2 minute read
MOST History - Mystery Photographs
Mystery Mystery Photographs Photographs
by Kelly Francis-Love, archivist at the Museum of South Texas History
One morning in 1981, staff arrived to work to find a box of photos left on the museum’s doorstep. There was nothing included with the photos—no indication of who left them and no identification of who the people were in the photos. The images appeared to be from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. They were added to the museum’s collection, but their origins remain a mystery.
Instead of letting these images sit idle in storage, museum staff uses them to start conversations. Each of these photos depicts someone’s child, sibling, or spouse—they all have stories to tell. Sadly, these stories are lost to history. Some of these photos have been used in various Mystery Galleries presented by the museum, hoping that someday someone will be able to tell us about them.
Today, the museum has policies to ensure they are not overwhelmed with unidentified items. A member of the Archives and Collections team must approve all donations. The team makes sure that donated items fit the museum’s mission, that they are not duplicates of items they already have, and try to get as much information about the origins of the donation as possible. If an unidentified box were to be left on the doorstep now, it could not be accepted into the collection.
There will always be historical mysteries. However, with your help, the museum can solve many of them and ensure that the stories of South Texans are preserved for generations to come.
How can you make sure your stories are not lost as well? Here are some simple things you can do.
If you have physical copies of photos, write information on their backs in pencil. Include full names, dates, and locations. For digital images, save the file under a name that includes names, dates, and places or add it to the photo’s properties. You could even create a separate document with all the details, but you need to make sure that document is always linked to that digital image. These few simple steps can make a world of difference in preserving your family history.
