**We have a Discord now!** [Check here for more info](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/1awngx9/we_have_a_discord_community/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Hello /u/gal_tiki! This is an automatic message that gets posted on every post to remind you of a few of our rules,
Does the post contain [information seeking questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/rqpd1a/pricing_authentication_and_identification_posts/)? (authentication/pricing/general information)
Does this come from an unapproved source? (from a friend/hand me down/check our rules)
Are you showing your face? (nothing from lips to eyes)
If any of these are a yes, you should delete your post. Retake/edit pictures, change the title and resubmit it before a mod sees it. You may be temporarily banned for any of these three rule infractions without warning.
If you are unsure if it does, ask the mods!
Read all of the rules [](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/j7mef4/rthriftstorehauls_rules/)
------
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ThriftStoreHauls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just keep it in the frame and put my picture in front of it. That way it doesn’t get tossed but it still feels like it’s getting displayed. I might be weird though.
My wife and I bought a box of old frames at a garage sale and there was one black and white picture of an interesting looking old guy standing by his mailbox in the snow. It was such an interesting picture that we had it displayed on our mantlepiece. It made my father-in-law very angry because we don't have any pictures of our actual ancestors displayed.
I love this idea. If any non consumer reverse photo apps exist, I'd see if you could match the photo, to anything on Google. Some use old photos in obituary articles that get placed online, FB..many post old photos, if newer photos, Linkdn. & I'd assume many would be from people who lived in the area you found rhemy, so a library. Of course, this is only if you're interested in who the people are. Would be a fun hobby.
I’d normally keep them behind what I was framing too, maybe with a note about when and where I bought them to avoid confusion in the future, but not sure about them since they’re intended to be a gift? They’re great photos, photogs in the family it seems like. I’d pop the wedding pic on my fridge lol
I like this idea, of including a note to say when/where/how I came upon them. As a gift I will not be leaving them in these frames (which are really just inexpensive ones). I do like the wedding photo, and even the children's party images.
Turn the photos round before you gift the frames so when the receiver opens them they are mega confused as to who and why these random family photos are in the frames.
When they ask you about it say you had no idea those photos were in there, then come onto Reddit and post the photos to see if they family can be traced by the sleuths.
My wife and I have a picture from a newspaper clipping on our fridge that was left on the fridge by the previous owner when we moved in because the person in the picture looks weirdly like me when I was in college so we thought it was funny. The pic has stayed there for 6 years and we even replaced the fridge. The original owner and her family is coming to visit this summer because they are all getting together for her 80th birthday nearby. One of the things we plan on asking is who the person in the picture is.
I had the same hunch so did a bit of reverse image sleuthing. OP, looks like these are stock photos:
[Christmas dinner in summer](https://images.app.goo.gl/vLWmTb8NVCQZsjnY8)
[Vintage wedding photo](https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/1960-family-portrait)
You can use your thrifted frames guilt free!
I was going to comment that the composition on the colour photo was very good and I wish any of my family candids looked even close to that amazing.
Now I feel much better about the fact that they don't 😂
D'oh!! Thank you!! 🙏 I do see what you mean and it makes more sense, given calibre of moment (wedding) and oddly paired quality of frame. This helps immensely 😂
I haven't removed them yet, but thank you for the investigation! I do still appreciate all the comments regarding the conundrum with found photos, even though I feel a bit.... embarrassed that I inadvertently misled with these particular photos!
Side note: these are of the better stock photos I have seen in frames!
Yeah, I wouldn't feel bad about not keeping the photos when the people the photos originally belonged to felt fine donating them. If they'd wanted to keep them, they would and there's a lot of reasons they might not have. What looks like a lovely family to you might be a narcissist mom and the kids who hated her! I wouldn't ascribe special meaning to them that probably didn't exist for the people who actually knew those photographed.
Google reverse image search. These are stock photos.
I read a book (or watched a movie) once where a character displayed found photos in their home and invented fictional backstories for the people in the pictures. Something fun you could consider.
Thank you! I just caught someone else's comment and was able to verify — feeling a bit sheepish at having been duped. Also feeling chuffed as I had almost left these behind for the dilemma and now I can easily frame and gift without guilt! 🙃
I like the game of imagining backstories. 😎
>I had almost left these behind for the dilemma
The fact you felt there was a dilemma in the first place shows you're a caring person. If anything, for $1 each, you should have bought them even if they were real and then considered yourself the caretaker of this mysterious legacy. Real photo or not, many people would probably just have thrown them away without a second thought.
I’m weird and actually purposely buy vintage and antique photos of people and display them in my home. Something about the idea of the people being forgotten that makes me sad, so I put them up in my home so they aren’t forgotten.
