Hello!
This will be where I document finding old Antique, Vintage photo albums and Photographs. Then trying to find out who these people are within the pages. This all started after I worked for a Film Archive documenting 16mm film, whenever I came across old Home Movies my eyes would be glued to seeing into someone else’s life and world, and wondering what happened to these people on the film, how did their film end up out in the world away from family?
The core of what I have done in the past or my own site http://www.savethetoys.com ultimately requires Research, Studying, Picking up clues and fine details, and spending hours scouring the internet linking one piece of info to put a name or a place to something. I get a total thrill out of doing it. My mother is a family history researcher whose passion is uncovering the past, so she is often my assistant behind the scenes also finding info for me. I didnt get into Old Photo Albums until the end of 2010. I was in the Phoenix, Az area at an antique store and there I found my FIRST photo album and what started my new hobby.
I love finding old photo albums, particularly ones with names and identifying info in them. After that comes searching like a detective for family history and clues from the photos to find out who they are. The stories of the people behind the photos. I hate seeing photo albums lost, floating around, destroyed, picked apart and pieced out. I like for the family within the pages to stay together somehow. Im not sure how all of these albums end up out in world but they are numerous, check estate sales, auctions, antique shops, thrift stores and ebay! They are everywhere!
So just a word to anyone who keeps photo albums or family records, PUT INFO, names, places, in your albums! Because it only takes a generation or two and the info is lost and it becomes much harder to find out with a lot of relatives who have passed on.
Another tip: Please pass your albums on to relatives if at all possible with identifying info, even if its not in the album put it on paper and tuck it inside, if you have no relatives to pass an album too and want it preserved, another good option is your local town historical society or an area that your family came out of or contained pictures of a certain town, county or city. Many places would love to have something like this in their archives.
If you are going to sell a photo album PLEASE list any names in your listing especially on the internet auction and sales sites, many relatives are searching for albums with surnames in their family line, so your album may be more valuable just by you adding the NAMES to your listing. Many people working on genealogy work will pass this info onto groups with certain last names. I know I would be thrilled to find out a family album from my history that we have never seen was out there and Id love to get my hands on it!
Please enjoy seeing my albums Ive picked up, this is purely for fun and a hobby for me, I also spend my own money purchasing most of these albums, but will always take something anyone wants to pass my way for free to post on my site and I will do what research I can.
Thank you for visiting.
Sharon
Me with some “Older” Gentlemen
savethephotos 
I have several large framed photos of my ancestors that I have no use for and no one to pass them on and I would like to give them to a friend so she can sell them and put the money towards her children’s education.
Do you have a source for valuing these items?? Google didn’t bring up anything at all.
2 of the photos are in very large metal frames (approx 30-36″ high) with what I call bubble glass, because it is VERY 3 dimensional (approx 5″ deep. I know from past experience with selling large amounts of antiques from my family that this type of frame with the glass intact are somewhat pricey, but I need help getting a guesstimate.
I am handicapped so I can’t go around to dealers to do research and I want my friend to get as much as she can (without expecting full antique store prices.
Can you help point me in the right direction??
Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.
P. A. Kennedy
Hi there,
Sorry I dont know values for such things as I just look for them in antique shops and buy something if it appeals to me. Youd be better to ask an antique dealer. Otherwise selling them on ebay may be a good place to go also. If you have no family or place to put them you can also consider donating them to a local historical society where the relatives once lived, etc.
Hi
I have a picture taken in the Tomlinson studio circa 1920’s (I think) it is my great-grandmothers cousin, last name possible morris. I can send you a jpg if you like, mom came for christmas, and brought pictures from a box that was in her mothers house. We were scanning them, and came across this one.
Howard are you one of the Glenn Ranch Glenn’s? Those were my Great Great Grandparents. Page Williams
Hi!
I love your blog and would love to add it to my blogroll. I have a Family Photo Reunion blog myself. I’d really appreciate it if you could add mine to your blog list.
Thanks!
~Carol
http://familyphotoreunion.blogspot.com
I recently saw the Eldridge photos… I am related to most of those folks…. ..Great pics.
Kevin Eldridge
How wonderful that you are saving these old photos. You have photos of the McCollum family, from Tennessee, and those are my ancestors. My grandmother was Flossie McCollum in the group photo. I wonder how the photos ended up in Arizona. I always think it a bit sad to see someone’s family photos for sale in shops but I am glad someone like you finds them and sees their value.
my mother bought an old photo album full of portraits. Unfortunately no names. It may have been a photographers book. She just wants the book and we’d love to find homes for the photos. Would you like them? (free of course) maybe you could find their homes!
Sure Natalie! Just put any info you can with it, or if possible send me a pic of the album by email too, so I can show what it looked like(for research help) And any info, like what state, city you bought or found it in. That can sometimes help or any possible back story you have. Ill email you! Thanks!
I’m very interested in these types of photos. I’ve not begun collecting yet, but I was wondering if there are groups or clubs I could join? Is there a name for this type of collecting? I could stare at these old photos for hours and never get tired.
Have just found your wonderful site and started to look into these old and lovely Pictures. Thanks for posting, hope more will come. Lots of greetings from Sweden. Eva
I was looking for my great grandfather Herbert Tomlinson and what I thought was his son, Herbert, when I came across the following on your site:
“Philip Tomlinson
July 20, 2012 at 12:34 am
My name is Philip Tomlinson and Herbert Tomlinson, photographer,was my Grandfather and Jean Frazer, my Aunt ! I have many photos taken by them of Hannibal, MO including Mark Twain, et al. Is Ralph Tomlinson your husband’s Father ?
savethephotos
July 20, 2012 at 1:08 am
Sorry I am of no relation to the Tomlinsons. This is just a photo I found in an antique shop as I collect old photos and post them on my blog.”
Do you have any way of me contacting that Phillip Tomlinson? He must be my father’s first cousin since Jean Frazer was my great aunt. He had responded to my brother’s wife’s answer which had gotten a bit of the info mixed up. She had my mom, Margaret as Hebert’s granddaughter. Rather, she was his grandson, Lloyd T. Hendrix’s wife, actually. And, the Ralph he mentioned was my father’s first cousin(Lloyd). it really goes like this: photographer Herbert Tomlinson, Hannibal, MO, had daughter Margaret Cecilia Tomlinson who married Frank C. Hendrix , who had Lloyd T. Hendrix, who had me, Kelly Hendrix Medina. I’m guessing This Phillip Tomlinson is Herbert, Jr.’s son.
Can you put me in touch with him somehow?
I just found a photo, on your site, of my wife’s fathers family ( https://savethephotos.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/142/ ). We found it very interesting. Stoddard’s first wife, my wife’s mother was Maxine Gray a big band singer with Hal Kemp, Dorsey and was Lawrence Welk’s first female singer. She had her own radio show with David rose in Los Angeles called ‘California Melodies’ Maxine also appeared in Soundies singing “Rain on the Roof’. She was introduction singer for ‘There’s a Small Hotel’. Maxine and Stoddard divorced in 1959.