The James Ellery Hale photo is valued at $10,000 to $50,000.
February 5, 2021
Lawyer David J. Whitcomb with the photographs he found in a secret attic in a building he purchased in Geneva, New York. Photo courtesy of David J. Whitcomb.
A lawyer looking for a new office stumbled upon a trove of historic photographs when he discovered a secret attic in the three-story building he bought last December in Geneva, New York. Among the finds in the hidden trove was a rare portrait of suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
David J. Whitcomb, 43, was changing a light bulb on the building’s third floor when he realized the ceiling looked strange. That was because it was a drop ceiling, installed decades ago to convert the space into an apartment unit. Whitcomb spotted an access panel, climbed up on a stack of chairs, and peered inside with a flashlight.
A man had no idea his law office building even had an attic, so he was doubly surprised to find a portrait of Susan B. Anthony and other treasures there.
A US man had no idea the Geneva, New York, building he bought in December 2020 for his law office even had an attic, so he was doubly surprised to find the treasures that have been stashed there for nearly 100 years.
David J Whitcomb and a friend noticed the ceiling on the third floor looked odd after going up to change a light bulb.
They saw an access panel and stacked up some chairs so Mr Whitcomb could climb up and see what was inside, illuminated only by the tiny flashlight on his phone.
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The photos are covered in soot from a fire in a neighbouring building.(Credit: Courtesy David J. Whitcomb)
A long-forgotten attic hid a photography studio and a famous portrait of Susan B. Anthony
Courtesy David J. Whitcomb
Courtesy David J. Whitcomb
Courtesy David J. Whitcomb It took David J. Whitcomb hours to go through the old portraits and photography equipment he found.
Courtesy David J. Whitcomb
Whitcomb holds a fragment from a glass photographic negative.
David J. Whitcomb had no idea that the Geneva, New York, building he bought in December 2020 for his law office even had an attic, so he was doubly surprised to find the treasures that have been stashed there for nearly 100 years.
Whitcomb and a friend noticed that the ceiling on the third floor looked odd after going up to change a light bulb.
Jigsaw puzzles have made a major comeback in 2020. In the spring, when the first shelter-in-place orders were issued in many regions of the country due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, there was a surge in demand for puzzles. Puzzle makers saw sales go up by 300 to 400%, and, due to the pandemic-related pause in production, quickly sold out of popular items. As this seemingly endless year has dragged on with record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. sheltering in place isn’t ending anytime soon.
Puzzling, which many adults find to be both meditative and engrossing, is particularly well-suited to staying at home. With all the tragedy, anxiety, and uncertainty stemming from the pandemic, one way to stop doom-scrolling is to literally unplug from devices and do a puzzle. You can have music or TV on in the background while puzzling, but you can’t really be on social media.