She cannot fade...

[jon koss]

Found this while sorting through a stack of oldies. It struck me that more than most, this image lives on two entirely separate planes of existence. Here on Terra it exists as a period artifact that could only have been created during a certain few years of the twentieth century. But in its perfection, like Keats' Grecian Urn, it vibrates eternally on the Astral plane and so it will even 'when old age shall this generation waste'. It is one of the great blessings of photography that only a few recognized artists are widely collected, leaving gems of this caliber to be scooped off the dollar table at the church fair at 1:30 in the afternoon.

J

 

[ambaker]

Whenever I see old images, or negatives, in the bargain bin at flea markets and antique stores, I always feel a bit sad for them. The images are of someone that was once important to the image owner. Time passes, the owner passes, nobody remembers who the person in the image was, and their last remnant is discarded; to be consigned as a nameless entity, with no history, to the bargain bin.


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[Chris G]

It always reminds me of Billy Parham and his conversation with the gypsy in 'The Crossing'... "the yellowing daguerreotypes swinging by their clothespegs from the crosswise of his father's cart"

 

[bsdunek]

Whenever I see old images, or negatives, in the bargain bin at flea markets and antique stores, I always feel a bit sad for them. The images are of someone that was once important to the image owner. Time passes, the owner passes, nobody remembers who the person in the image was, and their last remnant is discarded; to be consigned as a nameless entity, with no history, to the bargain bin.


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I always think that too. Such a shame people don't know more about those that preceded them.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

That's part of what drives me to collect. I need to sit down some day (well, three-day weekend) and catalog my collection. I know it's north of 200 images, probably north of 300. Most of which cost me less than $20 each, and probably half of those were less than $10. I especially love images that tell some kind of story, even if we can't be sure what that story is at this remove, where the sitter(s) are unidentified. Like this one-

What was goinig on here? Who were they, and why were they posing together? Why were they wearing matching outfits? Were they siblings with a strange fashion sense, or co-workers at a store or other business?

Or this one-

Who was he? Was he a sailor? And why did he choose (if he chose) to go for a vignetted look that makes it seem like he's missing his legs? All we know is his name was Jack.

And what about these gentlemen?

Who were they and why the pose of affection between them? It most likely didn't mean then what it suggests now... they were probably very good friends, but not likely in a physically intimate relationship with each other.

 

[bsdunek]

Those are very neat, and interesting. They do pose questions. Guess I never thought about old photos in that way, but now I'm thinking ...

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Careful - don't think about it too much or you'll get "the bug" at least as bad as G.A.S. And unlike cameras, there are a near-infinite selection of unique images out there to be collected. I have to budget myself or I'll easily overspend on these things. Best is to do some research into areas that interest you, then pick one or two genres to collect, so you don't get distracted by every bright and shiny object to pass your peripheral vision.