Albums of photographs: disposal?

[ainslie]

I have a number of very heavy, Victorian and Edwardian albums of photographs of family members - unnamed!  Most are of high quality, probably taken by professionals.
Without names or any means of identifying the sitters, is there any point in keeping them, and would anyone such as antique dealers or charity shops be interested?  Views welcome.
A

[Ruskie]

You don't want them? 

I would think they would be very well worth keeping especially if they are photographs of family members even if you don't know who they are.  Do you have any other family who you could give the albums to who may appreciate them? Ideally they should stay in the family I think.

They are quite collectable if you plan on selling them, though it is difficult to give an estimate without knowing the quality of the albums and the photographs. A dealer would not give you much for them so you would be better off selling them yourself. have a look on some of the sites such as ebay to get some idea of what they sell for.

I think the majority of rootschatters would not entertain the thought of getting rid of such valuable family treasures, but each to his own I suppose. 

[Treetotal]

I have a number of very heavy, Victorian and Edwardian albums of photographs of family members - unnamed!  Most are of high quality, probably taken by professionals.
Without names or any means of identifying the sitters, is there any point in keeping them, and would anyone such as antique dealers or charity shops be interested?  Views welcome.
A

Oh no....Don't get rid of them Ainslie  ...they represent your families social history. You may not know who they are now, but that's not to say that you won't identify them in time to come. You may make contact in the future with distant rellies who may know who some of them are.
If they were mine, I would catalogue and group them by area as they are sure to be related.  Have them dated on the photo board as this can help finding marriages and children's births to match up with photos, also look for similar features between sitters. Look for jewellery or items of clothing that may be in photos in different generations.

You will get and idea of value if you look on ebay.

I would kill to have what you have.

Carol

[ainslie]

The albums have come to me from relatives who do not want them and like me cannot identify the subjects.  I have ideas about ages but there no clues like furniture, background pictures or scenery.
I’ll mull over both your replies, thanks.

A

[carom]

Like you I was given a couple of Victorian albums. One of the things that helped me was to look for the photographer's name and studio address. A couple of times I managed to pinpoint the date of the photo having found that the studio was only in that location for two years.
It's time consuming and dependent on your level of interest, but I've identified quite a few of mine.

[Viktoria]

If you ever look at them again I honestly feel you will see family likenesses.
As has been mentioned I too would give a lot to have photographs ,even if not
aware who they are.
I treasure an old album of no connection to me personally,but of ancestors of local people.
One family I know and the resemblance is striking but they had no interest at all.
There is one however of an author of s book of local history,minister of the
Church.His book is so rare it would sell for thousands,
I will give that to the local heritage society in my will.
Oh Even without identification I am envious.
Viktoria.









Nelly

[ainslie]

Thank you for more comments.  With all your encouragement I have had a closer look at one of the albums, which has the name of my gt-grandfather stamped near the front.
The photos are all cartes de visite and most are tightly sprung into slots, with no access from the edge of the pages.
A few are loose enough to be coaxed out and show, so far, one name which is not from any part of my family tree, with the year 1861.  I have found that the man’s wife and daughter lived at Bolton in 1861, not far from Wigan, Lancs where the album’s owner lived.
Most photos have the photographer’s details on the reverse.  I am listing them and will be asking for help with dates. Is this the right place for the query?
A

[a-l]

If only we were all so lucky to have what you have . I can't believe you would consider disposing of them 
It's your family and everything would be lost forever !

[clairec666]

If you have no way of identifying any of the people, and get no pleasure from looking at the albums.... then get rid of them if you want, it's up to you.

Personally, I like looking at fashion, hairstyles, furniture etc. in the photos, so I like looking at them even if I don't know who's in them.

If you have photos of family groups, KEEP THEM. Sometimes you can work out who's who from the ages/genders of the children. It's a lot of fun if you like a puzzle.