SUGGESTIONS FOR THOSE STRANGERS IN OLD BOXES TIPS FOR IDENTIFYING OLD UNKNOWN PICTURES TIPS FOR MAKING THEM MORE SAFE FOR IDENTIFYING 1....reduce size of picture by making good photo copies and croping uneccesary scenery unless it identifies the picture with something specific. 2....scan uinidentified pictures into computor. Try to put several pictures on one page filling up the page with numbers under each. for identification when someone does identify it. 3....send by E Mail , to surname sites and County, States, possibly connected to pictures. ( places surnames were known to have been.) 4..... send message with imformation such as in Family Group Sheet form, about who the persons in pictures may be ( if you think you know ), and where you got the pictures, such as who had them, and where they lived. etc. 5..... Someone out there may also have the same picture and know who and what it is about. 6...... If no results . repost abt 2 weeks or more later . as people come and go on these sites. 7..... When you have them identified , DO NOT WRITE ON BACK OF PICTURES OR FRONT. Type or write identifying imfo on a acid free labels. Then place in a corner on back of pictures at top or bottom where the scenery is on front. If you write on picture Ink etc may, and can come through. 8..... It is best to store your pictures in acid free plastic envelopes or photo albums. These can be bought in some Craft supply places, Photo shops, but be sure the Company is a good one. There are some places that say they are acid free but they are not the best because of the way they are made etc. You can also put your own together. 9...... Take a Sunday after noon after church. and invite family over for a pot luck dinner. Have them bring their pictures all in albums and see if you have the same pictures and someone else has the identifications of them. Be sure all your pictures are in albums as they could get lost or otherwise disapear. 10.... For a more permanent safe place and album you can do the folowing.. Take a loose leaf notebook. Get a box of acid free notebook plastic non glare envelope pages. Also get a ream of acid free copy paper. Sort your pictures by unidentified and identified. pictures. Take a small piece of acid free plasic tape. Take about 1 inch piece and fold sticky side out in a circle and flaten and place at top of picture back. Arrange them sorted also by possible surnames and place on each side of 1 sheet of the copy paper sheets. Then slip the sheet into the acid free envelope and place in the notebook. This will make them most likely safe. from getting lost or otherwise disapear. You also may want to place a piece of acid free plastic tape across the middle of the top opening of the Plastic envelope closing the top in the center of the top to prevent removal of the page with pictures on it. I have added this to my message as I made a mistake several times of showing pictures to several different relatives at several different times and after they left I went to put them away and some of them were missing. When I confronted them they denied it but later when I was at their house I saw several of the pictures and I could and did identify as mine due to condition and marks I knew were on back. etc. Temptation is temptation and some people just can't resist it. Protect yourself. when it comes to your prescious unreplaceable old pictures 11....... Best way to show pictures for identification. .Another thing you can do is to take all pictures to a good copy place and make copies of them. Number them and place them in a loose leaf notebook numbering the pages also. (Or if you have a good scanner, make copies and place in notebook.) Then you don't have to worry about them and can easily note if a page is gone which wouldn't be a great loss. Tell your family members to make copies of pictures and put in a notebook and number them and the pages and not to bring the originals. Have a sheet of paper to note who and how a picture was identified using your numbered page and number of picture. Taking your identified pictures can help others if they have the same picture. as well as you. Hope the above will be of help to those with many unidentified pictures. The above works as I have done it and also met descend cousins and rec. copies of pictures I didn't have or ever seen before. and shared copies of mine with the scanned pictures. If you can't send attatchments then post them on a web page or your Gen. posted site and send the link and imformation about the pictures you have and they can go to the site then E Mail you with page number and picture number and imfo abt what they identified and how etc. Maxine Wilton [email protected]