Here are some glimpses of what you'll find...
Sepia photograph of Frances Willard seated and facing left. Frances was a suffragist.
Black and white photograph of three women suffragists casting votes at Fifty-sixth and Lexington Avenue, New York City, 1917
Sepia toned photo of a little curly haired girl wearing a hat, coat with fur trim, standing and facing front while holding her doll toy, photographed by Parkison, Morris Burke Parkison in 1898.
Sepia toned photo of a freckled faced twelve year old son of a cotton sharecropper near Cleveland, Mississippi, June 1937.
Photo of a daughter of migrant Tennessee coal miner. Living in American River camp near Sacramento, California, November 1936.
Photograph of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan seated in a chair, facing each other, 1893.
Sepia toned photograph of Harriet Tubman, facing forward and sitting in a chair.
Black and white photograph of an Eskimo mother with child on back, 1906.
Aren't these photographs treasures? I look into these faces and can almost hear their voices across time. There's such character captured. I also see a touch of the Creator in each one. So unique, created to live here for a short time––not even a blink in comparison to eternity. And I wonder…
If someone were to find a photograph of you or me 100+ years from now, what would they see in our expressions? And read in our eyes? What would they take away with them?
That kind of "what if" appeals to the writer in me. In fact, whenever I go into antique stores one of the first questions I ask is, "Do you have a box of old photographs?" And inevitably, they do. A box full of mostly nameless faces, and rarely can I leave without at least one or two (or ten!) for my "inspiration file."
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| To Whisper Her Name a Belle Meade Plantation novel November 2012 Kindle pre-order $4.99 |
Writing like crazy in my corner of Nashville, and getting closer to another The End!
Tammy
Love, love, love those old photos, Tammy. I have three antique photo albums filled with pictures that passed down from my step-father's first wife's family. They were left in the attic after she died and remained there until my mother sold the house back in the 1980's. There are no names on any of them. Since they can't tell me their stories, I have used some of them as inspiration for characters in my books. I'm a visual person, so seeing a picture fits in perfectly for me.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the heads-up about the Kindle pre-order for To Whisper Her Name. I've already clicked my pre-order this morning. :)
Hi Tam! What a treasure trove you have stumbled upon!
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of getting howled down here,to me there is an appeal about old sepia photos that the modern day coloured photos just do not capture...and have you noticed that most of the women in that era always appeared severe?
How true the old saying is."Every picture tells a story."
Justseeing the photo of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan,sparked my interest in a little research so I now have learned more about their amazing lives. What incredible women they were to overcome a huge handicap and were able to leave a wonderful legacy to others.
The pic of the little girl holding her doll. I thought her face bore a remarkable resemblance to the face of her doll,and now I am intrigued to find out the story of that little girl. Do you know who she is?
I have a huge trunk of old photos that came from Mum's house..some are written on and others are not,but we are trying very hard to tax her memory(on a good day)so that we have a record of"Who's Who."
Our grandchildren are very interested in their Great Grandmother's life as a young girl. Lots of giggles can be heard as they browse through the album... the fashions too..especially the beach attire!
An excellent and very enjoyable post Tam . Thank you.:)
I love looking at old photos and trying to guess the story behind them. Im researching my WW2 novel and all the photos and bits of info I have are like puzzle pieces waiting to reveal a big picture of a time I can only wonder about. Im trying to piece together a timeline when my mother's bomber pilot husband was overseas. The photos are awesome, but most of them have no markings. It really has sparked my imagination!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of an instagram photo my friend took at a flea market this past weekend. Someone was selling a box of family photos and I was expecting to see classic photos like the ones above but they were from the 80s and 90s.
ReplyDeleteWow, what treasures, Judy and Rosie! If you ever scan those to be digital, I'd love to see some of yours. Which gives me a thought... Once i'm caught up on writing (in 2017, LOL), I should put all of these pics on digital too and upload them (or offer them?) to this site. It just hurts me, in a way, when I see boxes of "forgotten pictures" like this in antique shops. I feel compelled to give them a home. : )
ReplyDeleteWe're alike in this way, Jan! Love it.
And Kate, ROFLOL. You're kidding!? Oh my... Shaking my head and smiling. And also not! : )
Wonderful photos! Helen Keller has always intrigued me (probably because of my love for sign language), so seeing her and Anne Sullivan together took my breath away! And Harriet Tubman...amazing! It would absolutely be wonderful to hear the stories she could tell...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on the pre-order. Still no Kindle for me (I can't give up the feel of the book in my hands yet), but I can't wait for the book to come out!
