Do you remember when?

Years ago, I was asked to renovate a picture from World War II. It was taken in a restaurant and it showed a group of servicemen on leave, clearly enjoying their night on the town.  The folder the photo was in had the name of the restaurant. I found out that many big restaurants hired photographers to take pictures of guests at that time. Sort of like we take table pictures at weddings these days. For these young men, facing an uncertain future in wartime, this was a record of a brief happy time. That the photo still existed, shows the lasting value of printed pictures. Today, we take selfies in restaurants with our cell phones; how many of them will still be around in 80 years time? Old photographs provide a tantalizing look at the past. 

Photographs can take us back to a time that no longer exists. They can bring back memories, but they can also instruct, teaching us about far away places and long ago times. Look at the enduring popularity of National Geographic magazine! Armchair travel is as popular as ever! 

I just got back from a brief vacation, where I did something I haven't done in a long time: I sent a couple of postcards! Postcards tend to be at the bottom of the importance scale when it comes to mail and many don't arrive at all these days. Surprisingly, at least one arrived in the UK only a week after it was sent! Picture postcards became popular in the late 1800s with the advent of rail travel, which brought the masses to the seaside. A British photographer named Francis Frith was largely responsible for the advent of the picture postcard. In 1860, after returning from photographing Egypt and Palestine, he began a personal project to photograph every town and village in the UK. He quickly saw the marketing possibilities; the newly mobile masses wanted souvenirs of their trips, so he hired a team of photographers to take pictures which were mass produced and sold around Britain. When the company closed, 100 years later, the archive of his work (330,000 pictures!) was thankfully preserved. I got to know about this enterprising gentleman through a British TV show called "Britain's First Photo Album". If you have British roots, chances are there are photographs of your ancestral town or village!

In an age when many would like to rewrite history, photography is as valuable as ever. When it comes to your personal memories, hold on to the old family photographs and make sure the next generation knows their story. One of the saddest sights is a a box of photos discarded after someone passes away, because no one knows who the people in the pictures are. Photo restoration is part of my business and one that gives me a lot of satisfaction. If you have old photographs that have been stained and faded, get in touch!  I'd be happy to help you preserve your memories!

And if you would like to explore your British roots, have a look at The Francis Frith Collection: https://www.francisfrith.com/us/