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[Grand Grocery Co.], Lincoln, Neb. (LOC)

Rice Krispies
Look at the size of that flour sack! This was an era when people still baked their own bread.
"new" i would hate to see the old patatoes
Check out the prices! 1 cent and 5 cents...
Well, potatoes take forever to go off ... so "old" could mean a couple of weeks, and people would still buy them.
These old logo styles are wonderful.
are you people joking? 'New' obviously means 'new potatoe' as in the type of potatoe and not it's age!
The crazy thing is that high-end boutique stores, deli's and cafe's now create this look and feel to market themselves as more hip.

Funny that this was the run of the mill, normal MO. :) Love it. Wish it had been exposed a little longer.
I need one of these at the moment
The shop has a model ....cool !!!!!!
Thinking of stopping by here on my way home to take advantage of these very reasonably priced oranges.
New potatoes are potatoes that are freshly harvested. They are the same variety as "old" potatoes, which have simply been in storage. Really.
These look like seeds for planting, but I can't see what they are... food or flowers
They look like flower seeds but given the date I would have thought they would be vegetables for a Victory Garden.
Fresh fish
? Strawberries?
70 cents in inflation-adjusted 2007 dollars. Still a good deal.
Note to I.M.Bitter, who wishes it had been exposed longer: right click the photo to your computer, and you can add exposure to your heart's delight.
i like ham
Old Dutch Cleanser
Donna's note
Text says "flower seeds"
Uncle Ben? Cream of Wheat? Something like that?
We shall spread the word of the blue rose the internet is free let it roam let the information flow let power be to the peoples full sum of self and knowledge
Snap, Crackle, Pop!
Wow! Here is so many notes... :D
Coolest soda slogan ever.
[Grand Grocery Co.], Lincoln, Neb. (LOC) by The Library of Congress.
Vachon, John,, 1914-1975,, photographer.

[Grand Grocery Co.], Lincoln, Neb.

[1942]

1 slide : color.

Notes:
Date based on LC-USF35-266.
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Formerly identified as Gilead, Ohio.
Photograph shows Rice Krispies cereal boxes in window below oranges; Better Loaf flour sacks at left next to sign for: New & large potatoes, 6lb. 23, apples, delicious, 4lb. 25.
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.

Subjects:
Grocery stores
United States--Nebraska--Lincoln

Format: Slides--Color

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Part Of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection 11671-28 (DLC) 93845501

General information about the FSA/OWI Color Photographs is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsac

Persistent URL: hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsac.1a34273

Call Number: LC-USF35-268 
This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.

Comments

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d5o3  Pro User  says:

What a deal!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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discombobulated_dichotomy says:

Not sure about anyone else, but I am really thankful to see these kinds of photos online. I could browse them all day if I let myself.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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partly cloudy  Pro User  says:

This, or a very very similar image appeared on Shorpy.com recently: www.shorpy.com/node/1810
Is LOC affiliated with Shorpy in any way?
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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JJ San  Pro User  says:

What a wonderful archive!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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kenmat  Pro User  says:

GREAT!!!
I think this is worth joining.
Thanks.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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John Munsch  Pro User  says:

This is fantastic, but I'd be really appreciative if you could upload the highest possible resolution you can for images like this. I would like it as a desktop, but on a modern Mac that's 1920 x 1080.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Brian.H  Pro User  says:

Follow the persistent URL at the bottom of the description to find the full resolution scan...
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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photoartist3  Pro User  says:

Wow. I agree that this could become addictive. I hope it's as useful for researchers as it is for casual browsers. The technical quality of these photos is outstanding.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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robotchampion says:

Oranges for a penny huh? the good ole days...
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Chris and Jenni says:

according to
www.minneapolisfed.org/research/data/us/calc/ the prices adjusted for inflation would be

25 cents in 1942 is equal to $3.16 in 2007

1 cent is equal to 13 cents
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Suzen JueL - Resistance  Pro User  says:

these are amazing....reading all the comments, feeling like i've stepped back in time....
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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dwward  Pro User  says:

Absolutely wonderful. These photos are a national treasure and placing them on line is tremendous.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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little miss jack  Pro User  says:

these pictures make the past seem real, not just a chapter in a text book
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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peterbox  Pro User  says:

Wow!!! Fantastic collection!!!!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ollie_girl  Pro User  says:

I could cry! This is an amazing project!

