How I Discovered a $30,000 Photo in My Family’s Storage Unit

Terrible storage conditions, broken frame, and mom's desire to throw it out.
It's amazing that the print survived at all.
 
I rescued an Ansel Adams print from a thriftshop for $40. Unfortunately not signed by him, but it is one of the series that is printed by hand by his assistant (worth about $300 from the Ansel gallery). Fun find!
 
. . . Why hang something on your wall when someone else is crazy and wealthy enough to pay 30.000$ for it?
Because you can?

I have a few things that are probably worth silly money, such as a pair of pewter chargers, made before 1804 with the Glasgow makers' mark "Success to the United States of America". We bought them at Christie's in Gklasgow for twenty quid or so (call it $30). What are they worth? Dunno. if/when we get poor enough to need to sell 'em, we will. 'Til then... they ain't gonna go down in value.

Cheers,

R.
 
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"We have decided to keep the photo in our family"

... I would have sold the original and kept a copy. Why hang something on your wall when someone else is crazy and wealthy enough to pay 30.000$ for it?

They are keeping it so they can finally lose it... :p
 
A friend of mine found some sketches by Picasso in amongst her mother's belongings a while ago! (seriously)
 
Nice. Then there was the time my grandmother bought a piece of Chinese pottery in a market in St. Alban's (UK) for a few pounds... later auctioned for $5,000 IIRC.
 
Cool story. I suggested they get a scan of it, print some high quality repros for themselves, and lend the photo to a museum for a while, keeping ownership. You can do that, right?

If they can afford 'not having to sell it,' why not let others enjoy it for a few years.
 
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