Recent Restorations

Several cities in North America had travelling photographers who would stand on the street corner taking photos of the passing people. 

 These resulted not only in a candid snapshot of the person, often lost in thought or enjoying an adventure in the city. In Vancouver, a well known photographer named Foncie has gained a lot of fame lately as more and more of his photos have begun to resurface (http://fonciescorner.knowledge.ca/about-foncie/)  but there were others - like this one by 'Vancouver Walking Photos'.

In this photo of my Grandmother, a restoration of the signs behind her show the name of a long gone establishment by the name of the 'Strathcona Hotel'. Why did she look so worried? Her eldest son had just been drafted into WWII and was leaving to go overseas.   She was a trip to Downtown Vancouver from Lulu Island to pick up some things for him before he was deployed.

This nurse served in Limerick, Ireland in approximately 1910.  She worked in an unwed mother's home as a midwife, and was also married to a Colonel in the British Army, stationed in Ireland.

Her uniform was similar to a nun's habit but was different in that the blouse underneath had blue and white stripes, and she wore a pinafore as an apron.

One of the most rewarding parts of restoring an old photo is the detail that you might uncover.  In this photo of my Grandmother, my Aunt Jean and my Uncle Charlie from approximately 1917 in Asquith, Saskatchewan, the restoration revealed not only the beautiful eyelets on my Aunt's dress but also beadwork on my Grandmother's dress that was not even visible in the original.  Not to mention some gorgeous shoes!.