I think of the selfie as being a very modern thing, born out of the ease and immediacy of the digital camera functionality of mobile phones. But here is my dad, over sixty years ago, armed with something like a box brownie in the middle of Egypt, pulling a respectable selfie! Without a doubt, my dad was clearly a trendsetter paving the way for the millions of selfies that have since found their way onto Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr!
This is my dad when he was just 19 years old taking a selfie.
And if we were in any doubt that he had indeed taken the photo himself, the writing on the back is confirmation. "Taken by Myself - Stan Jones".
This is just one of the many fabulous and precious family photos we have recently discovered. I love old photos which unlock the past and give us a window into our family history. It's amazing to look at a photograph of my grandmother taken pre-1920 and see my own cheekbones looking back at me. I feel such a sense of connection to my family's ancestry, with photos going back five generations, which depict my grandson's great great great grandparents. I feel so blessed to have these images...and equally blessed to have a husband prepared to scan them all and save them on a hard drive for me :)