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Camera Bought for $13 at Thrift Store in England Revealed 70-Year-Old Film Featuring Ski Trip Images in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Captured in the Late 1950s, and Now Photo Center is Trying to Identify the Subjects After Public Release
An amateur photographer bought a camera for US$ 13 at a thrift store in England and found an undeveloped film of about 70 years inside it. The images show a ski trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland, and now experts are trying to identify the people depicted.
The discovery occurred while the man was browsing through a second-hand shop in England. He found an antique camera from the 1930s, purchased the device, and took it home. Upon examining the interior, he noticed the presence of an undeveloped roll of film.
The camera was taken to the Salisbury Photo Center in Wiltshire, where specialists decided to carefully develop the negatives. The photographs likely date back to the 1950s and depict a group ski trip in the Swiss Alps.
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Antique Camera from the 1930s Held Undeveloped 127 Film
The equipment is a Zeiss Ikon Baby Ikonta, a folding model produced in the 1930s and designed to fit in the pocket. The camera uses 127 film, a format introduced by Kodak in 1912 that had a brief resurgence in the 1950s.
When left unprotected for decades, the film can become fragile. When examining the camera for the first time, Ian Scott and his colleagues knew that careful procedures would be necessary to avoid damaging the negatives.
According to Scott, older films tend to suffer from base fogging, which reduces contrast. As a precaution, the team submerged the newly discovered film in a very weak developer for 60 minutes. Normally, the process takes less than 15 minutes.
“After the negatives dry, I digitize them to see the positive images. I am the first to see them,” said Scott.
Images Reveal Ski Trip in St. Moritz in the Late 1950s
Not knowing how the film had been stored over the decades, Scott was uncertain about the results. In similar situations, the images may return blank.
When the photographs appeared, they showed a clear record of a ski trip in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Many images depict a group, possibly a family, on the ski slopes.
One of the photos shows a smiling woman ice skating in front of the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, an icon of the region since 1896. Another image captures a group of skiers wearing numbered vests with the inscription Cow & Gate.
Scott identified indications that the photos were taken in the late 1950s. The specific brand of 127 film found, Verichrome Pan 127, was released in 1956. Additionally, the British company Cow & Gate sponsored the Cow & Gate Ski Trophy in the 1950s.
“These are amazing,” wrote a company representative in a comment on Scott’s Instagram. “What a glimpse into the past. It’s very special to see Cow & Gate in memories like this. Thank you for bringing these unseen images back to life.”
Photo Center Seeks to Identify the Owners of the Film and Photographs
Despite the attention, there are still no clues about the identity of the people in the images. “We still have no leads about the photos,” said Scott to Smithsonian magazine. He reported that the case appeared on TV, in the Sunday Express, and on his Instagram, which received 8,000 views in 24 hours.
Even so, no concrete information has been obtained. The store where the camera was purchased, Alabaré Wilton Emporium, has also been unable to assist in the identification. According to Faye Tryhorn, a spokesperson for Alabaré, when people donate items, they usually hand over a bag and leave, making it difficult to trace the origin.
The staff at the Salisbury Photo Center continue to try to locate anyone connected to the skiers depicted. Scott has been sharing the mystery on social media and speaking with local news outlets.
He stated that there seems to be a bigger story behind the photographs and that it would be significant if someone could recognize a face among them. At the very least, he considered it a privilege to have been part of preserving these moments from the past.
Case Reminds of Previous Reveal of Film Found in Another Antique Camera
Scott has participated in similar cases. The previous year, he helped Oliver Barnes, 20, develop a 70-year-old film found inside a 100-year-old Pocket Kodak camera.
The photos showed a crowd gathered in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, England. Historians identified a connection with the Good sisters, the first surviving quadruplets in the world born via cesarean section.
The image, dated 1948, depicts the crowd that gathered to welcome the family. Just like in the current case of the camera bought for $13, the film revealed records preserved for decades.
Now, the photo center is continuing its efforts to solve the mystery involving the camera and film found at the thrift store, keeping the search for information that could clarify the identity of the skiers depicted in the images open.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine.
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