Antiquarian dreaming, Part 1

I've always loved old things. While my high school classmates were headbanging to Guns 'N' Roses and Metallica, I was bopping to The Platters, The Drifters and Everly brothers. I was also into old films. I remember finding Casablanca really gripping, and Gone With The Wind really boring (Scarlett O'Hara is an odious character).

My fascination with things from the past was fully realised when I started buying "relics" on holiday trips to former gold fields. We were browsing through a few antique stores in Ballarat a good number of years ago and I fell in love with a collection of photos. I think it was just that they were clearly from another era, a whole other world that was accessible only through images. Here are a couple from my very small hoard bought over time.



Don't they make you wonder whatever happened afterwards? [On the back of the second photo is an inscription: "To Dear Mum with best wishes from (indeciph.) & Frank. Taken 29/10/14". In four years, this photo will be 100 years old and the oldest thing I own. The top image is probably older but it's not dated].

I like purchasing wedding photos for this reason, because they do have that resonance, more than any other type of photo. Wedding photos also provide a fashion snapshot, and since then, I've gotten a couple from other eras as a study. Please, if you do come across really interesting old photos, could you buy them for me and I'll reimburse you? I'll pay up to $30 for a really good find, preferably dated and with interesting inscriptions (store prices tend to vary based on quality, size and age).