Who Were They?

Lost and forgotten photos from the past

I really need to stay off of eBay, haha. I found this fabulous little gem album a while back and I really could not control myself. Once you see inside of it, you will understand why. The album holds gem tintypes, those tiny representations that were popular during the second half of the 19th century. …

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For several years now, I have been tracking the Streeter Family – the subject of the C. Murray Album, which was given to me by a good friend. Little did my friend know I was going to become slightly obsessed with this family in the hopes of figuring out who they were. Sometimes I find …

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This particular gem tintype was added to the Red Gem album after all the pages were filled – making me wonder about the duplicate images and why the owner didn’t remove one of those. The image was also obviously cut to the general shape of an oval, so perhaps it was going to be used …

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This page of our Red Gem album shows two ladies on the younger side of life. Their hair styles are definitely early 1870s. Here the hair has been gathered in the back, has sausage curled ringlets on one side, and a fluff on the top. The combination of elements is interesting, plus she has something …

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Today we have two very different hats – a man’s slouch and a woman’s pill box. Let’s take a closer look. I’m reminded of a bit of whimsy, the nursery rhyme dated back the King Charles I of England (1600-1649), but only because this dude’s picture is crooked in the book. There was a crooked …

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