More Treasures! Smith's Appliances, Magnolia Road, Vicksburg (Abandoned Films 05d)

Smith's Appliances on Magnolia Road in Vicksburg sells old machines, freezers, and odd treasures. I love places like this, and Mr. Smith generously let me take photographs inside during 2020 when I was on one of my episodes of exploring around town.

As you can see, Mr. Smith emphasizes gasoline and motor-oriented artwork and souvenirs. There were also some household appliances, and I assume he repairs and sells them. 

I took the black and white photograph on my last roll of Panatomic-X film with my Leica M2 camera with 35mm and 50mm Summicron lenses. I measured the light with a Gossen Luna-Pro Digital in incident mode. This roll was grainy and underexposed compared to the previous one that I used in the Adolph Rose Antiques. I assume this roll had aged too much despite having been (supposedly) frozen in storage. It is a warning that expired film is always a bit of a gamble. But the grittiness works well for this type of topic; please click any frame to see more detail.

The Old Store of Bovina, Mississippi

This is a continuation of our series on rural country stores in Mississippi.

The appropriately-named Old Store is at 6216 Warriors Trail in Bovina. I visited a few weeks ago to look for a mortise lock, and the proprietors generously let me take photographs.

Just walking up to the front door, and you know this place will be fun.

My hosts told me that the building originally opened as a store in 1915, but only operated until 1919. Thereafter, for most of the 20th century, it served as a storage building.

Fortunately, some of the original furniture survived. These nice old cabinets and storage bins are original, but all the merchandise is new-old stuff.  The day I visited was cold (freezing), but a cheerful wood stove was blazing and taking some of the chill off the air.

If you need old hardware or other fittings, make a trip to the Old Store. It is nice to see this place in business. The phone is 601 636 3630; the owners are really friendly.

Exterior photographs taken with a Fuji X-E1 digital camera, tripod-mounted. (You know what I have written before: use a tripod for architecture. Your subject is not going to run away from you.) Interior photographs taken with a Panasonic G3 camera with Olympus 9-18 lens, files processed with Photo Ninja software.

Great Stuff: Treasure Store on Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg

The Treasure Chest is a funky little place at 3444 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, Mississippi, full of old sewing machines, LP records, hardware fittings, pots, glassware, paintings, books, and general treasures (OK, some might call it junk). The store is closing soon, and the proprietor generously let me wander around with my tripod and camera.  He is a really nice guy.

Even getting out of your car, you are greeted with neat things hanging from posts and the rafters of the porch.

Step inside: shapes, textures, and goods piled high.

The glassware is neatly organized along the wall.

Who is this elegant lady, and could she have once worn this straw hat?

Memories of the past. The gent looks very early-20th century, but the young lady has a modern countenance.

You have to love a place where the cat sleeps in the merchandise and largely runs the show.

I hope the owner can sell off his stock at a reasonable prices. It must be difficult to run a business like this. Nationwide, the economy is improving and many retailers report decent sales, but Vicksburg is still behind the national trends. Please patronize local merchants. They are your neighbors.

(March 10, 2014 update: the store has closed.)

Photographs taken with a Panasonic G3 digital camera and Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 lens.  Raw files reprocessed with Photo Ninja software. I used a 1:1 aspect ratio in-camera to create a square frame, similar to the view in my old Rolleiflex camera. The Rolleiflex used 120-size film to produce twelve 54x54 mm frames per roll. Click the link for an article on the Rolleiflex.