#S.O.S #Surplus #Stuff #Amy #Moyer #Photo #Albums #WorthPoint
Having a hard time picturing what to do with all your old photo albums, whether they are from last year or 100 years ago? Read one to learn which of your S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff): Photo Albums to save and preserve and which ones to donate and sell.
Photo Albums: The Saddest Sight at Estate Sales
Almost everyone has photo albums lying around, whether tucked away in the attic or in a prime spot on a bookshelf. While some of these albums are pertinent to today’s times and people, like baby photos of a kiddo still under your roof, other albums may be much older and more befuddling in personal value.
Perhaps you have a family photo album from one specific grandparent’s side of the family from the 1930s or 1940s, with one or two incredible photos of said grandparent as a child or teen. This type of photo is definitely worth saving, but what about the rest of the album containing reams of photos of unidentified relatives? Yes, it may be time to get rid of some of these.
You see, I come upon some of these old albums at just about every estate sale I attend as a reseller. They have likely ended up in the sale because no one in the family can identify the folks in the photos, or they have already clipped out the photos they want to save.
These old albums, once carefully assembled and undoubtedly cherished for years, have now become fodder for a whole-house liquidation and possibly end up in the dumpster if they don’t sell by the end of the day. It is one of the saddest sights I see at estate sales—the literal disposal of a family’s history in the form of chucked old S.O.S. (Surplus Old Stuff): Photo Albums.
Take Steps Today to Preserve Family History
So what to do? I highly recommend taking steps today and now to preserve a family’s history in photographs. If you have albums carefully labeled with names, dates, and locations, you are in luck and have an easy job sorting those to keep. However, if you have albums full of photos that are simply unlabeled, consult with your family “elders” before making rash decisions.
Holidays such as Thanksgiving are the perfect time to do this, as those elders have likely made an effort to travel and arrive at the hosting family’s house to participate in the holiday. Next time, bring an album or two and get some names, locations, and hard data to add to your unlabeled photo albums.
Even if you add the information to the albums without making any “keep/discard” decisions, you are ahead of the game compared to when you arrive with stacks of photos of unknown relatives.
Disney to Halloween: Old Photos with Value
Once you are at a point of making “keep/discard” decisions for your albums, consider the possible resale value of the albums themselves, the many photographs within them, and even the individual photos. Plenty of craftspeople and artisans are constantly seeking “vintage albums” to work with, often to fill with their own artwork or scrapbooking efforts.
Those antique dark brown photo albums filled with black paper and bound with string are always desirable, and even more contemporary 20th-century examples remain in demand.
Vintage and antique photo collectors are a vibrant and active group today. It is very easy to simply list and sell a “lot of vintage photos” on the secondary marketplace with good results. If you do this, be sure to elaborate as much as you can on the date and location of the photographs. For instance, a lot of “1960’s Disneyworld” photos would attract collectors not just of vintage photos but also mid-century style and Disney park collectors. Other popular attributes to look for in old photos include animals such as cats and dogs, Americana sights and attractions, and holidays such as Halloween.
Tips for Today’s Photo Albums
Unlike the “olden days,” where folks had cameras with film holding 12 or 24 exposures, today we are drowning in digital photographs, with the average smartphone user storing a whopping 2795 photos on their camera roll. Whoa! While this sounds overwhelming, I still recommend that families print out at least a handful of photos to put in albums for prosperity and for when the current technology becomes outdated.
Once you’ve printed a few pictures, be sure to label them as well as you can, but at least with names and dates. If you can add something “extra” like, “This is a photo of Bobby when he insisted on dressing up as Thor for Halloween and came home with 20 lbs of candy,” I can assure you that future family members will not only appreciate the information but also guard those photos from the “discard” pile at the family estate sale!
Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
