More antique shop finds

Check out my latest antique shop finds and share your thoughts.

Are you a collector? What objects interest you? How do you form your collections and pursue purchases? -- by theme? by what strikes you fancy at any given moment? a good value?

I have many small collections. My latest pursuit is old photographs. I choose those that are unusual or have a story to tell. I like evaluating how the images fit into history and try to glean information about the subjects. With some I feel an immediate connection. I have a small, but growing collection of mother and child images that fill this category.

I have recently begun collecting stereoscopic images to share with my daughter. We look in shops and on the Internet for images of places around the world that interest us. It is a great way to share a passion for history and photography while pursuing an educational activity with a young one.

Sometimes I purchase items specifically for archives and preservation classes. Though I suspect I am in a very small minority among collectors who are doing this! If I spot an unusual preservation issue or a type of document not represented in my collections I will try to purchase it as an example for future workshops.

See this interesting article, An Interview with 19th Century Photograph and Americana Collector Wes Cowan, for another perspective on collecting photos and antiques.