Not everyone is eager to buy an old house, knowing how much effort and money will have to be invested to turn it into a modern home or office. But there are situations when there are no other options and you have to agree to such deals. Although in some cases it is the ancient buildings that can present very pleasant surprises in the form of hiding places. This is exactly what happened to the owner of a law firm who needed an office in the old part of the city.
David J. Whitcomb owns a law firm in Jeniva, New York in December 2020. decided to purchase an office in the historical part of the city, so that the employees could work more comfortably and more spaciously. When buying an old building, which for decades served as an office for various companies, there could be no catch or surprises, since it was not a residential building.
Before buying, when inspecting the house, he did not even notice that it had an attic, because there were no doors or stairs on the last (third) floor. There, under the previous owners, there was always a repository and an archive, where employees went up in rare cases. And with the repair of the third floor, the two previous owners of the premises were not in such a hurry that it remained untouched for many decades. Only thanks to chance and the curiosity of the new owner, it was possible to find out about the existence of a secret room, which served more than 100 years ago. the studio of the then-famous photographer James Hale, famous for making official portraits of public and political figures America.
Interesting fact: A burnt out light bulb on the third floor highlighted the oddity of the ceiling, which David J. Whitcomb was not too lazy to investigate thoroughly. There was a double ceiling, after the dismantling of which it was possible to find the entrance to the attic. Having crossed the threshold of a hidden room, the new owner immediately realized that this was not an ordinary repository of various unnecessary rubbish, but a photographic studio. Antique cameras, special mirrors, old lenses, flashlights, a lot of negatives, frames, photographs and even props with which they preferred to take pictures at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.
“The first thing I saw were stacks of picture frames stacked together and they were great. Even a cursory glance was enough to understand that these are rare items made at the turn of the century. The gold and gilded frames shone so brightly that I thought I had found the "treasure of the Goonies", - the new owner says enthusiastically.
It took a long time to clear the dust from the found items and examine most of them. Of course, only specialists could appreciate the purpose and value of well-preserved antiques. David Whitcomb first turned to the Geneva Historical Society, from there he was redirected to the former president society to Dan Weinstock, who has researched Hale's work and is well versed in the art of photography era.
This man selected several portraits of great historical value, including suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony, who fought for women's rights for many years. It was this photograph that became the official photograph of the Susan B. Anthony, copies of which were sold as prints and fundraising postcards.
According to the Novate.ru editors, even a copy of it is kept in the collection of the US Library of Congress, but in a secret attic they found several negatives, on which you can see the smallest details, down to the pins with the association flag (the shooting was carried out in several angles).
According to the researcher, Hale was closely associated with the Women's Suffrage Association of the State of New York, whose conventions were very often held in Geneva. For this reason, many photographic portraits of activists were found in his workshop, but only a few of them could be identified.
In the attic, the existence of which neither historians/researchers nor the two previous owners knew existed, many photographs were found showing local sports teams, men in military uniforms, political and public figures, as well as portraits of smart women and charming children who did not become famous in any way, but this does not make their pictures of historical value lost. And this is not to mention special equipment, rare props, furniture and backgrounds popular in photo studio of those years and many other subjects that will undoubtedly be of interest to researchers and collectors.
But, of course, the current owner of the mansion received the biggest bonus, because he has the right to use the find at his discretion. At the moment, the most interesting items have been cleaned of dust and soot that appeared after a fire in house next door, and are located in the local Auction Company, which plans to hold a auction. According to the owner of the company, it is not possible to determine the total cost of the collection now, because it is unique. Although many experts predict that a collection found in the attic can fetch at least 150-200 thousand dollars. USD
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Notably, David J. Whitcomb paid only $100,000 to buy the old house. dollars, since the building requires major repairs not only on the third floor. The happy owner promised that after the complete renovation of the building, he would open up the attic and perhaps leave part furniture and equipment to organize a small museum-studio of James Hale, who worked in this house for more than 20 years.
For those who dream of having their own hiding place in the house, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with 12 ideas on where and how to equip hidden rooms for storing especially valuable and significant things.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/050921/60404/
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