A quick update

Well, not had much time to udate this blog recently. Been uploading a lot more cards and I am aiming at having 1000 by the end of January.
Its difficult when sorting through my cards which ones to upload and which ones to leave. I did promise myself that I would put all of them on Flickr apart from the really damaged ones but I just can`t help being a bit selective.

Coming up to 13000 views on the site now so that is very pleasing. Also I have recently purchased some very nice cards. My recent favourite is this one showing people on a horse and carriage outside St Petrocs Boarding House in Ilfracome, North Devon. Thanks to one of my contacts I was able to discover the exact name of the house shown on the card.



I have also been contacted by the Curator of Photographic Technology at the National Media Museum in Bradford. He is staging an exhibition next year on Street and Beach Photography and I have agreed in principle to lend him some of my cards. I will update on that later next year.

With Christmas just around the corner I will not be doing too much on Flickr but early in the new year I shall be striving to hit the magic 1000 images uploaded.

A stroke of luck !

I have just recently received two separate lots of cards that I won on an online auction. They were both from the same seller and as I was sorting through them I discovered two cards of the same family but each of these cards was in a different lot. Now, if I hadn`t have won both lots these two cards would have been separated for ever. This would have been a tragedy as they show a families children growing up.
So, any postcard dealers reading this please take note...try and sort through your lots and try and keep any related cards together. It is important as I think we all have a responsibility to the people and families depicted on these cards.

Read about these children on my Flickr site.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

A bit of a mystery !

I have noticed that one of my cards has attracted a lot of interest over the last few days and I am trying to work out why !
It is a nice card but I can`t work out why it has had over 300 views in such a short space of time.

The photo was taken on Bank Holiday 1914 so if this was August Bank Holiday it may be linked to the outbreak of World War One as Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914 and as we have just had Rememberance Sunday it could possibly explain the interest shown. Other than that I am mystified !

Past the 10,000

Well, today the views on my Photostream at Flickr have past the 10,000 mark which is pleasing to me as it makes all the scanning and uploading worthwhile. I am pleased that people like to look at these pictures from the past and gives me encouragement to continue with this project.

Oh no ! Another Favourite....

Just when I thought I had chosen my favourite card of the last few days another one turns up in the post !!
This is close to the top of my favourite card list. Check out the details on my Flickr site. Link below..


Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Favourite card of the last few days

I have purchased a few cards over the last few days and some arrived at the weekend. Out of them all this is my favourite card from the last few days.
Although the poor horse looks to be in a sorry state ( I have a feeling its not real anyway ) this photo is a real piece of social histry.



Currently 9445 views on my photostream at Flickr

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Colourizing my black and white photos

Well I have just received a mail from the guy who asked if he could colourize some of my black & white postcards to tell me that he has completed some and overall I am pleased with the result. It does bring them to life and although I prefer the original black and white image it has been interesting to see what these people may have really looked like at the time. I have uploaded the images here.
What do you think ?






Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Colourizing my black and white photos

I had an interesting email the other day about my photos on Forgotten Faces. It was from a fellow Flickr member who likes to restore and colourize black and white photos. He has asked me if he can colourize some of my photos and gave me the link to his web site where he displays the end result.

Well, I had a look and must say that I was very impressed. The colour, in most cases is very natural and does seem to bring the photos to life. Although I prefer the original black and white image I have given permission for this person to colourize some. It will be interesting to see the results and I will upload them to this blog.

Check out his pictures here

This is just one image that I have borowed to put on here...






Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Currently 8619 views on my photostream at Flickr

The most popular card on my photostream

Flickr keeps track of all the views and comments made on your uploaded images and gives you a list of the most popular. There is an overall " most popular " based on the amount of views each picture gets and the amount of comments left and there is a " most popular " just based on views alone.
The most popular card on Forgotten Faces is the one shown here and it comes out on top in both scenarios.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

My favourite card of the week

Just been having a look at some of the cards I have uploaded to Flickr over the last few days and have decided that this is my favourite card of the week. They look so relaxed and so naturally happy. Two very attractive ladies in their own way.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Time and money

I know I have said it before but it takes so long to scan, upload, describe and tag a batch of postcards. I just wish I could could spend longer each day on this project. However computers can be pretty anti social and my other half has already said that when I am on here I am in a world of my own !! She is right of course and that is why I try and limit myself to just an hour or so a day.
Imagine what it would be like if I was doing this for a living...heaven !!

