Akkam’s Razor

One of my peculiar fetishes is with found photographs.  I can’t help but wonder who these people are, where they are now, what happened to them, and what was the story behind the pictures (and how did they come to be discarded, to be found on the street or at flea markets).

Here’s a small collection of sites that peddle in found photos and other miscellaneous found human debris.

First, we have Found Magazine and their NSFW (Not-safe-for-work) cousin Dirty Found.  Superflous, Square America, Swapatorium (temporarily closed but online), Look-at-Me, and Big Happy Funhouse are chock-full of (mostly-American) vernacular.

From the digital perspective, we have Found Photos at 10eastern, which trolls the various P2P networks looking for openly-shared photos.

Lastly, the granddaddy of found ephemera, is the irreplaceable Post Secret.   

When it comes to found and often beautiful imagery, try FFFFOUND! and the PopURLs-styled aggregator PICURLs.  There’s also a plethora of the strange things people collect, such as passive-aggressive notes left for others, fruit labels, matchbooks, found advertising, and grocerylists.

Flickr groups also frequently deliver – Here are some you may find interesting:

• Vintage Christmas: 1945-1970
• Antique Christmas: 1830-1945 
• Period Photographs of Transportation (pre-1980) 
• Vintage Pinup 
• Found Film 
• mid-century illustrated
• Vintage Advertising
• Found Photographs 
• Vintage Supermarkets, Grocery & Convenience Stores 
• CHEESECAKE!! ) 
• Smooth Smoke Slogans that “Satisfy” [VINTAGE]
• Beer and Booze: A Damn Fine Product [VINTAGE] 
• antique postcards & antique erotica 
• The Red Menace [VINTAGE] – Fears of Communism & the Cold War 
• Auto Ads 
• Historic and Old Photos
• Old Photos
• vintage electronics 
• Jazz-Age in Print (20s-30s) [VINTAGE] 
• I Love Bettie Page!
• Retail and Stores
• Old Photos With Dogs
• Original 1980s 
• Found Photos 
• Medical Imaging Gallery 
• As we were – 70’s & 80’s memories 
• Early Advertising (vintage ads) 
• Original 1950s 
• Pre-1962 America in Color
• Vintage Magazines
• Vernacular Photo Wedge Heels & Wartime – Forties in Print [VINTAGE] 
• Original 1970s 
• Original 1960s
• Vintage Home Interiors
• Found Drawings 
• Vintage Product Signs/Murals
• Nasty XRAY 

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