You can do something similar by putting an envelope or archival sleeve behind any photo frame and tucking in the story to go with the photo or object.
Top right, the page I wrote about the World War II military service of Dad (Harold Burk, 1909-1978). I slipped this page into the sleeve of his shadow box. For other photos, I'll paste a clear sleeve to the back of the frame and slip in a story or three.
Below that, part of the write-up for the shadow box I had made for the childhood jewelry of my Mom and her twin sister (Daisy Schwartz Burk and Dorothy Helen Schwartz). It's tucked into the sleeve behind the frame, too.
I signed and dated these write-ups for the sake of future generations. I included copies of Dad's discharge papers and, at the suggest of my Sis, I will slip a letter or note into the back of Mom's shadow box to show her signature.
There's room for even more in the envelopes behind the frames. My challenge is to avoid overloading the envelopes and overwhelming those who will inherit these frames in the future!
Even taping a paragraph or two to the back of a frame will be a good start to bequeathing a story with your photo or heirloom. I'm also writing a quick story to staple to underside of some wooden furniture so heirs know how they came into the family, when, and why. The last thing I want is for stories to be lost to those who come after.
Great idea! Hopefully, they look at the back. I have been pondering making an heirloom book on Shutterfly to document our treasures, telling the stories of each item, especially the small ones.
ReplyDeleteWhat a loving person you are! And so generous with your time, to do all this! I would give anything for someone to have done this for us. In the end, we were left with so many beautiful things..and no idea at all of their meaning or significance..
ReplyDeletei thought that I invented this idea....ha, ha. I did this for a painting that my parents received as a 35th wedding anniversary present from both families, a few months before my father passed away. Since I have stepdaughters and nieces and nephews that I am very close to, I compiled a list of items that are to go to each family. The list includes a photo of the item, its location in my house and its provenance. If I want it to go to a specific person, I included that in the document. These lists are included as additions to my will
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