"WWI Photos Saved from Garbage by Refuse Collector" Topic

It has been on before…but it's worth a second look ! It is amazing to think how much must have gone to landfill in all the other towns and cities (or just different collection routes).

Too much grief is given here about things being posted before. It always annoy me that SOME PEOPLE (and you know who you are) seem to think that once it has been on TMP, even back in 2010, that it may never come up again.
Ptui on that I say. PTUI!

If you could not find it, it is because the title was not all that relevant.
Post away to your hearts content. As many times on the same topic as you want.
It is still a fascinating article.

I have a co-worker who buys photo collections offered on eBay and other collecting sites in order to save them for posterity. He's gotten many that the kids and relatives of a WW1 or WW2 veteran don't want any more.

Jim

Agree with all the above sentiments, these are, so poignant statements of all our forefathers and their sacrifices no matter which side they were on. The shall not be forgotten.

I had never thought of this happening, but of course it does, for old soldiers from all wars. It boggles my mind to think of how much valuable original source material must have been trashed by loved ones, relatives, care takers, or whomever unknowingly (or not) throwing it out. Doesn't that make you cringe?

As a collector of the self-same kind of photos and PPCs that he rescued, yes, it literally makes me queasy. I think they all have an inherent value as memorial of those who went to war. The fact that most were made as keepsakes for family members makes them more poignant.

From the academic and/or pedantic point of view, these photos are evidence of the uniforms and insignia worn during the period. In the latter case especially, they are still a valuable source of clarification. In terms of crass commercialism, they are also worth some money. Most will only fetch a few dollars, but scarcer units and rare insignia bump up the price by quite a bit. The genuine rarities can get ridiculously expensive.