Mystery lady appears from 87-year-old camera

Date: 18 September 2016 By: Anton van Zyl

We will probably never know who the elderly lady is whose photo got stuck in a vintage camera dating from 1929. The image was probably captured more than 70 years ago before literally seeing the light of day.

The mystery of the old lady started a few months back when I bought a Kodak No 2 Brownie from the Bidorbuy website. The camera was not very expensive and I liked the fact that it was the maroon version, which used to be a bit scarcer. I reckoned it would be a useful addition to the newspaper’s photographic museum, which already boasts more than 70 antique cameras.

The popular Kodak “Brownie” camera made its debut in 1900 and sold for one dollar. During the first year alone, 100 000 of them were purchased. The Brownie helped to put photography into the hands of millions of enthusiasts.

The No. 2 Brownie was introduced in February 1924, but production only started in 1929. From 1929 to 1931 the camera was offered “for one shilling extra” in any of six different colours. The camera used the popular 120 roll film.

When the package arrived, I noticed that the camera was in an absolutely spotless condition. It could not have been used very much and in all probability was left in a cupboard for many decades. The camera went into the display case, where it stood for the past few months.

Two weeks ago we launched this year’s calendar competition, albeit one with a difference. This year we plan on only accommodating photos taken with cameras 50 years and older. The idea is to encourage photographers to use film again and get the old cameras out of their hiding places.

The Zoutpansberger’s news editor, Andries van Zyl, said he would be keen to try out an old Box Brownie, and what better option than the “oldest” one, the No. 2 Brownie. When he opened the back, he realised that there was still some film inside. He sealed it and we then discussed the possibility of developing it.

The film inside was Ilford Sellocrome, a black-and-white negative film that first appeared in 1931. It was a fairly popular choice among photographers during the 1930s and 1940s. Judging by the age of the camera, the condition and the type of film, it is very likely that the photos were taken in the early 1930s.

The next challenge was to find out how to develop the film. A bit of searching on the Internet provided some clues, but it was clear that it would be a “hit-or-miss” exercise. If we were extremely lucky, we might get a vague image from the film. There were numerous “unknowns”, such as the age of the film, the conditions under which it had been stored and also the question of whether someone had opened the film and inadvertently exposed it over the course of the past 80 years.

The film was developed in Ilford’s Perceptol developer for 30 minutes and, low and behold, three frames were rescued. The only photo with a person present in it was the one with the elderly lady.

Efforts to find out who she may have been (because presumably, she died many years ago) were fruitless. The seller on Bidorbuy could not assist in tracing the previous owners.

For now, at least, the old lady is out of the box (camera) and into the light of day.

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Anton van Zyl

Anton van Zyl has been with the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror since 1990. He graduated from the Rand Afrikaans University (now University of Johannesburg) and obtained a BA Communications degree. He is a founder member of the Association of Independent Publishers.

More photos... 

Isabel Venter, journalist at the Zoutpansberger, posed with the camera during international photography day a few weeks ago. At that stage, no-one was aware of the film still inside the camera.