 1935.
Reid’s Palace Hotel.
Historic photograph of sugar cane cutting in Madeira, circa 1935.
Sugar cane cutting in Madeira.
Historic photograph of the Restaurant Esplanade at Terreiro da Luta in Madeira, circa 1935.
Restaurant Esplanade, Terreiro da Luta.

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Madeira Original Glossy Prints Series 2b (c. 1930)

This small glossy print series includes views of Funchal, Santa Catarina Park, the bay, the cathedral, the Fortaleza do Pico, and traditional local scenes. Even where the subject is not directly about wine, the images help place Madeira wine in its wider island setting: a port city, steep hillsides, and a landscape shaped by trade, labour, and travel.

Paper box for Madeira Original Glossy Prints Series 2b, around 1930.
Paper box for the glossy prints of Madeira series.
Table of contents for Madeira Original Glossy Prints Series 2b, around 1930.
Table of contents for the glossy prints of Madeira series.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal from the east in Madeira, around 1930.
Funchal from the east.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal from the seaside in Madeira, around 1930.
Funchal from the seaside.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Santa Catarina Park in Funchal, Madeira, around 1930.
Santa Catarina Park, Funchal.
Historic black-and-white photograph of western Funchal towards Reid’s Hotel in Madeira, around 1930.
Western Funchal towards Reid’s Hotel.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal bay in Madeira, around 1930.
Funchal bay.
Historic black-and-white photograph looking down to Funchal from Terreiro da Luta in Madeira, around 1930.
View down to Funchal from Terreiro da Luta.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Funchal bay viewed in the opposite direction from Terreiro da Luta, around 1930.
Funchal bay from the opposite direction.
Historic black-and-white photograph of the Se Cathedral seen from Avenida Arriaga in Funchal, Madeira, around 1930.
Se Cathedral from Avenida Arriaga.
Historic black-and-white photograph of an unidentified scene in Madeira, around 1930.
Unidentified scene in Madeira.
Historic black-and-white photograph of Fortaleza do Pico in Funchal, Madeira, around 1930.
Fortaleza do Pico.
Historic black-and-white photograph of a typical tourist cart in Madeira, around 1930.
Typical tourist cart in Madeira.
Historic black-and-white photograph of women doing embroidery outside a typical Madeira house, around 1930.
Women doing embroidery outside a traditional house.

What these historic images reveal about Madeira wine

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Funchal and the old harbour

Several of these images show Funchal from the sea, from the pier, and from higher ground above the city. That matters because the history of Madeira wine is closely tied to the port. Wine left the island by ship, and for centuries Funchal was the commercial centre through which Madeira wine reached Britain, North America, and many other export markets.

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Monte, roads, and island transport

The images of hammocks, bullock cars, the funicular railway, and sledges remind us how steep Madeira has always been. Before modern roads and vehicles, moving people and goods across the island required ingenuity. The same dramatic geography that makes Madeira so beautiful also shaped the production, movement, and storage of Madeira wine.

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Câmara de Lobos and the working coast

Câmara de Lobos appears in more than one of these sets, and rightly so. It is one of the island’s most famous coastal settlements and remains important to the wider story of Madeira. Historic views of the village help show the working maritime world that existed alongside the island’s vineyards, lodges, and export trade.

More than wine alone

These albums also include gardens, cottages, sugarcane cutting, local dress, embroidery, and street scenes. That broader view matters. Madeira wine has never existed in isolation: it belongs to a living island culture shaped by agriculture, commerce, craftsmanship, religion, transport, and tourism.

Historic Madeira, living Madeira wine

Today, Madeira is known both for its scenery and for one of the world’s most distinctive fortified wines. These historic images are a reminder that the story of Madeira wine is also the story of Funchal, Monte, Câmara de Lobos, the mountain routes, and the people who lived and worked on the island.

If these images have sparked your interest, continue with our main guide to Madeira wine to explore the grapes, styles, producers, ageing methods, and history behind this remarkable island wine.

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