The Curated Chronicle
A Closer Look with Cate: Museum Store Aftershocks
Cate Bell, curator and co-founder of Found Image Press, takes a closer look at why so many of us love museum stores. (Photo of Mozie in front of the San Diego Natural History Museum with a vintage image postcard of the museum.)
Museum stores are one of the few retail environments in which I become both more discerning and more vulnerable. I go in thinking I’ll just have a look, and five minutes later I’ve connected with a packet of letterpress bookmarks, a tea towel featuring medieval rabbits, a postcard of an obscure 19th-century botanical study, and, of course, at least one pair of earrings I have never seen anywhere else.
Angie’s Pick: Dance of Death
At Found Image Press, we spend our days with the dearly departed. Not literally, of course, but we could assume almost every image in the archive outlived the person who made it. Angelica (Angie), Finishing Finesser, Magnet Maker, and Quality Control Queen chose this month’s image. It looks death right in the eye and, somehow, comes away smiling.
“Dance of Death” features a skeleton in full swing with a swooning dance partner on a 1919 movie poster, all bold lines and colors. Angie’s pick arrives just as the season turns toward the days when we remember our dead.
Things Get a Little Nutty
Every archive has a junk drawer. Ours has a name.
Most of our 60,000-plus images sort themselves politely. Cowboys go with cowboys, botanicals with botanicals, and the Grand Canyon knows exactly where it belongs. But every so often, an image lands on the desk, and we’re left scratching our heads. A giant potato riding a toy tractor. A hearse with tail fins. A poodle at the piano with the confidence of a concert professional. And where, exactly, do you file two boxer puppies with holiday bulbs around their necks??
A Closer Look with Cate: Moments Not Meant to Last
Cate Bell, curator and co-founder of Found Image Press, takes a closer look at “Family Enjoying Leisure Time at Home”, one of over 60,000 vintage images in our archive.
Ben's Pick: Let's Play Ball!
September is the month baseball stops being a pleasant way to spend an evening and starts feeling urgent. The standings tighten, and the math gets grim. Grown adults begin checking scores of games involving teams they do not care about, because those games have suddenly mattered.
Kyzl’s Pick: Trash Bandit’s Lucky Corn
At Found Image Press, we spend a lot of time digging through history, and occasionally, we unearth an image that makes everyone laugh out loud. This month, Kyzl, our Woman of Many Hats, picked a “Raccoon Washing Corn” art print with real charm. Front and center of this illustration is a raccoon caught red-pawed, mid-rinse, giving dinner the careful attention typically reserved for a five-star meal. It is silly, sweet, and has a little heart behind it too.
Barry's Beat: The Hunt for the Perfect Image
At Found Image Press, we like to say we're professional time travelers, minus the paradoxes (mostly). For 30 years now, we've been digging through flea markets, estate sales, and dusty shoeboxes in search of images that make you laugh, gasp, or feel a little something in your chest. But what actually happens before a stray postcard or forgotten photograph earns a spot in our treasury of over 60,000 images?
We sat down with Barry Bell, co-founder and a person with an eye for the visually irresistible, to discover how our collection comes together, one wonderful and wacky image at a time.
Bea's Pick: Images of the Deep
At Found Image Press, we’ve built our treasury on the idea that history and artistry go hand in hand, and few images prove that quite like the illustrations by Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), a German biologist, naturalist, physician, and artist.
Customer Spotlight: Stay in Touch Raleigh
Stay in Touch Raleigh is a love letter to paper people. You know, the letter writers, journalers, planners, list-makers, sticker collectors, fountain pen dabblers, and anyone who has ever bought a notebook with wildly optimistic intentions. Built around the idea of slowing down and reconnecting through tactile, intentional rituals, Stay in Touch offers a warm and welcoming space for creativity, community, and analog delight. The shop is thoughtfully curated to make paper feel approachable, inspiring, and deeply human. We sat down with Catherine Iszard, shop owner, to talk about her love of everything analog in a digital world.
Mariana’s Pick: Sunset Drive Along the Pacific Coast
There are some images that practically roll down the windows for you. This month’s employee pick, chosen by Mariana Palker, Found Image Press’ Customer Experience Specialist, is one of those. “Malibu at Sunset” captures a glowing California coastal drive north of Santa Monica, complete with winding roads, ocean views, dusky mountains, and a very dramatic sunset. Mariana shares why this image inspires her to pack a bag, queue a playlist, and head for the horizon.
Olivia’s Pick: Forever Fighting Fascism
At Found Image Press, we spend a lot of time looking back through history. Some of it is charming, some is strange, and some grabs your attention and refuses to let go. Shipping Goddess, Olivia, selected an image of the month that definitely grabs your attention.
This Spud’s for You
Father’s Day is more than a card aisle full of neckties, punchlines, and a six-pack of their favorite beer. At its core, the day is a chance to celebrate the people who show up before we know we need them, fix what isn’t broken yet, tell the same stories again and again, and quietly (or not so quietly) become part of the fabric of our lives. Thoughtfully displayed vintage Father’s Day paper gifts offer a meaningful way to tap into the gratitude and love we feel for the dads and dad figures in our lives.