When I first started collecting these cards it seemed that I was the only one interested in them but over the last few months they have been harder to get at a bargain price. I try to buy bulk lots other than the odd nice card that is being sold on its own and you could get 40 to 50 cards for £4 or £5 but now you could pay up to £15 to £20 for the same cards. Buying them at postcard fairs is even more expensive.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

More uploads

Well, over the last couple of days I have managed to get a few more postcards scanned and uploaded to Flickr. There has been a steady interest in the new Vintage Seaside group and I have also managed to put a few more on there as well.
I will be pressing on this week with more scanning and uploading and apart from buying the odd card or two I think I will wait now untill I have worked my way through the cards that I have before buying any more ! ( famous last words ! ).

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Sidetracked !

Well, despite saying the new group on Flickr should look after itself I have been sidetracked these last couple of days answering posts and looking at pictures that members have uploaded. We are up to 22 members now and it seems to be a popular subject.

I will get back to Forgotten Faces soon and my scanner will be whirring again !

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

A New Group on Flickr

Well, despite the fact that I have so much to do on Forgotten faces I have just created a group on Flickr called Vintage Seaside

Old seaside photos and postcards of people on holiday are favourites of mine so thought it might be a good idea to start this group.

I think the it will pretty much look after itself and I will drop by every day for a quick look just to make sure everything is in order.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

My Last Post

Not sure if I like the layout of my last post about Post Mortem Photography. Looks a bit stretched out and needs tidying up so I will have a look at that later.

I did say ealier this week that I would try and scan and upload around 10 postcards every day but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. On the other hand if I upload too many in a short space of time they get buried and not seen by as many people. The pictures on the first page of the photostream seem to get more hits than those on later pages so it might be an idea to leave some time between uploading batches.

I really must spend some time looking at my contacts pictures. People make you a contact because they like the images in your collection so I should make a big effort to check out their pictures. So, maybe at some point this weekend I will devote some time to that.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Post Mortem Photography

Some while ago a comment was left on one of my pictures suggesting that the image could in fact be a post mortem photograph. I always thought that this picture of a baby did not look quite right and I think that the suggestion may well be correct.

I may well be doing this image , seen above, a great injustice but it is a possibility.

Facinated by the thought of grieving parents taking their recently deceased child to the photographers for that final photograph I did some research on this subject.

In Victorian and early Edwardian times the infant mortality rate was high and in fact life expectancy in general was far less than it is today. Parents may not have had their child photographed when they were alive and in the event of a sudden death would have rushed the body along to a photographers to have a photograph taken as a reminder of their child.
Some of these photographs were tastefully done showing the obviously deceased child laying on a bed surrounded by flowers and apparently asleep. However, if the family did not have a photograph of their child or family member when they were alive they would instruct the photographer to give the impression that the deceased was still alive at the time of the photograph.

One of the first parts of the body to deteriorate after death are the eyes and many photographers became expert at painting false eyes on to closed eye lids. Some photographers were more skilled than others at this macabre task.









The picture on the left shows how this skill has been applied and the photograph has even been tinted to achieve a more "alive" look.















This next picture shows a young deceased boy who has been strapped to the chair for the photograph.










When the deceased were older much greater ingenuity was used to give the impression that they were alive in the photograph. Frames were built to support the deceased and supporting rods would be inserted through the back of their clothing.

In this next picture the girl in the middle of the photograph is dead and is supported by a frame behind her.

The woman in the middle of this final picture is also dead and is being supported by what could be her sisters.

I find this whole subject macabre, gruesome, spooky but totally facinating !

