A Massive Trove of Cameras in a Storage Facility

[Retro-Grouch]

I used to think that if I’d had children I could pass down to them my collections, photos, and family history. A few years ago I realized my cousins’ children and grandchildren, of whom there are many, don’t care about anything that’s more than a few weeks old. So, I had been deluding myself.

So, the best we can do perhaps is donate our cameras to those who we feel would benefit or appreciate such a gift.

Most of us here on RFF are familiar with Chris Crawford's remarkable body of work documenting his home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana. At one point, I inquired about his plans for his collection; sadly, he reported that the local historical societies were not interested in acquiring his work. Perhaps that's changed. I hope so, but it doesn't make me optimistic about the ultimate future of my work or that of many others on this forum who work in a similar vein. Nevertheless, we soldier on!

 

[Archiver]

You could create a book on one of those sites like Blurb to archive all your family stories and photos. Give one to each of the siblings and their families, and then see if any of them would like to have the original photos. You could also make a version for presentation to a local historical society that doesn't delve as deeply into the family histories other than what's necessary to be informative of the times.

PF

I like this idea. @Godfrey has said once or twice that he prints a photobook, get an ISBN and files it with the Library of Congress (?) so there may be a similar way that I could self publish and file copies with the State Libraries and suburban libraries around Australia. This bears investigation, as it gives me pleasure to think of our stories and perhaps even my photography surviving in a publicly accessible place.

A type of book I collect is the topic of local history. I have quite a few books that have been written about the local history of different suburbs around Victoria, and of places like schools, churches and even golf courses. I think there was even a small hardback about the history of a local family, or that family's remembrances of a particular place in the early to mid 20th century.

 

[Pál_K]

Most of us here on RFF are familiar with Chris Crawford's remarkable body of work documenting his home town of Fort Wayne, Indiana. At one point, I inquired about his plans for his collection; sadly, he reported that the local historical societies were not interested in acquiring his work. Perhaps that's changed. I hope so, but it doesn't make me optimistic about the ultimate future of my work or that of many others on this forum who work in a similar vein. Nevertheless, we soldier on!

Chris’ commentary that accompanies the photos is equally as valuable. What’s needed is for the right person in these historical societies to recognize the value of the work - someone that cares and is not an administrator.

 

[Archiver]

Chris’ commentary that accompanies the photos is equally as valuable. What’s needed is for the right person in these historical societies to recognize the value of the work - someone that cares and is not an administrator.

Since my last reply, I've learned that in Australia, any book published for sale or free distribution should have a copy sent to the relevant State LIbrary and National Library, and they prefer electronic copies. There ought to be a similar scheme in America. If @Chriscrawfordphoto has the time, he could compile his photos and commentary into a book, or a series of books, that could be submitted to the Library of Congress a la @Godfrey . Chris might be able to have copies of his work filed with his local library, too.

As for my own work, this gives me some motivation to compile my work in book form and submit it to the State Library of Victoria and National Library of Australia.