Shoebox of old photos
A few years ago after my grandmother passed away, my mother began to empty her closet one day when, to her surprise, found an old shoebox tucked away in the corner. It was as if it had been neglected. Perhaps she had forgotten about it? The box contained several vintage photographs, some torn and scratched, but all of the images were slowly fading away. We were never able to figure out who the people were in the photographs. With my grandmother now gone, we will probably never know the stories told in these old dusty photos…
Or will we?
This got me wondering. Are there other people out there that have photographs they were never able to solve? Where do they go to seek help? Who do you talk to? They could hire a photo detective, but costs can be in the thousands.
The more I thought this over, I wondered, wouldn’t it be great if there was a place one could turn to for help in solving photo mysteries? Perhaps an easy-to-use website where one could upload a photo and harvest the power of a global audience that may know something about your photograph? They may not know who is in the photograph, but they may spot a building in the photo or a type of uniform that was only worn in a certain time period. Perhaps the way a bowtie was worn was common in the 1920s but not so much in modern times. Perhaps a Model T automobile can shine light on when the photograph was taken.
All these are clues and a clue is all it takes to set the puzzle in motion. As the creator of dustyfoto.com, it is also my hope that this website will help you solve the mysteries of your own photos or, perhaps you can aid in helping another solve theirs.