If you would like to see more of this subject then I have discovered a web site that features many post mortem photographs so just click the link below to visit. It is a kind of photo sharing site that you can register with for free and then be able to download any pictures you want.

Post Mortem Photography Site

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

What would they have thought ?

I sometimes wonder what the people shown on the cards would have thought had they known that one day their images would be broadcast around the world on the internet ( not that they would have known what the internet was of course ! )

Would they have been happy about this or maybe have prefered for their pictures to remain private...who knows but I hope that wherever they are now they don`t mind.

Its a shame that there is not more information on the back of these cards. If you are lucky you may get a first name and a location but generally they are mostly blank so maybe this is a lesson to us today to make sure that all of our family photographs are labelled in someway so later generations will be able to identify and record the people shown on the photographs.

Auction update

Well, I didn`t win the cards on ebay :o(
Nevermind, I still have loads to get on with and I did receive 4 very nice cards today in the post that I recently won so all is not lost. The card on the left is my favourit one of the 4. See the rest on my Flickr site.

Forgotten Faces on Flickr

More cards

Just put a bid in for 120 people cards on ebay. They look a nice lot. I will not be around when the auction ends so I will not be able to "snipe" them in the last seconds so I will have to wait and see what happens.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Started again !

Well, as promised ( to myself that is ) I have spent a little time today getting a few more cards scanned and uploaded to Flickr. Only 10 mind you but its a start. If I can do this every day this week I will be well pleased.

My problem is that I work night shift and by the time I get up I don`t have a great deal of time left in the day. The trouble with computers is they are a bit anti social and to be fair to my other half I don`t really want to be sat in front of the screen all day...she wouldn`t let me anyway !

Anyway, I got things on the move again so watch this space !

Forgotten Faces on Flickr

The odd gem !

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Originally uploaded by Forgotten Faces

I get most of my postcards from ebay and usually in bulk lots. This can be a bit hit and miss but thats the fun of it cos you never know what you are going to get !
I have found over the past months that no matter how dissapointing a batch of cards may be there is always one that makes it worthwhile.

This card is one of them ! although I must say that the rest of this batch was very good.

I just love this card. There are some 50 people posing in the main group with many more behind in the woods. There is a perfect example of how difficult early photography was with a double exposure on the little boy on the left of the front row. The variety of clothes is exceptional and all that remains is to wonder what the occasion was and where the picture was taken.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

To be selective or not ??

The problem I have at the moment is the sheer volume of postcards to scan and upload and not really having much time to do it so I have started to be selective in what cards I choose.

Now, this is something that I am not happy about as my original intention was to record as many images of these people as possible regardless of the nature of the image. After all, it would be wrong to exclude pictures just because they are not as attractive as others. So, as I write this I have made up my mind to revert to the original plan...its just going to take longer especially as I have now started this blog !!

Starting Monday I will start ploughing my way through my ever - increasing stockpile of cards and try to get things moving again ... famous last words !

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

Why Flickr ?

When I first decided to go ahead with this project I needed some web space to show these images but I really could not be bothered to start designing web pages to support the pictures so I stumbled on Flickr. I was impressed from the start and the interactive nature of the site made my mind up.
I originally went for the free option but as I wanted to separate all of the images into different catagories it soon became clear that I would need the " Pro " option. This gave me unlimited "Sets" and at £12 for a years subscription seemed very reasonable.
So, thats why !

Forgotten Faces at Flickr

A bit about Forgotten Faces

It just seemed a shame that all of these old postcards were destined to be hidden away in postcard dealers boxes. These were real people going about their lives many years ago and perhaps there are no longer any family connections left.
So, I created Forgotten Faces on Flickr, a place where those that are interested can come along and meet these people from the past and this is the postcard that started it all...



I have over 500 images on the site at the moment with hundreds more still to scan and upload.
Sometimes I need a bit of motivation to keep going with it so I will use this blog to record my thoughts and progress on the subject and hopefully will provide the distraction needed to keep the project fresh.

Forgotten Faces at Flickr