Military Photographs - Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectibles Blog – Heroes and Villains.

 General George Patton - Thanks to Armchairgeneral.com 

 

I was thinking about my dad today and one of the pictures that flashed into my head was him in his dress uniform of the Merchant Marines. Wow! Was he a handsome sailor. I don't have, but wish that I did, a photo of him in that uniform. 

Photos of heroes from the Second World War, such as those of Patton or Eisenhower, will bring a pretty penny today but those of the villains will also pad your bank accounts. Photos of Hitler and his gang of thugs sell very well and those of Mussolini will also bring you big bucks.

But where would I find these items? Probably more places than you might think because almost every soldier and sailor brought back a foot locker from the war, many of which have survived in the attics and basement of thousands of homes around this country. Stored in those trunks of our returning heroes from the war were souvenirs which often included photos. Perhaps you can find a soldier standing with Patton which was signed by the general. What a treasure that would be. Marching through Berlin, a soldier might have run across an old photo album in the streets and just put it in his backpack to take home, not even knowing whose photos they were. From there I will just let your mind lead you where it wants to go. As a member of the Daryle Lambert's Antiques and Collectible's Club, I hope that the information that I share with you will always put you at the head of the pack when you’re on your treasure hunt.

However, you don't have to take it to the level I mentioned above. You may just find an album filled with pictures from the time a veteran spent in the armed forces. I would love to receive a call saying that a person had an album filled with photos of Dad's time in the service. I don't know what I would pay for it but be assured it would be plenty. Most of these albums and pictures you find will be documented, so the real work will be finding the person or family member that would absolutely love to buy them from you.

Just a little story that’s not about photos but in the same vein. I know a lady who owns 500 letters from the Civil War between a soldier and his wife. If she could ever find members of this family, those letters would be worth a fortune.

But what can you expect to get for photos of the famous and not so famous soldiers? Going to eBay, which I feel will show the lowest possible value that can be found for an item, I discovered photos selling from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. But if by chance you ran across a photo of the Japanese surrender which the participants had signed, its value could be priceless. 

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