LOVE these old photos, Tammy--oh my, what stories can be told in facial expressions. ~ When I was going through things in my Parents' house before my sisters and I had to sell it (sigh) I found several old photos of relatives from the 1930s-1940s--felt as if I'd discovered treasure! (well, actually I HAD!).~ Thank you for sharing, and continued prayers for your writing, sweet friend! Hugs, Patti Jo
ReplyDeleteLove the old photos. Reminds me of some old ones of my grandparents. Brings the term "hardscrabble" to mind. Such hard lives so many folks lived. You can just see the cares of living in their eyes and in the planes of their faces.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat resource--thanks for posting the link to that!
ReplyDeleteAnd my Mum inherited LOADS of old pictures from my great-grandmother. One album my great-grandmother actually made herself way back when, with pictures from as early as the 1920's through the 1950's/60's. It is truly a treasure.
Great minds must think alike, however, because I wrote a blog post about photos just last night! LOL
Lots of love, Mrs. Alexander--please do share when you reach that "The End" so we can "rejoice with those who rejoice!"
Glad y'all are enjoying the photos like I am. I figured you might. I know that "breath taken away" feeling, Catherine. Isn't that a great picture of them? Stunning...
ReplyDeleteThanks for those continued prayers, Patti Jo. So appreciate them! And yes, Linda, so true. Hardscrabble. Good word. Takin' it! : )
And I'll be sure and do that, Meghan. Oh so close... And oh so ready!
I LOVE old photgraphs too! And these you posted are awesome! I have a few, one in particular of a Great Aunt...it is very old and her hair is in an "up do" and is she is wearing a long dress with a high collar and puffed sleeves!
ReplyDeleteI was given a book entitled "Brown Angels" by Walter Dean Myers. And it is an album of pictures of African American Chldren from the late 1800"s to the early 1900's. A Beautiful book of old pictures. So beautiful that I had prints made from the book, had them framed and they proudly hang on the walls of my downstairs powder room. Gorgeous and yes I do look at them amd wonder what story would they have to tell.
So Happy your book will be released soon, can;t wait to read it! Give my love to Jack! :-)
Love this post. Thanks for sharing these pictures and the link where you found them! Glad your writing is going so well. Blessings to you, Tammy!
ReplyDeleteTammy, love all the sepia photos!
ReplyDeleteTo see pictures of women such as Harriet Tubman (read her story to my children when they were little),
Helen Keller (took my children to her childhood home), and women to whom I am thankful to for my right to vote. To see those who are a part of the fabric of our nation.
Ladies, all your stories inspire me! I'm grateful for each one of you :)
I have mentioned to my mom that I would love to have a picture of my grandmother when she was sixteen. She had long dark curled hair and so beautiful to me.
My husband and I helped a family member who had become deathly ill move their items out of their 1800's home. Beautiful items up in the attic and we found pictures and sketched portraits of family members who arrived to America via Ellis Island. The sad thing is all that hard work to recover those items to now sit in someone else's care who is doing nothing with them. Makes me want to cry--but I console myself by reminding myself with things here are temporal...
I love to go into antique or thrift stores. So many items to gaze at or wonder about. I found an old symbol hymnal and just had to buy it. Eventually, the Lord led me to give it to a young music assistant at our church.
Hugs!
Thank you for sharing this! My "character pictures" always come from period photos, so I'm excited to comb through this site! Old photos and old newspapers and two of the best things to stir my imagination. :)
ReplyDeleteLove that you did that with those photographs, Veronica. Perfect! And Jack sends his love in return. Wish and he and Bruno could have a play date. ; )
ReplyDeleteDeb, Miriam, and Anne, great to "see" you gals!
Appreciate you all and connection we share. That includes you "lurkers" out there too! : )
That is so cool! Those pictures truly are worth a thousand words. I love to imagine the story behind photos like that...what the person was thinking/doing at the time. I like to do that with places, too...wondering who stepped in the places I have and what they did. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing another novel! Can't wait to read it!
~Stacey
Great photos, Tammy! I'm in the process of scanning in at least 50 official WWI Signal Corps photos that my grandfather left to me. On the back of each and every one, he's written who/what/when or where - or sometimes all that. It should inspire me to pull out all of my own old photos and label them on the back, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteHistory really is amazing . . . as shown so vividly in the pictures you've chosen above.
Still loving that profile pic, Stacey. So precious, lady!
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful, Maureen, about what you're doing with your grandfather's photos. Good for you! And YES on that labeling!