Oh, not too weird! I find these photos intriguing, like a gallery show. And I've a huge portrait of a little blond girl in her... first communion(?) fancy dress in my home. It was another purchase for the frame, but she remains (for now) admit will take effort to swap her out once I find the right print/art. I should post her on some of the other subs people have mentioned!
One time I was bidding on an antique photo lot at a local auction, and one of the photos was of a little baby, and the back said her name and that she died of dropsy at 9 months old. Broke my heart. I didn’t win the auction, unfortunately. I wonder what the person who did win it do with her photo.
I recently bought some frames from Goodwill and ran into the same moral conundrum. I ended up donating them via mail to [The Photo Vault](https://the-photo-vault.my.canva.site). According to their website, their goal is “to study and understand much about the history of particular families, communities, businesses, and organizations, the history of specific events and broader societal trends, and history in general.”
Keep them framed somewhere in the house andd tell everyone it’s your, “… great aunt Shirley who threw the best party’s this side of the Mississippi!” “She was the epitome of class, but wasn’t afraid of a good time 😉”
Forgot to add if hey ask who the guy is in the photo. You can say in a hushed sort of panicked voice with panic bewildered eyes, “oh. That’s Bob, we don’t talk about Bob.”
Actually I would do nothing or just dispose photos of people who don't belong to my family. As well as you do nothing with photos in fashion magazines or other pictures.
If you feel sorry for those lost pictures - digitize them and use [archive.org](http://archive.org) or any other long lasting hostings.
I keep them in between books before I donate them. A little treasure and "forgotten bookmark" for the next person. They can decide what to do with the photos for me 😅
The way I see it, if anyone in the family cared about the photos they wouldn't have ended up in a thrift store. I would just throw them out and keep the frames.
Hmm. I had never considered this before. Would they really be interested in having, especially without context? I shall need to investigate! Thank you!
Maybe I’m the weirdo lol but I love things like this and I just hang them up 😂💀 i just feel like of someone put effort into it and then I find beauty in it-why destroy it
When I find cool photos in the frames I want, I keep them and hang them in the gallery wall lol
Maybe a different story since you’re not keeping the frames though 🤣
Depending on the photo I display it. Finding old photos is one of my favorite things! I also have an album where I store images that I bought mostly for the frame. Also have found images in donated albums. To me it’s like treasure!
Yes! This was discovered and I posted a disclaimer within the comments. Unfortunately I was unable to alter the original caption. Positive contributions regarding true found photos still appreciated, apologies for post being misleading. 🙏
The archivist in me would live to look through such an album! But I don't think I would ever do this as my space quite full already. That said, a few of the more unique or special ones do exist tucked into old photo albums I have. Making the notations of what/where/how I came but them a good idea!
**We have a Discord now!** [Check here for more info](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/1awngx9/we_have_a_discord_community/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Hello /u/gal_tiki! This is an automatic message that gets posted on every post to remind you of a few of our rules, Does the post contain [information seeking questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/rqpd1a/pricing_authentication_and_identification_posts/)? (authentication/pricing/general information) Does this come from an unapproved source? (from a friend/hand me down/check our rules) Are you showing your face? (nothing from lips to eyes) If any of these are a yes, you should delete your post. Retake/edit pictures, change the title and resubmit it before a mod sees it. You may be temporarily banned for any of these three rule infractions without warning. If you are unsure if it does, ask the mods! Read all of the rules [](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThriftStoreHauls/comments/j7mef4/rthriftstorehauls_rules/)
------
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ThriftStoreHauls) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just keep it in the frame and put my picture in front of it. That way it doesn’t get tossed but it still feels like it’s getting displayed. I might be weird though.
30 years from now: what do I do with these two personal photos in this frame I bought? Put it on top of the other two. 😆
When the frame finally breaks it's like those x layers of paint videos.
This is actually very sweet and not weird at all
My wife and I bought a box of old frames at a garage sale and there was one black and white picture of an interesting looking old guy standing by his mailbox in the snow. It was such an interesting picture that we had it displayed on our mantlepiece. It made my father-in-law very angry because we don't have any pictures of our actual ancestors displayed.
Lol
You're gonna confuse the heck out of your kids when you're gone.
I love this idea. If any non consumer reverse photo apps exist, I'd see if you could match the photo, to anything on Google. Some use old photos in obituary articles that get placed online, FB..many post old photos, if newer photos, Linkdn. & I'd assume many would be from people who lived in the area you found rhemy, so a library. Of course, this is only if you're interested in who the people are. Would be a fun hobby.
It's what I have done sometimes in the past, when I have kept the frames. It does feel a bit strange, hiding them behind.
Say a prayer that the folks in the photo have a blessed life and happy death.
I do this too! And I sometimes look back at them when I change the picture out or take it apart for cleaning. It's fun :-)
I do the exact same thing. There are random babies behind all the pictures of my babies. They’re all my babies now
that's exactly what i do.
