Old typewriters
I shoot old typewriters and Republicans too. Oops! Did I just type that? No no no, I say, I did not type that. I get three views of a typewriter now: top down, keys, and logo view. I shoot sewing machines and adding machines. I shoot Republicans too, if you would count Ginny… with a camera! Duh! Telephones? Not so much. Who has one any more? – roatary, touch dial, and no key. I once had a 4 digit phone number when we lived in Elkins. And the operator came on the line to connect you whenever you picked up the receiver. My my, that’s old. None of our kids currently has a hard line phone. We ditched ours years back when we got rid of the cable TV company for poor service. It’s all iPhone nowadays. Wow! Suddenly, it is unusual for anyone we talk with to not have an Apple phone. Yes, there are plenty, but they must mostly be Republican.
Not done
Sign – in 14 languages. Are there universal signs? You know, signs that will start a fight in any country? What’s with the glass skulls? – healing, psychic abilities, and power over death. Oh. Aha! Old phone, old clock, gotta have one. Got one?!
And, Ruth Lyons? Never heard of her…the owner of the booth gave Colleen a long rundown on her career. Longgg…explanation. Who’s Ruth? The group album – in the middle – duh! But I found another album with just her a few booths later. Hmmm, popular in her time, so quickly forgotten.
Old stuff
Patience. If you are patient and wait antiques will present themselves at a “right” price. Old camera? Argus C3, my mother had one. It was the first camera I used when I won the Golden Horseshoe in West Virginia and took utterly bad BxW photos at the event. I had no clue how to use the camera. So old, the camera is not worth much, hence it must be bargain priced to consider purchasing.
Just about anything old can be found. A gas pump? Thank goodness we never collected rolling pins. Old violin. Our granddaughter has begun playing… Tea pots, beer steins, Santa, old European phone…?
Typewriter?…looks like elephant ears. I have to admit I like a bargain. I like the thrill of the find. And I am thoroughly bemused that one might wake up in the morning and say, “Let’s go out and buy an old gas pump today!” No no, Budweiser steins are not particularly collectable. West German steins are more commonly admired. Everything has an audience and a buy it would seem. Yes, there was a booth with many empty beer cans. Ugh!
Typewriter? I have never seen one the likes of this one. Ebay? Internet? Sure, probably easy to find. Ha ha. They are called “bat wing” style – two, right now, on Ebay. Don’t miss out!?
What’s new?
Cameras? Colleen reads spinning and weaving – looms and spinning wheels. She follows new products and pines for that next new… wheel. Me? Cameras. I read the reviews and follow the innovations that make things easier/better to get the “shot.” Lately, there have been a host of new equipment releases. Nothing is shattering or a game changer. Ha ha, no wheels, no cameras. There’s nothing new to note. That is there is no camera pining around here for me. Colleen and I both recall having our very own Gilbert microscopes when we were younger. Telephone? We had one when an operator answered when you picked up the receiver in the days when our phone number was four digits. Singer sewing machine? Typewriter? Today – I live near the beach, have eight cats, and attend opening receptions at the museum. I don’t have a new camera. But, the ones I have do quite nicely. Looking back and now, I believe Colleen and I have very nice memories past and present. I am especially happy to say she is my present wife.
Early forays
I have never been in many antique stores before I was with Colleen. No longer. I have been in antique stores across the US and the world, now. In our early days of getting to know one another, we were pretty innocent. Anything goes/went. Now, we avoid curated antique stores and equally we avoid junk shops. You would know one or the other if you saw it. I still shoot (photograph) typewriters. My first phone as a kid had no numbers. Ha ha. You picked up the receiver and the operator answered.
Custom and practice
I prepare posts in advance. It allows me the space to compose and create and pick photos from my catalog. A few posts got away (published in advance) on Nov 30. My bad. I did not pay attention to the publish date. Jules told me a long time ago, too much was a waste. So, I did not and do not post multiples per day since her admonishment. Ha ha. Another, non sequitur. We hang out in antique stores. This one is somewhere in Missouri. Yes, Dorothy, we have traversed Kansas too. It’s somewhere around St Louis. I won’t go into details about how I know. And, you cannot tell (where we are) either. Old phone? With dial or without!? I bet there are many folks who have never seen this kind of phone. I shoot typewriters, too. This is the model I typed all my college term papers on – usually at about 3AM in the morning. Remedies? What will they put in a bottle. And, some have patents as well?! Geez! Toilet cream makes me laugh. No, I have never used it. But, in the misunderstanding of terms, it makes for a great juvenile joke among pre-teens. Yeah, there’s a little Peter Pan in me, still.
Switch
The things I see; the things people collect’ the things that show up as “rescued;” the things someone will try to sell…oh my!
It’s an old telephone switchboard. Don’t ask. I don’t know how to work it. I know what it’s for. I grew up with a phone that you picked up the receiver and spoke to the operator who then put you through to your party. Yeah, they called it a “party.” Don’t ask. Back then I had a phone number with four digits. They added the three number exchange later. In West Virginia, we got 636-xxxx. It was quite a surprise to see that exchange is the most common even now. This all happened in the ‘60’s when I was a kid. Yes, ancient times.
Dated
Progress occurs and before you know it your photo is historic. Sure we’re older. But that’s a portable phone in my hand. The hardline phone no longer restricted movement around the home. And then cellphones became commonplace. My kids don’t even have a hard wire phone in their homes. We still have a portable phone somewhere about. Why bother, the cellphone service has replaced the technology. Records, CD’s, DVD’s …
photobackstory 