Suitcases Left in New York Insane Asylum - Still Full of Belongings

DailyMail.co.uk website

Photographer Jon Crispin has been documenting the suitcases left behind by patients at the Willard Asylum for the Insane in Upstate New York. 400 suitcases were found in an attic at the asylum in 1995. They date from 1910 to 1960\

The photographs are poignant - beautifully done, fascinating yet sad at the same time.  I wish New York had given the photographer permission to reveal full names of the patients these suitcases belonged to. As a genealogist I immediately wanted to research the person behind the meager belongings.

I wish I could show a photo of one of the suitcases here on Olive Tree Genealogy blog but I don't have permission. So please take a moment and use the link below to read more and view these beautiful photos. They tell a story without words.

Thanks to a reader for telling me about a book which tells the story of the patients these suitcases belonged to. You can buy The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic  in Kindle, Paperback or Hardcover from Amazon.com

You can read more at The Willard Suitcase Project and at Jon Crispin's blog

Also read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2338714/The-chilling-pictures-suitcases-left-New-York-insane-asylum-patients-locked-away-rest-lives.html#ixzz2W0jUwxTN