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There's something magical about seeing the past through the lens of a glass negative. These delicate, often forgotten images were created long before digital cameras and instant gratification – each one a labor of love, meticulously crafted and carefully preserved. Many of these glass plates sat untouched for decades in attics, basements, and historical societies, their secrets only now being revealed through modern scanning technology.
They offer a glimpse into everyday life, momentous events, and forgotten faces from a world long gone. From bustling city scenes to intimate family portraits, these rare snapshots capture a time when photography was a precious art form. This unique collection of 55 photographs, rescued from the brink of oblivion, offers both striking beauty and a poignant reminder of the fragility of memory.
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#1
Electric Sidewalk Car In Venice, Los Angeles, Ca.1920
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#2
Howard Brady With "My Maryland", May 15 1926
#3
Ramallah Woman, Between 1898 And 1914
#4
This Is Young Master Stephenson Of (Possibly) Castlane, Carrick-On-Suir, Co. Tipperary, January 8, 1907
#5
Inga Berentz And Bjorn Hallden, Undated Photo, Circa 1903
#8
Schofield, Gen. J.m., Between 1873 And 1890
#9
Magna Lykseth As Isolde In Tristan Och Isolde At Kungliga Opera, Scanned Glass Negative, 1909
#10
Rosa Grünberg And Emma Meissner, Actors, Circa 1905
#11
American Red Cross Worker Who Wants To Make Friends With A Little Refugee Just Arrived At The American Red Cross Canteen At The Gare De L'est, Where All Refugees Coming To The Station Are Fed Free Of Charge, Cared For And Helped On Their Way, 7 June 1918
#12
Miss Elisabeth Steinbeck As Queen Of The Long Branch Carnival
#14
James H. Preston, Mayor Of Baltimore, Holding Paper "1918; Apr. 2; Prize National Creed Contest; $1,000.00, Between 1916 And 1919
#18
Cisneros, Count, Portrait Photograph, 28 Feb. 1919
#20
Rev. Dunbar, Between 1855 And 1865
#22
Digital Positive From A Lovely Early Wet Plate Collodion Glass Negative
#26
Sweeney, W.w., Between January 1891 And January 1894
#28
Coutouly, Five And One Half Years Of Age, 3 June 1918
#30
Studio Portrait Of Woman Holding Infant, Family Name Possibly Henson, Between 1904 And 1937
#31
This Is The Fitzgerald Family Of Otteran Place, Waterford City, 2 January 1915
#32
Early Portrait Of A Victorian Lady (Detail) - Glass Wet Plate Collodion Negative, Suspecting 1860s
#34
Miss Bille Burke, Rotary Photo
Dorma Hughes 7 months ago
Billie Burke, widow of Flo Ziegfeld, Jr., played Glinda the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz.
#36
Lind, John. Governor Of Minnesota, 1899-1901
#39
Vice President And Mrs. Marshall, 1913
Michael Largey 7 months ago
"There once were two brothers. One ran away to sea. The other became vice president of the United States. Nothing of either one of them was ever heard again." - Thomas Marshall
#42
Ames Deshler, Bust Portrait, Facing Front; Repr. Of Photo In Uniform, Between 1861 And 1863
#43
Pauline Brunius At The Swedish Theatre Association's Market "Autumn Sun" In The Centralbadet Tennis Halls, 1904
#47
Group At Reflecting Pool, Lincoln Memorial In Background, Washington, D.c., 1922
#48
Irish-American Suffrage Activist Margaret Hinchey, Who Also Served As Head Of The Laundry Workers Union Of New York, 3 February 1914
#51
Boland, J.b., Between August 1905 And January 1909
#52
Schofield Baby Circle, Between January 1891 And January 1894
#54
Thorne - Van De Vyere - Mrs. De Wiart - De Cartier - De Wiart, Between Ca. 1910 And Ca. 1915
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What do you think ?
Serena Myers 7 months ago
I am well aware that we are all capable of googling, but some context would have been helpful here?
Serena Myers 7 months ago
I am well aware that we are all capable of googling, but some context would have been helpful here?
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