Those who have followed us through the years know how we love old ephemera ... and photographs are more than a story ... they capture feelings, smiles, frowns, tragedy, love, special moments and more ... Well today, August 19th, has been declared World Photo Day. Why World Photo Day? World Photo Day is an international photography event on August 19 th that celebrates the passion for photography in our communities. In a world where millions of pictures are uploaded every minute, World Photo Day is inspiring thousands of photographers across the planet to share a single photo with a simple purpose: To share their world with the world. From everyday life to incredible landscapes, our global gallery is an evolving mosaic of images captured by photographers of all skills levels living in a diverse range of countries and cultures. No matter who you are, where you are or what equipment and skills you have, World Photo Day can help open your eyes to the possibilities of phot...

We have a lot of vintage photographs at Vintages ... from mundane families sitting on a couch to proud photos of the "new" car to the kids riding on a pony. These are all great for many reasons and the plans people have for them are quite interesting. Some just like them ... others frame them ... crafty folks use them in collages, scrapbooks, altered art and mixed-media creations ... teachers and authors have used them as props to tell stories ... and a couple have made fantasy family trees! When in NYC a couple of years ago we saw a museum exhibit filled with jewelry made using old photographs . Pretty amazing! I just listed a number of old cabinet card photos, mainly of children, on Lopaka Designs Vintage Collection . We also have quite a few photos listed on our antiques site . Of course, we have hundreds in our Los Gatos shop that are not online. Here are the ones that were just listed ... all from the 1880s and 1890s. Gotta love photos of kids and dogs ... bu...

Fantastic Folk Art Frame with WWI photograph of German soldiers at "Skat Club Hummel Montauban 1914-1915" . This handcrafted folk art wooden frame is wonderfully hand painted with four different panels. The two sides have soldiers in full dress. The bottom panel is a fairly detailed village scene. The top has a banner that reads: 1914 Errinnerungan Montauban 1915 .  There is a paper label on the back that reads: Verdun-Meuse Offensive October 1918 - Hun Soldiers . The photo appears to be of German soldiers in 1915 that were captured in the Verdun Offensive. The derogatory term of Hun for the Germans indicates they were captured in the Verdun Offensive.   The frame measures about 9" x 11". Priced at $250 online and in our Los Gatos shop.

  Don't mess with this lady! I just had to share this photo. She's ready for hunting ... with her shotgun, ammo sash and hunting dogs. This is probably early 1900s vintage. Great photo ... I'll share more from time-to-time.

Did you miss the Shirlie Montgomery: Picturing San Jose Since 1938 exhibit last year at History San Jose? The folks over at HSJ have reformatted the exhibit into an on-line exhibit through their partnership with Google Cultural Institute. HSJ archivist Cate Mills did a great job. Check it out, you will enjoy it. It includes some unique views of San Jose and the Valley of Hearts Delight from the middle half of the 1900s. Breaking news, politics, local color, celebrities, wrestling ... plus a video of Opening Day at Candlestick Park in 1960 -- SF Giants v St Louis Cardinals You might also like other blog posts about this San Jose icon who passed away in November 2012 at the age of 94 years young.

Tara Cronin of Kent Avenue Photography shot this gorgeous photograph of one of our silver dessert forks. Her photography studio is near us in Campbell. Tara's Facebook page sums up her approach: Lifestyle portraiture with a fine art approach to capturing natural light, layered color and pure emotion! Currently based in the Bay Area and seasonally in beautiful New England. Couldn't agree more. Eat Cake for Breakfast ... why not? Wild Rose Pattern by International Silver She borrowed the fork from a beautiful set of sterling silver with a lovely rose pattern. The pattern is Wild Rose and was introduced in 1948 by International Silver. It is as fresh and elegant today as it was over sixty years ago. Thank you Tara for making our elegant antique silver service look absolutely yummy!

Early 1900s 5x7 Glass Plate Bellows Camera Vintage cameras are really a lot of fun. Old fashioned film and camera photography is a lost skill nowadays. Film and developing and printing resources can still be found. However, most vintage cameras lead the life of decorative accessories in offices and dens, residing on bookshelves, in display cases and collection cabinets. They do make a wonderful statement. Old photographs are great for decorating and for mixed-media artwor. We have lots of them. We have recently acquired a large collection of cameras and photography accessories ... from old Brownies to more contemporary 35mm SLR cameras and even a couple of miniature or spy cameras. For the most part these cameras appear to be functional ... they are mechanically sound and clean, but we have not actually taken photographs with them. The accessories range from darkroom gadgets to lenses and filters to flashbulb attachments. Fun stuff. You have got to see this stuff. Come ...

Weddings are such a happy event. From the first availability of commercial photography, couples have been commemorating their special day with photographs. Early photos, tintypes or cabinet cards, were almost always posed portraits due to the length of exposure times, but also because that was the custom of the day. By the mid-1900s photos showing the happy couple walking down the aisle, skipping down the stairs, or rushing off to the chariot to speed away on their honeymoon became more common. However, the posed photographs of the couple and of the whole wedding party continue to this day ... with both still and video images. Over the years we have stocked a nice selection of these old photographs. I love them because they tell a story. The wedding gown. The hair. The flowers. The jewelry. They all tell something about the bride and her times. Some even have the photographer's information embossed on the photo. Others have the names of the happy couple on the back. Take a loo...

Old photographic images intrigue me. It is amazing that so many of them are still around. Most of the images are still crisp and clear, though many are faded or have taken on sepia tones. But that's OK with me. Just makes them look old. In doing my family history (an undertaking that can be fully consuming of time and emotions) I have found relatives who ha ve literally boxes of old pictures of our family. Tiny ones, torn ones, faded ones, unknown ones! It's like solving mysteries. In the shop we have hundre ds of old photographic images ... cabinet photos, carte de visites (CDV), tintypes, portraits, action shots and more. Just like with my own family photos, I get excited when I find writing on the photo. Sometimes it's a name. Sometimes it's a story. Sometimes just a date. Along with clues in the images like cars, signs, fashion and such, these help co nnect other photos , other people and other times together. Here are some recently acquired ph otos alo...