Out With Mary

Mary and I went to the Vintage Paper Show in Toronto on the weekend and had a ball. I felt like a little tugboat trailing around in the wake of The Expert, since Mary has an uncanny knack of zeroing in on just the right ephemera you can’t live without.
I was hoping to buy old photos to add to my collection, and there were plenty—like this charming one of three friends in spectacular hats. For the most part, the prices were very reasonable, and I soon learned you could bargain with the vendors … something I’ve never done before, and enjoyed. Mind you, there was a $195 cabinet card of Sir John A. MacDonald (Canada’s first prime Minister), and a spectacular atlas for $750 that I wish I could have afforded, but I have no complaints
In addition to old photos, I got an album and a bird book, vintage travel pictures of European hot spots for 25 cents a package, and then Mary and I split a case of glass slides, which was the find of the day. We’re not sure what we’re going to do with them, but how could we resist?
What surprised me, though, were the number of vendors selling postcards. Postcards seemed to be the most popular collectable at the show, although one buyer anxiously interrupted me to ask if I’d come across any photos of old store interiors. Huh? (Apparently that’s what he collects). At the time I found this hilarious and barely managed to keep a straight face as I helped him look. However, he didn’t get my whole Photoshop/Cabinet Card thing either, so it’s great that our individual eccentricities are given lots of leeway when it comes to expressing them.