July 22, 2010
Old Photographs
An old photograph
In the small town on Lake Michigan, where we have our cottage, there is a captivating antique store.
The store is located downtown, on two floors of a large old building. Different vendors equip their own spaces, so there is a wide selection of styles, periods, and tastes represented.
Almost every time we stay at the cottage, I visit the store. Most times I don’t buy anything. But I walk around and look at old things, things with history.
There is furniture – fragile side tables from the mid eighteenth century, dented heavy oak library reading tables, ornately carved bookshelves.
Fine home-made lace and soft, embroidered tablecloths from the 1950’s.
Shabby chic linens and pillows.
Rows and rows of out-of-print books.
Etherial German and English bone china.
Glassware of all colors, shapes and sizes.
Paintings – original oil and watercolor landscapes by local artists, ink drawings and reproductions of flower etchings.
And then the photographs. Beautifully printed individual and family portraits of serious children, newlyweds in formal attire, multi-generational families in their Sunday best. I look at their faces, study their eyes and dazzled expressions, wonder about their lives. Where are they now? Why are their photos in an antique store?
I hope they had good, long and happy lives.
Gracious Living - Day by Day 