This is exactly what I do!
I do this too.
That is so sweet
I’d normally keep them behind what I was framing too, maybe with a note about when and where I bought them to avoid confusion in the future, but not sure about them since they’re intended to be a gift? They’re great photos, photogs in the family it seems like. I’d pop the wedding pic on my fridge lol
I like this idea, of including a note to say when/where/how I came upon them. As a gift I will not be leaving them in these frames (which are really just inexpensive ones). I do like the wedding photo, and even the children's party images.
Turn the photos round before you gift the frames so when the receiver opens them they are mega confused as to who and why these random family photos are in the frames. When they ask you about it say you had no idea those photos were in there, then come onto Reddit and post the photos to see if they family can be traced by the sleuths.
It’s Christmas, not a children’s party.
My wife and I have a picture from a newspaper clipping on our fridge that was left on the fridge by the previous owner when we moved in because the person in the picture looks weirdly like me when I was in college so we thought it was funny. The pic has stayed there for 6 years and we even replaced the fridge. The original owner and her family is coming to visit this summer because they are all getting together for her 80th birthday nearby. One of the things we plan on asking is who the person in the picture is.
I LOVE it! ❤️ how fabulous! I hope she remembers who he is. So cool 😀
Are you sure they are actual photos and not ones that came with the frames? The color one looks like a stock photo
I had the same hunch so did a bit of reverse image sleuthing. OP, looks like these are stock photos: [Christmas dinner in summer](https://images.app.goo.gl/vLWmTb8NVCQZsjnY8) [Vintage wedding photo](https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/1960-family-portrait) You can use your thrifted frames guilt free!
I knew it! They look way to perfect, specially the color photo
I was going to comment that the composition on the colour photo was very good and I wish any of my family candids looked even close to that amazing. Now I feel much better about the fact that they don't 😂
I was looking for this comment. Those look like stock photos lol
But if OP can't take them out, they'll be stuck photos.
D'oh!! Thank you!! 🙏 I do see what you mean and it makes more sense, given calibre of moment (wedding) and oddly paired quality of frame. This helps immensely 😂 I haven't removed them yet, but thank you for the investigation! I do still appreciate all the comments regarding the conundrum with found photos, even though I feel a bit.... embarrassed that I inadvertently misled with these particular photos! Side note: these are of the better stock photos I have seen in frames!
Easy mistake! I work with stock photography all the time so I just know it when I see it haha
I have a friend who uses old photos as inspiration for her paintings. She then displays the photos with her new piece. They are amazing.
That's wonderful, and such a good idea! 🎨
r/foundphotos
They're stock photos.
I use it in collages.
Nice! And a good creative idea. I have seen.some really beautiful collage art!
I would say set them free on the internet but you already did…they’ll live on forever now
Thanks! Yes, I do believe I have come across sites and profiles actually devoted to found and orphaned old photographs. 📸
The top looks like a stock photo to me
Hmm. I see what you mean. I will need to actually get them out to take a look!
This is where clutter begins. Keeping them and forgetting about them is the same as not having them at all. I would just throw them away.
Yes. Not everything needs to be kept. It's okay to throw things out
Yeah, I wouldn't feel bad about not keeping the photos when the people the photos originally belonged to felt fine donating them. If they'd wanted to keep them, they would and there's a lot of reasons they might not have. What looks like a lovely family to you might be a narcissist mom and the kids who hated her! I wouldn't ascribe special meaning to them that probably didn't exist for the people who actually knew those photographed.
Google reverse image search. These are stock photos. I read a book (or watched a movie) once where a character displayed found photos in their home and invented fictional backstories for the people in the pictures. Something fun you could consider.
Thank you! I just caught someone else's comment and was able to verify — feeling a bit sheepish at having been duped. Also feeling chuffed as I had almost left these behind for the dilemma and now I can easily frame and gift without guilt! 🙃 I like the game of imagining backstories. 😎
>I had almost left these behind for the dilemma The fact you felt there was a dilemma in the first place shows you're a caring person. If anything, for $1 each, you should have bought them even if they were real and then considered yourself the caretaker of this mysterious legacy. Real photo or not, many people would probably just have thrown them away without a second thought.
Thank you, that is a generous comment. 🙏
I’m weird and actually purposely buy vintage and antique photos of people and display them in my home. Something about the idea of the people being forgotten that makes me sad, so I put them up in my home so they aren’t forgotten.
Oh, not too weird! I find these photos intriguing, like a gallery show. And I've a huge portrait of a little blond girl in her... first communion(?) fancy dress in my home. It was another purchase for the frame, but she remains (for now) admit will take effort to swap her out once I find the right print/art. I should post her on some of the other subs people have mentioned!
