Weirdest items every sourced...

[sin-n-dex]

So I got some strange inventory this week, and was wondering what other people's weirdest items ever sourced (or sold).

My weird items are 1850's Victorian Post Mortem photos (you can google that for examples). They are tintype. I recognized them as tintype immediately, but the shop owner sent me an email to let me know in each photo one person was deceased.

I did consider not selling them on account of the "very creepy" factor here... but found out the shop paid a song for each one, and getting $50-100 is pretty typical. So now I'm trying to have an open mind.

When we deal with antiques at the store, we get all sorts of weird stuff. I generally get offered small things that don't take up much room (like postcards or coins or banknotes). I've seen quite a bit of cool stuff in my tenure at the store, but for weirdness, this one takes the cake.

C.

[maxine*j]

Only one caution:

Post-mortem photographs are, in fact, hugely popular.  But many of the ones sold as post-mortem photos have only living persons in them. 

Because of the necessity to stay stock-still for an extended time in the early days of photography, invisible headrests and other devices were used to help keep people still.  Because smiling for a long time is hard, people tended to just relax their faces and stare.   Because infants and children are always restless, it was sometimes easiest to photograph them as they slept.

So, sometimes living people look dead to modern eyes -- or dead enough that their photos can be sold as post-mortems by sellers who know they'll fetch far more that way.

[atlasesattic]

I've gotten hidden Mother photos from the past and sold every one of them...a lot of people seem to love the macabre and you will find many collectors... old photos that have children holding vintage toys is another one especially holding steiff teddy bears, they were never up very long, as for other toys, if you can find information on the toy they are holding that would be great, I sold a picture of children holding a corn flakes box once and it sold within 2 hours.

[spark-chaser1]

I've personally seen a few of these types of photo. What is often amazing is that they would literally paint  "eyes" on the eyelids to make the person look alive. Of course, its hard to disguise a face with the effects rigor, liver or Alger mortis, looking like they are facing it to a hurricane. But hey.  They tried.

[spakey]

A few years ago, I purchased a 'mixed bag' of merchandise from a local thrift store.  Included was an unopened package with a window containing a 'medical grade' stainless steel toe joint replacement.  I didn't try to sell it; but I did give it as a 'white elephant' Christmas gift stating that it would come in handy when trying to save money on their next surgery by supplying their own replacement parts!  (I have friends with a great sense of humor!)  The person who received it still has it!  

[asset_liquidators]

Well, if we are going for the  'creep factor', I have sold three embalming machines. Those were back in 2004, 2005, and 2007.

[bossesale77]

A case of battery operated personal sexual wellness devices that were designed to look like hairbrushes. We listed them here (this was pre-managed payments when the adult category still existed) but were unable to sell even one of them, they eventually got hucked into the dumpster.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@maxine*j wrote:

Only one caution:

Post-mortem photographs are, in fact, hugely popular.  But many of the ones sold as post-mortem photos have only living persons in them. 

Because of the necessity to stay stock-still for an extended time in the early days of photography, invisible headrests and other devices were used to help keep people still.  Because smiling for a long time is hard, people tended to just relax their faces and stare.   Because infants and children are always restless, it was sometimes easiest to photograph them as they slept.

So, sometimes living people look dead to modern eyes -- or dead enough that their photos can be sold as post-mortems by sellers who know they'll fetch far more that way.

---

The photos are in my box on my shelf at the store, and I think they come with notes and info. I just haven't looked at it yet to see what this information contains, if anything.

I'll be picking that up on Wednesday to see how many they are, and look at them closely.

Thanks for the heads up, I had kind of used the blank expressions as a guide, but I hadn't realized people needed to stay so still for a photo that they would just stare in the photo.

C.

[spark-chaser1]

Fun fact: In live - person tintype photos, sometimes you can see behind the person a stand that looks like a microphone  stand. This was adjustable and had a headrest that would be placed at the nape of the  person's neck to hold them upright and still while the chemicals worked their magic. These same stands were probably used to prop up 19th century " uncle Bernie". 

For giggles, you can see if these appear in your batch of photos.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@maxine*j wrote:

Only one caution:

Post-mortem photographs are, in fact, hugely popular.  But many of the ones sold as post-mortem photos have only living persons in them. 

Because of the necessity to stay stock-still for an extended time in the early days of photography, invisible headrests and other devices were used to help keep people still.  Because smiling for a long time is hard, people tended to just relax their faces and stare.   Because infants and children are always restless, it was sometimes easiest to photograph them as they slept.

So, sometimes living people look dead to modern eyes -- or dead enough that their photos can be sold as post-mortems by sellers who know they'll fetch far more that way.

---

I found a website that showed all sorts of photos labelled as post mortem online, but were not post mortem at all. So thanks for the tip for me to be on the lookout. It blasted quite a few myths (like how a stand could not hold a person up, just keep them still if they were alive).

I did a search on eBay and in 5 seconds found one of those fake photographs. The seller says there's visible stands holding them up, but the website I found said that doesn't exist, even for children. I would post the link to the item, but that's kinda naming and shaming... photo is of three people, one in a chair in the middle, two standing, you can see the stands behind the two that are standing.

C.

[mtgraves7984]

Weirdest items every sourced...

@sin-n-dex 

Not all that weird, but I got a bundle for an old Rawhide board game box, circa 1960. The actual board was broken, there were only a few pieces (which I photographed) included. It did have shelf wear, but none of the box's corners were torn (no tape, etc.), it wasn't dented or damaged... just 60 years faded.

I listed it as an empty Rawhide game board box, suitable enough for shadow-box framing for display. My buyer happened to be a lady who wanted it for her 80-something-year-old father who was a huge fan of the old TV series... shopping for the perfect Father's Day gift.

I don't know which of us was happier that I sold it to her!

[chapeau-noir]

---

@sumsum70 wrote:

Large collection of VHS porn and fetish mags - from a storage unit of a priest's belongings.

---

"I confiscated them from my parishioners for their own souls...!!!" 

Alas, I've had nothing really out of the ordinary, but I do know that postmortem photos were very common.

And also that film photography is still used by leading professional photographers as well as many talented and enthusiastic amateur photographers.  It's like analog recordings - it has a quality that cannot be replicated digitally.