Your Favourite Object > Reviews (5)

I have been sat at my computer for three and a half hours now. I couldn't sleep so came downstairs to catch up on research for my Family Tree which has been sat about for weeks without me looking at it and checking it over. After 2 hours of research I decided to check out Ciao and see who was around (crazy at this time of morning I know but I found someone lol) I checked out the Cafe and found this category and started thinking about what is my very favourite object and even though I had a list of about 10 or 12, I decided that this had to be my favourite thing.

Let me tell you about it

I started the family tree about 7 years ago just doing my husband's side. Within 4 years I had gone from only 50 people (including his siblings and their families) to nearly 2000! I received photographs of family members I had found but had nowhere to put them except a little brown box. The only problem was that I had to write on the backs of the photos to know who they were and then the problem with showing oter members of the family was trying to figure out where in the tree they belonged. I had to solve this problem and quickly before it drove me mad.

I tried all types of photo albums but none of the ones I found seemed right. We visited Pete's brother in Germany and while out shopping I found the perfect album.

This is not one of the usual ones with the sticky sheet that covers (and ruins by the way) your photos. Oh no - this is perfection itself.

It is approximately 12" x 12" and each page is very thick card. Between each page is a sheet of tissue paper to protect the photographs. The photographs are attached using corners. Does anyone remember those? There are 51 double sided pages which can hold three - four photos each side depnending on layout and size of photo.

The cost? Not too expensive considering the size and amount of pages - Just 4 Euros which worked out about £2.00- honestly. I couldn't believe it myself. I kick myself now that I didn't buy more but space was limited.

I started with the oldest photographs I had which dated to about 1887. This is a beautiful family protrait of Pete's Maternal Great Grandparents and five of their seven children. This was taken in Burma. It shows his Great Grandfather with his handlebar moustache and high collar stood at the back with his wife sat at the front with the children surrounding them. Then came the photos of his paternal Great Grandparents taken at the wedding of his grandparents in December 1898. I do have a wedding photo of the bride and groom but this quite blurred.

Then came a section for the Grandparents on both sides. Then the Aunties and Uncles. Each Auntie and Uncle has a two page section for photos of themselves and their children and grandchildren - luckily these are family groups.

Peter and his brothers and sisters each have 2 or 3 pages depending on whether they married and had children. These cover approx 50 people alone

Then at the back are three pages of our Grandsons.

Each new member of the family that I find has their photograph in the album.

I even have a photograph dated 1901 of Pete's Paternal Great Grandmother's brother's family - confused? lol

Each photograph is labelled with name of person and date of birth and place of birth.

Why I love this album
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I really do love this album - it has taken a lot of work and still has more to be put into it. It is a record of the Family tree in photographs. It is fine having a long list of names and dates but photographs make the names come to life if only for a short time while the album is being looked at. This along with the Family Tree Folders (containing birth certificates, marriage certificates and details) allows our children and Grandchildren and Nephews and Nieces to see where and who they are from.
The tree spans Scotland, England, Ireland, Burma, India, Australia and Wales and a couple of other places thrown in for good measure - heinz 57 have nothing on this family!!

Thank you for reading this review
Maybe it will encourage a few more to keep records like this

Carol