Hidden in a pile of empty envelopes and old newspapers that my wife had thankfully not got round to destroying was an envelope containing numerous effects left by her maternal aunt. Inside was an envelope inscribed: "Mother's School Certificates". This contained 3 certificates awarded to my wife's maternal grandmother in 1891, then 14. These will be scanned and put on My Media in the coming days but one is really worth commenting on. It records that grandma passed an examination, set by the Band of Hope, on the subject of alcohol and the human body. The "lessons" learned here clearly didn't influence my wife's aunt. Her speciality was a sherry trifle, one spoonful of which would put anyone way over the most lenient drink/drive limit. Another find in the effects was a photograph of the grandmother together with her siblings and parents, taken around 1895. The photograph is huge, and way too big for my scanner. A way will be found to put this into my media. The great granddad has mutton chop sideburns par excellence.
What a truly wonderful find Bonzo, if you can get that photo reduced in size, we would love to see it.
Take a photo of it David. I've done that with a few, one of which sits in my media up there, it was originally about 10'' x 14'' hanging on Aunts wall.
Great news Bonzo. I was also going to suggest taking a photo. Works brilliantly. Sometimes better without flash though. Try both. I don't scan. I think photos are better and clearer. Great to use at the Archives office too.
Have tried copying the picture by photographing it and by scanning in 2 halves then stitching the 2 bits together. This gave a better result but, try as I might it proved impossible to get the densities to match, so the join shows. So, am about to upload a photograph, best of 6 to my media. Had to use flash, even at midday so there are some odd reflections from something like 125 years worth of accumulated grime.
I find my mobile phone useful for replicating photographs. It adjusts the light automatically without need for flash and therefore reducing glare. Some of the old pictures were so dark it was impossible to see the subject matter, but once I'd uploaded the images onto the laptop they were perfectly clear.
