Finding Vintage Photos and Ephemera



One is always on the lookout for family vintage photos, and you should be because you never know where one can turn up. Of course, you check with all living relatives, some who do not even realize they have tucked away old photos. Offer to assist them to sort the photos.

An online site named ‘Ancestorville‘ loves looking in all types of places (yard sales, estates sales, thrift shops, bazaars, flea markets, garage sales, etc) for vintage photos of anyone or place. They even like collecting the business card, wearable pins, civic group ribbons, and documents.

Ancestorville then posts their findings on their online site with as much description and info as located to try and match family members with an ancestral photo. Done by Debra Clifford of Massachusetts, she has traveled thousands of miles across America in search of identified genealogy antiques such as lost antique photos, antique paper, and vintage ephemera.  

Use the search for the Ancestorville site to see if anything of interest is found. Place surnames, hometowns, states, county names, military regiments, civic organizations, occupations, etc. Either a photo or some type of ephemera could be found. Ancestorville has placed all found information relating to the photo or other items to assist in your identification.

There is a fee for acquiring the original item (which varies with the item) or if the original was sold you can get a 300 dpi scan of the photo or item for $12.  

So someone has done the hard part by going to places to purchase these treasures, so you can search from your home.

Photos: 1870s Victorian calling card for Fred H. Elliett in New England; 1866 photo of Elizabeth Hosack Montague from Ohio; and 1860s J. Henry Snyder of Ohio.

Related FamilyTree Blogs:

Just One Photo

Public Domain Photos

Visiting / Calling Cards

 

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