Swapatorium

Happy New Year!

Have a safe one. See you all in 2008!

Heads Up

Head on over to the head prop album where I added 10 new photos. More albums coming soon!

Black Out

Last Saturday, John and I decided to hit some antique shops that we had not been to in over a year. In one of the glass cabinets, this Union Case caught John's eye. In case some of you don't know, a Union Case is an early example of thermoplastic technology produced from 1855-1865. It was made by pressing a mixture of shellac and wood fibers into a steel mold. Some people call it gutta percha.

John noticed that the image on the left had too much black space. When we took a closer look, we saw that the image was blacked out and that the lady is holding a tiny hand.

The only logical answer is that this is a memento mori.  Shown is the mother, father, and daughter.  The daughter bears a striking resemblance to the mother.  So who passed away?  Is it another child or could it be the girl shown?  I don't have a clue.  Somewhere in my collection, I have a couple of tintypes where a person was blacked out.  I'm not quite sure why this was done other than to mark a death.

I don't think the antique dealer knew that the lady was holding a child's hand. The price tag only made mention of the case. It pays to view photographs closely, even seemingly boring ones, because you might just get a little surprise.

Pill Pusher

The cabinet card of this druggist is enough of a treasure on its own, but getting his pestle was a bonus.  They were found together at an estate sale.

I like making my photos come to life by getting personal items that are linked to the people in the images. I have individual boxes filled with people's small possessions along with their photos. For instance, I have several from WW II that have the soldier's snapshots, dog tags, ids, and personal letters. I'll try to post some here one day.

Any clues as to why a druggist would be photographed with paint cans? Could he have been a sign maker as well?

Junior Architect

From Our House to Your House

Merry Christmas from Swapatorium (and the Richters)! May Santa bring you lots of cool junk!

Moon

Ephemera found in box lot purchased at an estate sale. Photo from my collection.

Some Like it Cold

Polaroids, circa 1950s.

Lap Land

Ho, Ho, Ho! I have a new album of department store Santas for your viewing pleasure.

Dig This

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist.  I had visions of going on digs and finding wondrous treasures.  In some ways, I am fulfilling that childhood dream by junking.  One of my favorite things to find, besides vintage photos, are wallets, purses, boxes, or suitcases that are filled with the original owner's things.  I try to imagine what the person was like based on the contents.  In this case, the item is a change purse that was filled with jewelry and trinkets purchased at a garage sale for $3.      

Contents include:
silver sweater holder
2 silver megaphone charms
silver ring
Babs charm
I am Catholic necklace
Briarcliff High School charm bracelet
Bears pinback button
McGovern pinback button
broken bracelet chain

Make Art Not War

Hello everyone!  It's nice to be back.  I won't bore you with small talk, but instead get down to business.  Fresh from yesterday's flea market finds are these drawings that were done by a US soldier while in Vietnam.  Along with some photo albums and loose photos in a box was an old leather portfolio full of snapshots and actual drawings that documented his work.  Here are some examples of his artwork and some photos while he was in Cat Lai, South Vietnam.

8x10 photo of Playboy bunny, Connie Kornacki.


Pencil drawing.


8x10 photo of Playboy bunny, Angela Dorian.


Pencil drawing.


Pencil drawing.


Wall of art.


7th Battalion Draftsman.


Art supply cabinet, drafting office.


Not 100% sure, but based on other photos, I think this is the artist.

Coming Soon

This is the *NEW* home of Swapatorium!  I'm busy scanning lots of neat things for you to look at and will be adding new features like video, several albums for you to peruse at your leisure (see Photomatics for an example), and more.  I hope to officially open Monday, December 17, so please bookmark this site and change your links to reflect the new address.  Hope to see your shining, smiling faces here!