My aunt found this for sale on eBay. It’s a photo of my mom.
Who would ever want to buy that?!
-Mom
I want to buy that!
-Me
I think it’s kind of weird for newspapers to sell off their old images… especially since this photo was probably given to them by my mother in the first place. They probably said “hey do you have a photo we can use for this article?” And she said “oh sure! here’s one you can use!” And how do they figure out a price? What happens if it doesn’t sell? Do they throw it out? Great…now I have to set up Google alerts for my whole family.
And guess what….I bought it…..for 2 reasons:
1. I couldn’t bear for it to not sell and maybe end up in a dumpster.
2. I couldn’t bear for it to sell to someone who wasn’t me. Especially for $14.99. It’s worth way more than that. This isn’t a firesale.
P.S. They do get brownie points for calling her a “rare piece of history” because I think she is too. I even get a Certificate of Authenticity. I bet my mother even has the original newspaper article.
P.P.S. I did some searching and found some interesting articles about newspapers selling off their archives. Don’t get me wrong I think they have every right to sell off their photos if they took them…sure…but they didn’t take this one. I think it was my mother’s Tri-Delt sorority photo.
Read more:
Photo Archive Raking in $120K per Week Selling Old Newspaper Photos on eBay
John Rogers owns more photos than anyone, anywhere
The photo below is still my all time favorite though. Especially with Clark Kent in the background….
Your sister really looks like your mother.
I wouldnt be able to let that pass either.
It was a grear deal! You should hang it
In Boo’s room. 🙂
Beautiful picture! I’m glad you found it. Also, how fab is your mom’s dress in the last image?! 🙂
The randomness you experience slays me. I love it!
wow – I have a newspaper clipping of me when I was around 7 yrs old and it was my brownie troop – would LOVE to have the original pic! How did your Aunt find this? Do you search ebay for the newspaper that it was in?
This is crazy. I work with clients everyday to research and recover their photo collections. I too think it is really weird for newspapers to sell of their images – especially those that are not theirs to begin with. I am so glad you found this photo. I am going to have to know open up my searches to ebay and probably craiglist to help clients discover lost images!
Congratulations on your find! I had a similar situation. I found a 1921 photo on ebay which shows an entire student body sitting in front of their school. In the front row, there sits my father at the age of six. The price tag was hefty at approx. $120 (it is rather large, however…) but I knew I’d never forgive myself if I’d let it go.
Some things are indeed truly priceless. Enjoy your new treasure!
What a treasure. I was looking for information on my paternal grandfather, who died when my dad was in college. I ended up finding a postcard with his photo for sale on ebay of all places. The seller had bought it along with a bunch of other stuff from an antique store. $5 for the only photo I’ve ever seen of my grandfather!
A fellow baltimorian!!
Awww. Love that and love that Perry was named after your mom. Maiden names as kid names rock.
I didn`t know that it is possible to buy newspaper archives. I always thought that they are secret! But anyway if I would have found the photo of my mom I would definitely buy it too according to the same reasons as you!