Of precious things & strange....

Rosemary Scott

Of precious things & strange....

When I decided to study nursing in the late 80’s, my Grandmother; who had been a nurse herself during the war years; gave me her old nursing text book, thinking that I might get some use from it.
As a nursing text it was an amusing way to learn all the things not to do, but for a peek into the past, it was priceless.
It is inscribed inside the cover with her name, the date – 1932, & the hospital at which she did her Nursing training.

While leafing through the pages this afternoon I discovered this little gem, that I have never previously come across….

A new chapter – Bacteriology – begins. Words on the page like bacterium, microbe, pathogen, stagnant pools[???]....
But also; pressed lovingly between the pages; the remnants of a daisy flower & leaf, & a hand written note pertaining to “paroxysmal tachycardia”, & numerous other notations in the various margins, scribbled in pencil, obscure references to other strange states of health.

Only my grandmother would know the truth of this page….. only she knows what made her secrete a once beautiful bloom there, amongst the stagnant & diseased.

I feel like I’ve stumbled upon some bizarre time capsule….....

not so bizarre really…. just a touching reminder of someone once & still greatly loved.

[Canon EOS 1000D]

  1. redbubble homepage feature – August 2009

Of precious things & strange.... belongs to the following groups:

Australian Contemporary Photography, Canon DSLR (One Image Per Day & A Canon Camera Must Be In The Description Before It's Accepted), DSLR Users Only - 1/24 - Camera & Lens In Description Please., Images & Ideas, Just Brown, Moms 4 Art, Mood & Ambience - Strictly Photos, PixElations - The Art of Photoshop, The Addicted Photographerâ–º2 Per Dayâ—„ and The true beauty Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters
Of precious things & strange.... by Rosemary Scott
Of precious things & strange.... by Rosemary Scott
  • midzing

    midzing

    I love this Rosemary,,, and being a nurse myself,,,I love these old textbooks,,,they remind us of how far we have come in only a short period of time to understanding biology/microbiology,,,, well done, gorgeous image

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    I thought you’d appreciate this one Wendy….. I was just reading a page from this book…. wound cleaning that involved a paste made of bismuth, iodoform & liquid parrafin, & lots of scrubbing with gauze….. yeeouch!

  • midzing

    midzing

    and I bet no pain relief in sight!!!

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Ahhh, pain relief…. according to page 134, a starch & laudanum enema was the analgesic of the day….

  • John Edwards

    John Edwards

    A beautiful image and a great story behind it.

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks so much John :))

  • Barbara Glatzeder

    Barbara Glatzeder

    What a precious find and lovely capture of it :)) This is immortality, I think ;)))

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks for your lovely words Barbara….. You’re right, for those who knew my Grandmother, this is definitely a little piece of immortality…..

  • kathy s gillentine

    kathy s gillen...

    beautiful work

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Many Thanks Kathy :))

  • cdwork

    cdwork

    This is fantastic! A step back in time! Great image

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Glad you think so Chrissy, Thanks :))

  • debb

    debb

    Ohhhhh – what a wonderful discovery Rosemary – I only wish Id spent more time finding out more about my grandparent when they were here – but I guess its through age that I now would have the time to sit down & listen – appreciate the history & document it – so like you my friend we can only wonder about the story of the dried flowers – how wonderfully romantic – LOVE this image – cheers debb :)

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    It was lovely find…. I find it so odd that I’ve never found it before, because I’ve looked through this book many times.
    My grandmother passed away not long after she gave me this book, so it’s actually one of the last memories I have of her.
    I’m pleased you like this one, Thanks Deb :))

  • Caroline Fournier

    Caroline Fournier

    What a great find and incredible time capsule. Shot beautifully as always. I love it.

  • Maria Medeiros

    Maria Medeiros

    BeautifuL! I love what you have written with the image. its so beautiful! I love stories like this. So magical and mysterious. Lovely work! Beauty!

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks Maria….. I found another magic page in this same book yesterday…. my grandmother had written all sorts of quotes pertaining to life & love…....it was lovely!!

  • Larissa Brea

    Larissa Brea

    Very good image!

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks very much Larissa :))

  • Erika .

    Erika .

    This is breathtaking. The tones are excellent. There’s something magical about this that makes it a unique capture. Love it.

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks so much erika, that means a lot to me :))

  • ShadowDancer

    ShadowDancer

    This picture is really beautiful, the title had me curious and after reading your description it’s a perfect one. Really beautiful photographic skill, and even more beautiful is the story you’ve shared of what put these pieces together and what they mean to you.

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks so much Shadowdancer….. I’m not sure, but I think the personal connection is probably what makes this one :))

  • Elaine Harriott

    Elaine Harriott

    This is gorgeous, I don’t know how I missed it! Beautifully done and CONGRATS on your home-page feature!!! woohoo.

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Oh, Thankyou so much Elaine :))

  • Colleen Farrell

    Colleen Farrell

    Wonderful still life! Congratulations on your home page feature.

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks very much Colleen…. very excited!

  • Mary Campbell

    Mary Campbell

    How lovely, and a lovely way to remember your grandmother. My mom use to press flowers in books like this too, I just never thought of shoot it.. Good eye.

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks Mary. I’ve never done it either. It was just the right thing to do for this one…. i wanted to preserve it…:))

  • LoriSmaltz

    LoriSmaltz

    I suggested your image for the home page. .

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thankyou so much Lori – you’ve made my day!

  • Jan Timmons

    Jan Timmons

    Quite an appealing shot and story, Rosemary. With the old blue ink, I assume you didn’t pp the photo—that you captured the true color of the book and flowers?

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks so much Jan. No this one didn’t require much pp work at all. Usually I can’t help myself, & start adding texture! But this just didn’t need it. Just the usual levels & curves & a little burn around the edges as a rough vignette. I just loved all the tones as they were….

  • Joanne Bradley

    Joanne Bradley

    This is a beautiful shot and composition, and a fine tribute to yhour grandmother! Wonderful commentary! A lovely poignant work that really deserves the homepage feature, congratulations!

  • Lorraine Creagh

    Lorraine Creagh

    Wonderful…yay…homepage again. So deserving!!!

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks lorraine…. probably lucky more than deserving, but it’s all good!!

  • caradione

    caradione

    well deserved home page congrats…
    and what a wonderful story to go with this lovely image.
    isnt it wonderful when we stumble upon something so unexpected…

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    absolutely!.... lifes little gems…. Thankyou :))

  • Mariebm56

    Mariebm56

    Congrats! ;)

  • Rosemary Scott replied

    Thanks Marie :))

  • -Whisper-

    -Whisper- 17 days ago

    What a beautiful story! A frozen moment in time holding the secret of, I am sure, loving memories. Isn’t it amazing how timeless time can be sometimes….! There is such a nice feeling of intimacy in your image, it must have been a deep moment to have the pages of a dear old book revealing such precious things!

  • Rosemary Scott

    Rosemary Scott 17 days ago

    Thanks so much Gwenolye. it really was lovely. I’ve leafed through this book so many times, but somehow had missed this page. I was fascinated when I found it…. like a little time capsule…

Add your comment

You need to login or signup to add your comment to this work.