Saving Pictures on the old floppy disks!

Many years ago now, way before the invention of cell phones with a built-in camera, I discovered a bunch of old 3 1/2″ floppy disks while cleaning up in the studio and unpacking some boxes that had been stored away for a very long time.

Since I still had a computer with a floppy disk drive at the time, I inserted a couple of the old floppies into the computer and was delighted to find some pictures of antique wicker furniture pieces I’d repaired years ago.

Victorian wicker chair, heavily adorned and embellished with curlicues, arrow weave serpentine arms, and cane webbing seat needing to be replaced.

RELATED READING: What’s a floppy disk drive camera?

I thought I had lost all those pictures years ago during our move from Zumbro Falls, in southern Minnesota to Angora, in northern Minnesota.

So I was really glad to have found them again and began the process of putting them on CDs and flash drives or zip drives.

My specialty and favorite antique wicker era was the Victorian era, pieces made in the 1880s-1910s. During the heyday of wicker furniture manufacturing, the materials used were of excellent quality, and the craftsmanship was superb!

I lovingly repaired those fine wicker pieces and had customers coming from far and wide. My restoration work was constantly in demand.

We lived in the mid-west, where there were many Victorian homes still filled with Victorian wicker furniture, so I stayed very busy because many of those pieces needed to be repaired and restored.

We wicker repair businesses are very few and far between, so I was in the right spot at the right time and was really enjoying my vocation.

RELATED READING: Where can I get my wicker repaired?

Fully repaired Victorian fancy wicker posing chair with a set-in close woven cane webbing seat, curlicues, swag decorations on the back with swooping arms and back. — Heywood Wakefield wicker posing chair with swag ribbon

I purchased a Panasonic digital camera in the mid or late 1990s when digitals were first appearing on the scene.

At the time, Sony was the only company that also had a floppy disk drive that could be used in the camera as well as on anyone’s computer!

It also had a very big viewing screen that was incredible. That’s the one I wanted, but it was too expensive.

So, I settled on the Panasonic and paid around $400 (which was a great deal of money at the time), but I really managed to get my money’s worth out of that camera!

After many years, that trusty old, well-loved Panasonic digital camera bit the dust, but luckily by then, I could afford the more expensive Sony Mavica digital camera.

Of course, the new Sony digital camera had many more bells and whistles, but I truly loved that old Panasonic and just about had a memorial service for it when it passed away.

1880s fancy upholstered wicker baby perambulator with wooden wheels, and steel springs, adorned with heavy wicker embellishments. — Wicker Baby Perambulator with wooden wheels

Anyway, getting back to the photos, I will be posting more as time allows, but I’m glad I was able to post some here to whet your appetite. Hopefully, I’ll find more and post them on the blog, too.