I certainly hope you check with all of your relatives about your photos. There may well be one — a niece, a nephew, perhaps — who cares about those old photos.
This summer, for the first time in my life, I got to see a photograph of my maternal grandmother, who died about 15 years before I was born. I had no idea of what he looked like! Brought a tear to my eye when a cousin brought the photo to a family reunion that I hosted. I scanned several photos that this cousin and another had brought. Means a lot to me to have these image.
Photos are a lot different than furniture or decorative paintings. They are most definitely a connection to your lineage.
You make a good point but my family is very small and they are almost entirely male. None of them have expressed any interest in the photos. My plan is to go through them all, select ones that I think they would enjoy and get rid of the rest. I think, after what you’ve said, I’ll just put photos of the great grandparents in envelopes, mail it to them, and have them sort it out. After years of dealing with my sick and elderly parents, they need to occasionally make a decision!
Thank you for your advice.