PHOTO OF THE WEEK

WW 1 U.S. Soldier and American flag.

Independence Day with Betsy Ross

Info and photos from the collection of Glenda Popielarski of Recycled Relatives.

The photographer is Hart from Minot, North Dakota.  That's the small town in the news right now that is under flood water (I think). 

Info written in old ink on one of the folders: Ruth Estella Stahl as Betsy Ross.  Feb. 22, 1918, age 11 years 9 months.  May 17, 1906 - July 4, 1919.  Yes, she died at the age of 13 on the fourth of July!  Here's the info I got from the seller:

She was killed on July 4, 1919 when a car in which she was sitting was struck by an airplane piloted by Lieutenant Chester Jacobson during a holiday flying exhibition (according to a report by the Towner County, North Dakota, Hansboro News at the time).



Photo of the Week: Handsom Gent



PHOTO OF THE WEEK



I call this photo "Mona Lisa" because of the pretty girl's subtle smile and serene expression.  This is one of my very favorites, purchased from Glenda Popielarski of Recycled Relatives.

If you have a favorite antique or vintage photo you'd like to see appear as Timetrekker Photos Photo of the Week, please e-mail it to me for consideration at: sharon@timetrekkerphotos.com



Welcome to Timetrekker Photos!

As is the case with all collections, there was a first photo in my vintage and antique photograph collection.  It all began when I lived in a picturesque, small town in Ohio called Barnesville. It is famous for its Pumpkin Festival, which occurs every September.  In Barnesville, there is an antique shop on Main Street.  During the Pumpkin Festival, I always checked out this shop, The Antique Mall.  There are three floors of really wonderful items—furniture, glassware, clothing, jewelry, farm implements, and much more.  One evening during the Pumpkin Festival, I had ambled toward the back of the shop, inspecting interesting pieces as I moved along, and at the foot of the stairway that led to the second floor, I noticed many shoeboxes of old photos resting on shelves against the wall.  Being both a history and a photography buff, I was instantly curious.  I started to look through the photos.  There were, what I know now to be, cabinet cards, CDVs, snapshots, RPPCs, tintypes, and photos in folders.  Like most people, I thought, “Well, they’re neat, but why buy photos of people I don’t even know?” 

I didn’t think about these old photos again for a whole year.  A similar happening took place the following Pumpkin Festival, and believe it or not, the next one, too.  Apparently, browsers at the Antique Mall had the same qualms about buying photos of other people’s relatives as I did, because I kept finding the same old photos in those boxes. 

Finally, we decided to move from Ohio back to my hometown in Louisiana.  We were leaving in October, so going to that last Pumpkin Festival was a big deal for us.  I, of course, visited the Antique Mall, and heading upstairs, I remembered the old photographs, and said to myself, “You know, I think I’ll get a few of these photos as keepsakes of Barnesville.”  Sure enough, one photo in particular that I really liked was still there.  I bought it and three more.  That day, I would never have dreamed that vintage and antique photos would become such a passion for me.  Somehow, sometime—I don’t exactly remember when, I looked for old photos on eBay, and found vintage and antique photos galore!  I began to buy, and to make connections with other collectors and dealers.  I was off and running! 

In the years since I bought this first photo (the one displayed here), I have come to appreciate vintage and antique photographs as a true art form and as a record of history.  I’ve come to respect them as a memorial to those individuals whose likenesses appear in the photographs; for, these people actually existed.  Vintage and antique photographs capture a single moment, a single heartbeat, in lives that have already been lived.  Such a realization creates a poignant and fascinating experience for those who are able to venture beyond that initial question of “why would anyone want old photos of people they don’t even know” to recognize the history, art, and nostalgia that is the essence of these wonderful, old photographs.