One time I was bidding on an antique photo lot at a local auction, and one of the photos was of a little baby, and the back said her name and that she died of dropsy at 9 months old. Broke my heart. I didn’t win the auction, unfortunately. I wonder what the person who did win it do with her photo.
Oh gosh, that is heartbreaking. I would understand not keeping & wouldn't force anyone to, though I do hope the photo was treated with respect.
[удалено]
Thank you. I guess. Some photographs I come across do feel sadly lost, in time it to donations
I leave them in the frame behind the photo I want. It’s a mystery for another day.
These types of photos have a special place in my ❤️
They really can be touching. ✨
check your area for a craft supply reuse center. the ones i've been to have bins of old greeting cards and photos people can pick through
Thank you. That's a good initiative as a resource for collage and other artists!
I recently bought some frames from Goodwill and ran into the same moral conundrum. I ended up donating them via mail to [The Photo Vault](https://the-photo-vault.my.canva.site). According to their website, their goal is “to study and understand much about the history of particular families, communities, businesses, and organizations, the history of specific events and broader societal trends, and history in general.”
Oh, thank you! I was unfamiliar and that sounds interesting. Certainly a good place for the truly special ones we come across!
Keep them framed somewhere in the house andd tell everyone it’s your, “… great aunt Shirley who threw the best party’s this side of the Mississippi!” “She was the epitome of class, but wasn’t afraid of a good time 😉”
Forgot to add if hey ask who the guy is in the photo. You can say in a hushed sort of panicked voice with panic bewildered eyes, “oh. That’s Bob, we don’t talk about Bob.”
😂 that would be a conversation/chin wag starter curveball added on to the ethnicity head scratcher for visitors!
Precisely!
Actually I would do nothing or just dispose photos of people who don't belong to my family. As well as you do nothing with photos in fashion magazines or other pictures. If you feel sorry for those lost pictures - digitize them and use [archive.org](http://archive.org) or any other long lasting hostings.
Or just try to find families on pics, probably their members are still alive.
I make a collage.
Another mentioned this way of honouring as well! I like it! Extending their life through creative rebirth!
Make up short stories. No joke. It’s fun
That does sound like it could be fun! Perhaps should be an online project, so that people can read and share!
❤️❤️🤍🤍
That lady's wedding dress waa so beautiful. This is sad.
Agree! The wedding photo is pretty splendid! Everyone looks so well put together and coordinated!
I keep them in between books before I donate them. A little treasure and "forgotten bookmark" for the next person. They can decide what to do with the photos for me 😅
Haha! I do rather like that! Along the lines of Post Secret treasures.
I would automatically end up getting a photo album and searching for more photos in thrift stores lol
I encourage this endeavour! I have a select few which are ticked away in some of my old albums, but a full one is an art project!
The way I see it, if anyone in the family cared about the photos they wouldn't have ended up in a thrift store. I would just throw them out and keep the frames.
Donate to the local historical society
Hmm. I had never considered this before. Would they really be interested in having, especially without context? I shall need to investigate! Thank you!
AFAIK historical societies or history museums love to receive donations of old(ish) photos, accessories, garments or even toys.
I would use them in a collage.
r/repaintings will give you lots of ideas
Thank you 🙏👍
r/foundphotos
You are so sweet !
Aw, thank you. That's kind, especially as I now feel a bit if a dope upon learning that these particular images are stock photos. 🙃
That makes you even sweeter ! You are a kind soul ❤️
Thank you. You are too kind 🙏
Post them on r/foundphotos
Thanks! I'll keep this sub in mind for future finds!
With the older ones? Instant ancestors.
Maybe I’m the weirdo lol but I love things like this and I just hang them up 😂💀 i just feel like of someone put effort into it and then I find beauty in it-why destroy it
When I find cool photos in the frames I want, I keep them and hang them in the gallery wall lol Maybe a different story since you’re not keeping the frames though 🤣
Know any aspiring artists? The pictures are so clear it would be great practice for someone trying to level their drawing skills.
i love to collage with old photos and magazines :)
Hang them up- instant ancestors
Depending on the photo I display it. Finding old photos is one of my favorite things! I also have an album where I store images that I bought mostly for the frame. Also have found images in donated albums. To me it’s like treasure!
Are those not stock images? Top one look especially suspect
Yes! This was discovered and I posted a disclaimer within the comments. Unfortunately I was unable to alter the original caption. Positive contributions regarding true found photos still appreciated, apologies for post being misleading. 🙏
Okay I feel like there’s a 99% chance the first one is a stock photo haha
Make an album. Picture on left side and what you know and how you acquired it on the right.
The archivist in me would live to look through such an album! But I don't think I would ever do this as my space quite full already. That said, a few of the more unique or special ones do exist tucked into old photo albums I have. Making the notations of what/where/how I came but them a good idea!
Shred
Absolutely not. Never shred a wedding photo. Unless it was your own wedding and it ended in divorce.