I’m a sucker for rescuing lost family films. This group came from Tucson, Arizona. I’m familiar with Tucson and I like the place.

The rolls were wrapped very tightly and the backing paper was stuck to the film. This is always a disaster of some proportion.

I washed the film prior to processing and some of the paper residue washed off the film but as you’ll see, not enough.

The paper prevented the developer from working on the part of the film covered by it. It’s a shame but decades of Tucson heat did a number on these old rolls.

When these photographs were taken, the photographer couldn’t have imagined how they’d be presented to the world and his subjects.

What a wonder….


Historic site. Cimmaron, New Mexico.