#3 Unlocking the Past: Vintage Cameras, Spy Gear, and DNA mysteries

A Cold War era photograph of two divers with spear guns. It's taken from below the sea off the Bahamas. The image was taken by my uncle who mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.

North Cove, Washington. 2017:

A knock at the door sent the dog into a frenzy and signaled UPS had arrived with a package. What did Bob order now? With Channel 9, our local public television station, broadcasting in the background, I carried the package into the house and set it on the floor. Oh! It’s from Uncle John. I’d forgotten he was sending cameras.

I dug right in. Naturally I was hoping for a Leica or two, but when my mother’s long lost brother Bill’s cameras arrived, the box contained nothing of the sort.

First there was a small Kodak folding camera. It’s an Autographic No. A-127. A cute little thing.

The vintage Kodak Autographic 127A folding camera I found in the box I inherited from my long lost uncle. — *Kodak Autographic 127-A*

Right away I checked for a stylus. The photographer would pop a little door open on the camera back and use the stylus to inscribe notes directly onto the “Autographic” film. When you see old prints with those shaky handwritten notes across the bottom, written directly on the image? Those are images taken with an Autographic camera and inscribed using a stylus. These Autographics are almost always missing their stylus. To my surprise, the little bugger was intact!

The vintage Kodak 127A Autographic folding camera I inherited from my uncle. This image shows the stylus pen that came with the camera. — The Kodak Autographic 127A’s stylus pen and the little door that flips open.

Produced in 1915, this camera didn’t match Bill’s style. Maybe a family member had given it to him? Maybe it had simply filtered into the pile of family photographica? At any rate, it’s a fun little piece and I was glad to have it. I set it aside.

As PBS droned on in the background – a show about people finding out crazy stuff about their past through DNA testing, I exhumed another camera from beneath the packing material. A 35mm Argus A2B.

The vintage Argus A2b camera in its leather case. Inherited from my long lost uncle who disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle during the Cold War. — Argus A2b

This camera would fit a budding photographer who needed an affordable option that also sported a few handy features. Argus first began producing the “A” line of cameras in 1936, with the A2B following in 1939. To use the camera, you would rotate the lens assembly which would then pop out and extend away from the body. I believe Bill’s A2B is postwar. It’s missing the pieces that make up the extinction meter, but it’s still very functional. I’ll bet he used it a lot. It still had its leather case with strap. I decided I would definitely run a roll or two through it.

The third thing appeared to be just a flash attachment in a box. When I opened the box, I laughed out loud. A Minox IIIs, the quintessential mid 20th century’s cliché spy camera! James Bond’s camera of choice! Of course Bill would have this!

James Bond and his Minox Camera. — George Lazenby as James Bond in the movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Arguably the worst Bond film ever.

A Minox spy camera outfit. Was my uncle a Cold War spy? — Minox IIIs set my uncle left behind.

A flash attachment, a light meter and the IIIs. I set about playing with the camera, sliding the body open and releasing the shutter … oh crap. It doesn’t work.

A vintage Minox iiis. My Uncle's spy camera which I inherited 60 years after his disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle. — Closed, the camera looks fine.

The camera looks great, but the shutter won’t fire. I messed with it until I heard something click.

A vintage Minox iiis with a broken part showing in the viewfinder. My Uncle's spy camera which I inherited 60 years after his disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle. — *Once I broke the camera, I really broke it.*

The flash reflector was much more fun. Like a peacock spreading its feathers, I unfurled the reflector. It’s unwieldy on this miniature camera. No self-respecting spy is going to actually use this thing.

A Minox iiis Cold War era spy camera flash attachment. — Hmmm. A spy? Sporting that flash attachment? Might be a bit of a giveaway.

Film for all of these cameras is still available, though you have to work to find 127 roll film and Minox cartridges. I have all of these film sizes in my freezer, but I decided to poke around online to find out what they cost fresh.

Minox film cartridges labeled "SPY FILM". — Freezer film. Good test material.

I was toying with the Minox light meter, looking at film online … all this while being distracted by that show on PBS. It focused on the most interesting DNA revelations. Someone found out they were adopted. Someone else was reunited with … somebody. Someone else is related to a murderer. How fun!

I got a wild hair and ordered a test kit from 23andMe. Who knows? My dad sure had some crazy shit going on in his family.