The Historical photography collection consists of more than 25,000 photographs dating back to 1940 or earlier. Oldest exhibits of the collection are daguerreotypic portraits and ambrotypes. It also comprises of a large number of works by the photographers from Lithuanian cities and small towns, created before 1915, as well as one of the largest selections of photographs in Lithuania themed after the 1863 Uprising.

A valuable part of the collection consists of works created during the Independence period of the Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940) by commercial photography artists Juozas Daubaras, Petras Ločeris, Karlas Baulas and others, as well as artistic photography classics Kazys Daugėla, Povilas Karpavičius, and Gerardas Bagdonavičius. Other collections include Balys Buračas’s ethnographic photographs and a selection of photographs by publicists, travelers, and enthusiasts of photography Petras Babickas and Vincas Uždavinys. Historical photography collection also includes sample photo albums from various historical periods.