The Story:
About a month ago, I stumbled across a large auction from the estate of a photographer from Kansas and Texas named Sam Westfall. There were cameras and magic lanterns dating back to the 1800s, antique advertisements/signage and film. The lot I was most interested in was 92 rolls of film dating from the 1940s-1990s. After successfully outbidding the competition, my dear friend Sara Diggins went to the Austin Auction Gallery in Austin, TX to pick up the film for me. A few anxious days of tracking the package later and I had it in hand. While sorting through it all, I found 12 different film sizes (116, 126, 127, 110, 120, 620, 828, 8mm, 35mm, 16mm, 14mm and one mystery roll). On top of that I discovered three undeveloped rolls that had been exposed as well as developed negatives just left loose in a box.
The three exposed rolls were all 120 format and were Kodak Verichrome (1960s), Kodak Super Pan XX (1950s) and Kodak Autographic Orthochromatic film (1920s). If you need a refresher on autographic film check out this earlier edition of The Twin Lens Gazette. Development of the Verichrome and Super Pan XX yielded blank rolls, but when I developed the autographic film that had sat dormant for a century, I was astonished to find six images on the negatives! This type of film is so old and rare that even with an unlimited spending budget, it is almost impossible to find a single roll. The film was only manufactured from 1914-1932.
The Process:
I decided to use Kodak HC-110 black and white developer at Dilution B which is 484mL of water with 16mL of developer concentrate (this gets the most use out of one bottle of concentrate). HC-110 is affectionately referred to as “the syrup” and is one of the best developers for old films.
Load the film in a Paterson reel and tank in total darkness.
Wash the film in water that is roughly 68°F to cool it down to temperature and prepare it to evenly receive the developer.
Mix the developer concentrate into water that is cooled to 68°F.
Pour the developer in and agitate (invert or rotate the tank) for 30 seconds, then agitate for 5 seconds, every 30 seconds for 12 minutes. (I admittedly guessed the development time because I couldn’t find any information to aid me online).
Wash for one minute under running water.
Fixer (I use Sprint) with the same agitation pattern for 6 minutes. (A little extra fix time with old films never hurt anything).
Wash for 5 minutes in running water and you’re done!
The Results:
I am still shocked that I successfully pulled photos from film that had been exposed ~100 years ago. I am even more pleased that they are clear enough to discern faces and clothing. Some are more clear than others and the grain is significant, but to have any discernible photos with film this old is a win. There is one image with a car that resembles a Ford Model A which was in production from 1928-1931. That timeline is also consistent with when the film was in use, meaning it was likely these photos were made sometime in the late 1920s or early 1930s. I can only imagine who these people were and what kind of life they lived.
Fun Fact:
This film is labeled for a specific camera, the No. 2 Folding Autographic Brownie that was made 1915-1926. The camera was sold for $10.13 with an optional carrying case for $1.25. $10 in 1920 is equal to around $162 in 2024.