I buy a lot of ephemera, specially old pictures. My hobby, at one point was a 300 dollar a week expenditure so I have amounted quite a collection. Mostly my pictures are from the 20`s to the 50`s Europe. I even have a pictures of the aftermath of World War 2, of what looks to me as a divisor wall in Germany, a damaged church and a line of people waiting to get food.
These are all moments in time. Someone was impressed enough, loved enough, was sadden enough, to burn the image in front of his or her eyes into celluloid. It`s a memory of a moment that passed by too quickly. It would be otherwise be saved in their minds and hearts.
What you have done and where you have been, changes you. What you have seen and experienced, moves you. Your epic view of the world that could change in a second. In many ways photos help us recall and freshen the memory so it doesn`t fade. These are only black and white, but still carry on with power.
I never knew him. I never met him. All I know, is that he was a young man when visited the Alps in Europe sometime in the 30`s. I was lucky enough to buy the pictures from his estate when he passed sometime in before 2005. That year, I collected more printed pictures from strangers than what I have of my own family. (Suffices to say, I have digital pics of my family.) The thought that no one was mentioned to claim them in a will saddens me.
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