DPP (Deceased People's Photographs)

My followers know that our home is filled with DPS (deceased people's stuff). Perhaps that is a crude name for antiques and vintage goods, but it is what it is. 

Our family DPS is precious to us, while the other DPS is just interesting. Why else would my nieces say our home is like a museum? ;) Visit Wetcreek Museum.

Most of the DPS that we inherited from my hub's parents is special mostly because my MIL rescued it from her in-laws' home in The Netherlands before the Nazis took over their home during WWII. That situation deserves another blogpost that I may or may not share on this blog. Better make sure I get all of my facts straight first on that one, since I do have family followers.

But today I am piggy-backing (linking) with my blog friend Paulette at Cheerful Thrifty Door  and discussing her question on family photographs. This is her question: 

"Should old family photos be given to the person who is in the picture or their decendents or is a scanned copy good enough?"

Interestingly enough, my hub and I were pleasantly surprised to receive a large package of very old family photographs in the mail a week or so ago. The sender was the former husband of my hub's deceased cousin who passed away almost three years ago. 

Knowing that Hub's cousin had at one time several years ago shuffled through Opa's old suitcase that my MIL had rescued from the Nazi occupied home during the War and kept hidden under the bed in the guest room, we assume that some of the photos we received last week had finally been returned home to the collection from the suitcase. (Only an assumption!) 

Amongst the mostly century old photos of my hub's grandparents were a couple of photos of my hub as a baby or as a young child. We are especially pleased to have those. Plus, there were photos of persons we can't identify (no names scribbled on the back). 

In any case, we are thrilled to have the photos. And Hub scanned them immediately so that we can share.

As for Paulette's question, I personally believe that the old photos should be made readily available to everyone in the family who wants a copy. We have spent hours and hours sorting through DPP's and preparing envelopes to give to my husband's family members. We made sure that before we gave them away that we digitalized the ones we wanted to keep in our digital collection.

So, Paulette, I am glad you scanned your husband's photos, but at least your children should have received the original photos. 

Is it too late to ask for them?