What began as curiosity with an old photograph led Jesica to become a photo reuniter

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A Canberra woman is reuniting strangers with photos she has found in opportunity-shops and rescued from skips and tips. In the process, she is helping to solve family mysteries. The lost portrait archive is part of a growing online community using modern technology to shed light on the past.

Transcript

00:00There are a few from overseas.

00:09It's kind of, it's interesting, isn't it?

00:11Actually one of them's really fascinating.

00:14I do kind of love this one.

00:16I think there's a real art and craftsmanship to these photos.

00:21So they were really well considered.

00:23People are sometimes posed.

00:27Jessica Dowell boasts quite the photo collection.

00:31I'd say thousands.

00:33I've never actually counted, but this is only a tiny little portion of them.

00:37What's even more remarkable, she has no idea who's in any of them.

00:43I just am fascinated by the people, the times they lived in.

00:47Who were they?

00:48How did they get here?

00:49What are their stories?

00:50I love it.

00:51Yeah.

00:52It started as a hobby 20 years ago.

00:54I've been collecting old photos from rubbish tips, or they'd be thrown out accidentally

01:00through deceased estate clearances, sometimes the old charity shop.

01:04And I just couldn't bear the thought of them being thrown away.

01:08I feel like they hold so much history, so many stories.

01:13But has developed into a labour of love.

01:16My husband and I have had a bit of a rough few years.

01:18We've had two beautiful stillborn babies, and he said to me, you know what?

01:23Maybe this is something really joyful and positive and beautiful.

01:26It's a nice place to focus all your energy.

01:29I just started this account online to see if we could identify who's in the photos and

01:34return them to their families.

01:36The Lost Portrait Archive encourages followers to study the genealogy clues, like studio

01:42imprints and handwriting, and help put names to faces.

01:47There was a smudgy stamp on the back, and we tracked it down to the town of Hay in New

01:51South Wales, and I put it on the Hay Facebook page, and a lady identified it as her mum,

01:57wrote her a card, and I posted it away to her, and I got a message saying, thank you

02:01so much.

02:02I'd never seen this photo before, it's really special to our family.

02:05Jessica is part of a growing community of photo reuniters around Australia and the world.

02:12I thought they were just going to be fun photos, but I realised quickly, these are memories.

02:16I think I put a lot of value in these photos and hope that people find that same connection

02:20with their family and ancestors through them too.

02:23The very picture of hope.

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