Mastodawn

AnneTheWriter Aug 4, 2024

"Well, the dress is 1890s. I estimated your age-- which, if you pardon my saying, seems to be in your late 30s-- and the likely number of generations since the 1870s-- their birth decade-- and saw the family resemblance."

Then (as politely as possible), I noted the resemblance between his ears (which stuck out prominently), nose (which was kind of pointy like a bird's beak), and hairline (which shared a specific balding pattern).

He snatched the photo off the sales floor.

It's funny how the value of an old photo changes when you know who's in it.

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🧵 2/2

#Genealogy #EstateSales #Photographs #AntiquePhoto #AntiquePhotograph #VictorianPhotos #IdentifyingOldPhotos #FamilyTreasures #LostAndFoundPhotos #AuroraIllinois #LocalHistory #FamilySearch #Geneadons #GenealogyThreads @geneadons

AnneTheWriter Aug 4, 2024

One of my favorite moments from estate sales is years ago, when I saw an antique photo in a nice frame. It was a picture of a young couple with a nice horse and buggie. It was being sold for only $40.

I asked the estate sale lady if they were sure they wanted to sell it. A man came up and said that he was the owner, and yes... it was for sale.

I looked at him a minute, looked over the photo, then did some quick math.

"You really shouldn't sell a photo of your Great-Grandparents," I told him. "Whoever buys it is just going to rip out the photo, throw it away, and use the frame."

"How do you know they're my Great-Grandparents?" he asked.

"Well..." 🧵 1/2

[Be sure to also read the #AltText for information about the posted photos.]