Aurelia’s Pick: See You at the Beach
At Found Image Press, favorite images are rarely chosen for just one reason. Sometimes it’s the color, sometimes the humor, sometimes the strange and wonderful feeling that an image has its own personality. Aurelia Bell, our Artistic Visionary, picked this month’s image, Dog Dressed in Beachwear — a beach scene with a dog so stylish, so unbothered, and so cool that it practically radiates sunshine. It’s playful, funny, and packed with the kind of vintage charm that makes you want to step straight into the picture and shake that dog’s paw.
Customer Spotlight: Tattered Cover at Union Station (Denver, CO)
If Denver has a “front porch,” it might just be Union Station. Rolling suitcases, commuter coffee runs, and wide-eyed visitors all converge beneath one historic roof. Tucked into the bustle is a compact Tattered Cover storefront that serves as the city's literary welcome desk. It is part travel companion, part local love letter, and part treasure hunt. Born during Union Station’s major renovation (mid-2010s), the location was designed to meet readers where they arrive and depart. It captures people in motion and invites them to stop, browse, and stay a while.
Cate’s Pick: Freely Flowing Color on the Move
This month, Cate Bell, co-founder of Found Image Press shares an image from the archive that really moves her. “Modern Dancer” cartwheels into the room and instantly uplifts the mood. The pure Art Deco electricity exudes flowing movement, bright color, and a dancer who is made of confidence and momentum.
Barry’s Pick: Nostalgic Literacy
Some images feel like they were made to do a job, and they do it well. Barry Bell, co-founder and chief nostalgia curator of Found Image Press, selected “T Tiger, U Umbrella, V Van” as his pick of the month. This cheerful illustration teaches as it charms. Three letters, words, and scenes pull you into a world where learning looks cute and quaint. Barry shares why this image hits all the right nostalgia notes.
Quiet Comeback of Letter Writing
Letter writing is having a quiet comeback, and we couldn’t be more excited for the paper renaissance.
Since the late 1990s, “staying in touch” meant texts and emails that quickly vanish, and over the past decade or so, it has meant disappearing voice notes and social posts that feel oddly public for something that’s supposed to be personal. While this may be convenient, it’s not lasting. That’s why the revival of letter writing and pen pals makes sense. It’s a practical response to how disposable digital connections can feel.
Barry’s Pick: Robust Natural Health and Exuberance
There’s something about vintage ski posters that hits just right. With bold lines, crisp snow, and endless peaks, they give that feeling of motion that you can almost feel in your bones. This month, Barry Bell, Found Image Press co-founder and chief nostalgia curator, chose a striking winter scene as his pick. The dynamic skier moving down a sunny slope beneath a radiant sky conveys athleticism and elegance all in one.
Vintage Love in Kodachrome
We spend a lot of time in the past, and honestly, we like it that way, especially on Valentine’s Day. Our seasonal collection features vintage gems ranging from whimsical to wildly romantic. And now and then, we flip through the archives and stumble upon one that’s got both whimsy and romance.
Barry’s Take on a Holiday Classic – Timeless Sophistication
Some images hold your attention quietly. Thanks to its serene elegance and perfectly balanced composition, this Art Deco print is a holiday favorite of Found Image Press co-founder and chief nostalgia curator Barry Bell. In a world full of visual noise, it’s nice to find an image that feels so composed. We asked Barry to share his take on what makes this piece such an enduring seasonal classic.
Barry’s Pick — The Black Cat Café
A picture is worth a thousand stories, and this gem has plenty to say. It’s bold, it’s cheeky, and it perfectly captures that mid-century mix of kitsch, charm, and adventure. From vibrant colors to its roadside list of northern Arizona's finest sights, this image transports us to a full-sensory time warp of the heyday of American car travel.
To explore what makes this postcard so compelling, we spoke to Barry Bell, co-founder of Found Image Press and chief nostalgia aficionado, who shares why this vintage café advertisement sparks a special connection with people.
Golden Light: Greeting Fall with Pictures
Autumn loves a picture. History proves it.
In old photos, paintings, and illustrations, fall arrives in a sweep of gold, with warmth you can feel. Early photographers and artists chased low sun and long shadows because they knew evening made everything glow. Leaves turned to lanterns, faces softened, and even trains looked romantic.
Route 66 and the Rise of Roadside America
Barry Bell, our co-founder and resident navigator of nostalgia, can spot a great vintage graphic from a mile marker away. As part of a new series, Barry’s Picks, he will handpick a few images from our archive to give a little history on the era, talk about why he is drawn to it, and share the past’s connection to today. This month, his journey through our collections took him from Los Angeles to Chicago on Route 66.
5 Steps to Subtly Transition from Halloween to the Holidays
If you have a retail space, manage displays, or love switching up your home’s seasonal style, you might be dreading that awkward in-between. You know, the time when Halloween is over, but it is too soon for full-blown tinsel and jingle bells. Even if you aren’t sold on turkeys and stuffing, we think that the right crossover strategy allows you to bridge that gap with style and a little bit of magic.
