a collection of "hidden"mothers

Thanks to the folks over at The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things I came across an amazing set of vintage photographs of hidden mothers in these portraits of their children. Back when photos took a while to expose and children had to sit still for a good chunk of time, mothers would "hide" (they're clearly there...) in order to hold their kids still for long enough. I find these photos beautiful, haunting, funny, endearing and just plain adorable. And while not exactly about collections, this flickr collection is pretty amazing.

    

Toast-O-Lator

I always hated toast. Who wants to eat warm, stale bread? But recently, I have developed a love for the toaster, and I don't know that the two are necessarily related, but suddenly I think toast is delicious.  The toasters themselves aren't so bad either. In fact, they are such a popular collectors item there is more than one website devoted to toaster collections.

Ralph has been collecting toasters for years.  The "Toast-O-Lator" is his prized posession, and he clearly loves the chrom toasters.  Check out Ralph's collection. 

http://www.toastermuseum.com/scripts/toastercollection/col_countries_us01.html

http://www.toastermuseum.com/scripts/toastercollection/col_countries_us01.html

http://www.toastermuseum.com/scripts/toastercollection/col_countries_us01.html

http://www.toastermuseum.com/scripts/toastercollection/col_countries_us01.html

http://www.toastermuseum.com/scripts/toastercollection/col_character01.html