A collection of $ 100,000 worth of antiques that were found by a U.S. lawyer in a building he just bought will be auctioned off in September, Democrat & Chronicle reports.
Last year, David Whitcomb acquired an old three-story building in Geneva, New York, to expand his law firm. While exploring the third floor of the property, the new owner discovered a sealed penthouse that housed hundreds of objects from a photo studio from the beginning of the last century.
Among the findings sand they found stacks of photos, frames, glass negatives, and equipment that belonged to the photographer James Ellery Hale, who worked in the city between 1892 and 1920.
One of the most prominent pieces is a framed portrait of the suffragette feminist Susan B. Anthony, one of the pioneers of the struggle for women’s suffrage in the United States.
As “opening a tomb in Egypt,” but in the field of photography As one Eastman Kodak photography expert put it, it’s like opening a tomb in Egypt that hasn’t been opened and looted before. photography, is to open a time capsule of the heyday of photography, before everyone had a portable camera and instant photos, ”Whitcomb said.
According to experts from One Source Auctions, which will be responsible for conducting the auction, the collection could reach a value of $ 100,000. The tender will take place on September 18, when about 350 of the objects found in the attic will be exhibited. The portrait of Susan B. Anthony will be auctioned off at a starting price of $ 5,000.