Pictures, windows, and time…
Imagine for a moment that a picture is a window. It offers a glimpse into the past, an image of what transpired, a physical memory. I like to look at pictures and try to image what was happening that day, to that person, at that time. After all, with over seven billion of us all sharing the same planet, it can be hard to remember that we all have our own stories, our own paths, and our own lives to live and stories to create.
Looking through old pictures like these always inspires me to keep thinking, to look deeper at the memory that is forever captured on the photograph. And while I look, I’m reminded that I’m looking into a window and seeing the life of someone else, in their own story, and on their own path. It never ceases to amaze me how interconnected we all are, and how some things would be so quickly forgotten if not for pictures.
I don’t know the real stories of the people in these photos, so I’ve made up my own stories for them. Click on the photos below to see my interpretation of them and their lives.
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Young Man from St. Louis Missouri (c.1880s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Man with Mustache from St. Louis Missouri (c.1880s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Woman (c.1870s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Three Woman from Iowa (c.1890s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Man from Indiana (c.1880s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Young Woman (c.1870s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Man with Mustache from Missouri (c.1880s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Young Woman (c.1890s)
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- Antique Photograph of Mother and Daughter (c.1900s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Man from St. Louis Missouri (c.1893)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Prudence and Leona Van Macklin from Iowa (c.1890s)
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- Antique Photograph Postcard of Handsome Man (c.1890s)
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- Antique Photo Cabinet Card of Woman, Helen Archer (c.1890s)
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- Antique Photo Postcard of Young Woman (c.1890s)
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- Antique Photograph Cabinet Card of Annie, Herbert, Mary and Harold Milbrath (c.1890s)
Want to see even more antique and vintage photographs? We have lots of them in our shop at this link: Vintage Photographs. Enjoy!
When I come across a box of old family photos at an estate sale, I almost feel a sense of reverence. You can connect the dots between the photos and see the family tree unfold.
This is fabulous, JD! I love that you have created stories for each. I read a few and found them so engaging and delightful! Kudos to you ~
What a great idea! I wonder these things when I drive through a small town that has dried up to nothing because a major highway took the traffic in another direction. I wonder who the people were that lived there long ago and what they did for a living. What was the community like before the lone gas station went out of business and the store fronts were boarded up?
My imagination always goes wild when I see these kinds of towns, too! We have a lot of abandoned farm houses around us, and I love to imagine what it was like when people lived there. Photos, towns, houses… they ALL have stories hidden in them. 🙂