Thanks for sharing!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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missapril1956  Pro User  says:

oh, the typography!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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wetzel9  Pro User  says:

It seems that this photographer assigned several photos mistakedly to Gilead, OH http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congr ess/2179171338/
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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dano35ie  Pro User  says:

Simply Superb
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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roderickbodine says:

The oranges in the center of the pile look brownish. No wonder they were only a penny.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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CFBSr  Pro User  says:

My father earned his living painting signs on store windows. Mostly later on long sheets of butcher paper. Safeway, Piggly Wiggly, Save a Nickel and later King's Super were some of his clients in Denver in the 40's and even into the early 50's.
As a youth in the 40's these scenes are wrenching as I'd go with my dad and he'd try to convince the grocery owner of markets like these that better signs would mean better business. Both the owner and my dad so close to poverty and trying to make a better living would try to compromise to help us all to live.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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FriendlyMade says:

Awesome photo!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Dougs2007  Pro User  says:

stunning collection
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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boxwallainc.com  Pro User  says:

Wow, these images are priceless!!!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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kitty111779 says:

It's kinda funny how the shop owner emphasizes "new" potatoes on the sign in front of the store and on the window. What's that supposed to mean? Hopefully they weren't selling "used" potatoes !!!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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mst2008 says:

boy....have times changed!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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tofu_minx  Pro User  says:

the rich colors are beautiful here...
i love the repetition of the products....
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Rob Scumaci  Pro User  says:

Great shot. The note about the size of the flour is indeed interesting.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Paula Wirth  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Feelin' 7-Up! [VINTAGE], and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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jsdellinger says:

New potatoes are simply young potatoes. The "new" implies new to this growing season and not stored from last fall. They are usually harvested in spring / early summer prior to full maturity and are small and thin skinned. During this time period, when affordable produce was local (6lbs of Ohio potatoes, or 5 Florida grapefruits = the same price) the "new potato" was one of the few local early ripening foods available in the spring, and very much in demand.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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"SIR: Poseyal : KNIGHT of the DESPOSYNI  Pro User  says:

wonderful i collect the old fsa etc photos
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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"SIR: Poseyal : KNIGHT of the DESPOSYNI  Pro User  says:

www.ochef.com/1014.htm

www.ochef.com/1014.htm

for the tater nuts above
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jason/  Pro User  says:

What a fantastic image - so happy to have the LOC images on Flickr!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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~Terrie K ~  Pro User  says:

This is before I was born but I remember penny candy and seeing signs like those when I was a child! This is another favorite of mine. Thanks so much Library of Congress for posting these.
--
Seen in your 1930s-40s in Color set. (?)
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

m, as me, a.k.a. marie [deleted] says:

I really value the photos as great memories, and as things we shoule be careful too, flour, fruits, water ...
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

keepin' on... [deleted] says:

this is great - looks like it was taken yesterday.

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Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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The Library of Congress  Pro User  says:

partly cloudy: Regarding your question about Shorpy.com - no affiliation. The Library of Congress makes these images freely available to everyone and does not control their subsequent use.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Fernando Delfini  Pro User  says:

Very great pictures, amazing project !!!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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oloranch says:

Lincolnites: We have a 1938 Lincoln phone book that places The Grand Grocery Co. at 1000 "P" Street ---the phone number is B-2914, if you want to call in your order.

The photo is so vivid, it almost makes it seem possible. Lincoln as my parents saw it...wonderful picture!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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pleroma  Pro User  says:

LOL
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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poodly  Pro User  says:

I t is good to see this image as I really admire the work of John Vachon. I'm delighted by this Library of Congress initiative. They should be congratulated by all photographers for archiving and then publishing the history of America's visual culture.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jean Knowles  Pro User  says:

A note on new potatoes: as jsdellinger says above, they're from the new harvest and not out of storage. The properties of the starch in the potatoes will actually change during storage so new potatoes with their thin, delicate skins are best for boiling, old potatoes are best for baking. When you've been eating the potatoes from last year's harvest, the first harvest of new ones is a real treat!
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

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pleroma  Pro User  says:

There's new potatoes and old potatoes, and then there's old new potatoes and new new potatoes . . . .
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

hmschott [deleted] says:

I just downloaded the pic and the seeds are flower seeds for 5 cents per packet... interesting.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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jaffa48 says:

great shot.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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pejorg2000 says:

Follow-up to oloranch's comment - this is where the downtown Lincoln YMCA is now.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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Laura Mae Noble  Pro User  says:

Think about this: those citrus fruits must have had to be shipped for hundreds of miles to get to that market. That was, and still is, no small feat. It supplied people with delicious, nutritious fruit, but now we take it for granted that oranges will be available, whether we're in California or Michigan(and It's taking a toll). It's nice to appreciate what energy has to be spent to get us those simple "necessities". Potatoes could have been grown locally, but that citrus, man, it's a world-traveler.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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tallbaby2121 says:

pejorg2000, I believe that even-numbered addresses are on the north side of the street. If they were back in Grand Grocery's day then I'm thinking the store would have either been located where the Embassy Suites or on the southeast corner of the block which is occupied by the Journal Star. I could very easily be wrong though.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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whyaduck says:

Regarding roderickbodine's observation that the oranges in the center of the pile looked brown- It looks to me that those particular oranges are not brown, but are wrapped in tissue paper. For those not old enough to remember, it was for many decades the custom of fruit packers to wrap fruits individually in sheets of colored tissue paper.

