Look at my treasures!

Thu., Sept. 29, 2005

Cheryl-Anne Millsap Cheryl-annem@spokesman.com

A gallery of albums – from a time when photographs were unique and treasured family possessions – looks down from the walls in Mary Ann Sanger’s Spokane home.

Her collection of more than 110 antique elaborately decorated celluloid, leather and velvet photo albums are arranged on special shelves behind glass doors.

Her fist album was a gift from her husband more than 25 years ago. The soft yellowed cover is illustrated with the face of a young girl; a favorite Victorian motif.

When Sanger first started collecting, albums sold for between $65 and $125. Now, however, most sell for $200 to $300.

Online shopping has been an excellent source for Sanger. “I used to have to search for albums,” she said. “But the Internet changed that.”

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