Look at these old photographs. They’re the kinds of photographs you can imagine adorning a mantelpiece or bedside locker. They’re the kind of photographs that people keep in memory boxes, or tucked into wallets.
A stern looking couple by a lakeside, I’m guessing 1930’s or earlier.
An adoring daddy with his cute chubby-cheeked son, I’m guessing late 1940’s or 1950’s.
An attentive mother with her daughter, playing in the grass in summertime, I’m guessing late 1950’s or early 1960’s.
These people are all strangers to me. I don’t know their names, or where they lived, or what they did. I found these photographs in a bin in an antiques store in Brooklyn, and bought them for about 60c apiece. The bin was crammed with thousands and thousands of photographs just like these. Photographs taken at Christmas, in nightclubs, around the dinner table, and on the first day of school.
Admittedly, it’s weird to pay money for the photographs of total strangers. But I felt a connection to these photographs, compelled to take them with me. They serve as a reminder of the transience of our lives, lives that are made up of thousands of moments just like these. Moments that mattered in the lives of these people.
One day, we will all move on. And one day, your photographs might find their way into a bin in an antiques store. Shiver.
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3 Responses
I can’t click on the picture to look at them right,….
On 14 February 2017 at 15:07, Frances Macken, Writer wrote:
> francesmacken posted: “Look at these old photographs. They’re the kinds of > photographs you can imagine adorning a mantelpiece or bedside locker. > They’re the kind of photographs that people keep in memory boxes, or tucked > into wallets. A stern looking couple by a lakeside, I’m ” >
I’ll edit the post tomorrow and add each photograph on its own. They’re worth seeing up close!
I love old photos as well, and it always seems so sad to see them for sale to strangers at antique stores. I’m glad you bought these three, and that they will mean something to you. They are a reminder of our past, even when we don’t know the people in them!