Heirlooms

joan in capri, italy

We're finishing off our week-long trip to Italy with a few more photographs taken by my grandfather Sid of my grandmother Joan in June of 1979. 

I love these photographs so much -- two of my very favorite people on vacation to one of my very favorite places in the world. My world collides in these photographs...my maternal grandparents enjoying the place where my parents and paternal grandparents (and great-grandparents if you remember that story) fell in love. How is that for a good family story?

One day I'll show these photographs to my children and grandchildren. They are true family heirlooms. 

Joan with a horse and some pigeons in Rome, Italy. She loved all animals.

Joan with a horse and some pigeons in Rome, Italy. She loved all animals.

Joan with my parents in Capri, Italy. They packed light for the occasion...ha! Check out the lime green car (Fiat?).

Joan with my parents in Capri, Italy. They packed light for the occasion...ha! Check out the lime green car (Fiat?).

Joan exploring Capri, Italy.

Joan exploring Capri, Italy.

My pretty grandmother. The colors in this one are so lovely. This is Italy to me -- terra cotta pots of flowers and sun-faded buildings with terraces and shutters.

My pretty grandmother. The colors in this one are so lovely. This is Italy to me -- terra cotta pots of flowers and sun-faded buildings with terraces and shutters.

family stories: clyde and his friends

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I love this group photo of my great-grandfather Clyde L. Stroup (third from right on the second row) and his fellow Cleveland and Nottingham Equipment Works Supervisors Club members. It was taken a few days after Joan's 12th birthday (the one where she received the piano I mentioned earlier this week). 

We have plans to hang this photo in our powder room along with several other vintage group photos of various family members and their coworkers and friends. It should be cool! 

joan's piano

We recently inherited Joan's piano. If there is such a thing as a family heirloom, this piano would be near the top of our list. Joan received the piano from her dad for her 12th birthday on September 10, 1945. It was her most prized possession. When the family relocated from Ohio to Southern California in 1960, the piano moved into my great-grandmother's living room because it wouldn't fit in Joan's apartment. Here's a photo of my mom playing the piano before her junior prom in 1973:

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After my great-grandmother passed away the following year and Joan moved into her new house in the nearby suburb of Cerritos, the piano moved into a corner of her living room. You can see it in the background along with the chandelier that now hangs in our foyer:

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For the thirty years she lived in the house, the piano occupied that space. When my sister and I were kids, we loved playing the piano. It was one of our favorite pastimes as children. After we sold Joan's house in October 2011, the piano moved across the country to my mom's house in Oxford, where it stayed until this spring when my mom decided to downsize. It now lives in our living room: 

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We still have some work to do in this room, but we are excited to have Joan's piano in our home. Jonathan is already practicing his piano-playing skills. Porter sings along!

details of the time

Part of the fun of old photos is studying the details of the time -- the clothes, hairstyles and settings. Even the expressions on the subjects' faces add to the story! These little details keep the history of a family, time and place alive. It is an honor for us to preserve them for future generations to enjoy.

The top two photos are of Jonathan's great-grandmother Eliza and her family, and the bottom photos are of Eliza's daughters -- Linda and Sadie, Martha and Sadie, and Linda, Sadie, Martha, Olivene, Lois and Cass. They are pictured with Eliza's husband and their father, Clovis Yates. 

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Elizaandfamily
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You might notice that the top photograph has some spots and a tear in it. I personally find decaying photographs to be quite beautiful, but as a preservationist, I scan the original image and save two copies -- one in its lovely original state and one that I've restored. The photo below gives an example of how a restored photo can look. This is a pretty simple restoration -- I didn't remove every little imperfection -- I just cleaned up the big spots and fixed the tear. If you have questions about photo preservation and restoration, feel free to contact me directly or leave a comment below!

elizafamilyrestored