Sometimes the tissue was blank, but most often it contained the brand name of the fruit packer. (Here's a web page about fruit wrappers.) The practice on wrapping individual pieces of fruit faded away in the U.S. in the 1950s, but I gather that it is still done in some countries that have lower labor costs. Today, of course, fruits in American markets are branded by those little stickers that are so hard to peel off. I preferred the tissue, but it was undoubtedly more wasteful of resources.
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

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gnihton  Pro User  says:

my grandfather chewed Copenhagen
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

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Christel Weixelman  Pro User  says:

I wish I could get five oranges for the same price as 8 oz. of Pepsi. And people say it's not more expensive to eat healthy.
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

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Crown Photography  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Photography Paradiso, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

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frankcerbo says:

excellent collection of your photographs, there is no waste! Congratulations! roberto (buenos aires - argentine)
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

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bonksie61  Pro User  says:

Great shot
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

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immaginiefoto says:

great, i love all this set.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

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dneverinaldo says:

I remember !!!! those were the days when things were 1 penny or 5 cents or even 25 cent !!!!do you remember
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

cltan47 [deleted] says:

best shot
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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Rorsharch214 says:

This archive is a wonderful treat! Ahh if only life were that simple again
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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artland says:

wonderfulllllllllllllll !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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R0ke says:

it reminds me of The Doors' "Morrison hotel" album cover
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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Maureen Bond  Pro User  says:

these shots can make many of us go wild when we find them, that is when we find. Thanks for sharing. just great!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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c_vivi says:

Amazing shot!!!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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italianoadoravel -"Busy" BUSY BUSY  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called FreedomHawk Post1/AWARD3 - """ صقر ال, and we'd love to have this added to the group!


Congratulations! Your photo has been nominated as a
FreedomHawk Awarded Photographer!!
You are invited to add your wonderful picture to
FreedomHawk Awards!!!

hawk2
FreedomHawk Awards!!!
If you accept the invitation remember: post 1 award 3!
Collect 5 Awards to receive a Special FAVE AWARDS
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

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surferdeubatuba says:

verry cool .. I liked a lot.. congratulations!
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

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firecrackaw says:

That's nice pic!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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^^AmoOoudi^^ says:

Waaaaaaaaaaaw Amazing i Love it =)
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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di_the_huntress  Pro User  says:

This is great! Prices look wonderful, but fit with what the wages were then.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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karelle1 says:

hummmmmmmmmmmm very nice pic j am very eat this
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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Gigi Mazzarini (mazzarinieyes) says:

this special image is invited
Point of view
point of view


I am FlickrI am Flickr
You are invited to add this image to www.flickr.com/groups/iamflickr
Please tag this photo with iamflickr when you add it to the pool.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

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"tommi"  Pro User  says:

Great shot!

The Great Art Of Photography

Please, add this image to "The Great Art of Photography" -group.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

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artland says:

wonderfulllllllllllllll !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

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мś.5ŏ5ά © لآالـﮧ إلآ آللـِﮧ says:

Great shot ..


www.islamhouse.com/s/9661

if the link impressing you
send to me your opinion =)
\\
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

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Howard33  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Small Business, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

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clhouse248 says:

i love any vintage photos... jus makes me wish i grew up in a much simpler (and cheaper) time period
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Nizam_Jusoh says:

Fantastic shot..so natural!

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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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♥shqipe (^_~) says:

excellent shot
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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ha.haha says:

looking for this pic i really wanna eat oranges! : )
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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wirralwater (all good)  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Your pics and shots, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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dano35ie  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called CLONES PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY IRELAND, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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Huntan Peck says:

A beautiful capture of old Americana!
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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Soleil is me.  Pro User  says:

Bravo!; An Interesting image:)
An exquisite image. So beautiful among the million images on flickr. I pleasure to give the awards and honor to give the invitation to display your best to My amazing group;

SPLENDID PHOTO... YOUR PHOTO WINS THE BEST AT
THE INSPIRE GROUP...

INSPIRE... Invite ONLY
You are INVITED to display this wonderful photo
in the INSPIRE Pool.

Have a nice day:)

Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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KalvinKhoo  Pro User  says:

Amazing shots... Love it
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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Maureen Bond  Pro User  says:

this is a fantastic image, love the past, I'd go back versus ahead....
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Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

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ح ــمــۈۈد says:

NÌĈЄ ŠĤøΘøTツ

Қєєρ !т ũρツ

CΘṂ̶̮̲̅͡Ṃ̶̮̲̅͡єЙт Ṃ̶̮̲̅͡єツ
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

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Zoom Lens  Pro User  says:

This is a great photograph for many reasons, but for me it speaks to the fact that we should recognize that one of our primary goals as photographers is to memorialize people, places, and things because as time marches on and these people, places, and things cease to exist ours is the only record extant. Think about that the next time you snap your shutter. What a privilege to be a photographer!
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

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Cat Mandu says:

this is soo sweet and old!
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

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Vilseskogen  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Economic Botany, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

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1994 California says:

I would eat aaaaaaaall haha. Greetings, love old photos. Look at this
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/1994california /4023124906/]
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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  • Taken some time in 1940
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