Photographer Trying to Unravel Old Photo Mystery

“They were sitting in a box of old vintage photographs in these plastic sleeves, and from what I could tell, they had been taken sometime in the 50′s”.

Wednesday night, Abell posted them on Facebook, hoping to learn more about the women in the photos or the person who took them.

Curiosity took hold, and Abell posted the images on Facebook and shared them from her professional photography page. The owner of the thrift store had no idea where they came from.

Everybody take a good, long look at your mom, grandmother or that lady you see at the supermarket because she might be a famous Internet star now.

“I’m definitely looking to give credit where credits due”, said Abell.

Apparently, so does the rest of the world. As of this writing, it has over 15,000.

Though the mystery has not yet been solved, the overwhelming attention has led to several promising leads. She said they wished to stay out of the limelight and did not have much information on the images, other than they found the slides in the Shenandoah Valley.

‘I am absolutely excited, ‘ she told the BBC. The only info I have is that the negatives were found in a thrift store on Hull St in Richmond, VA. They are medium format, and judging by the style of dress, made in 1940-1950. There are two subjects in the negatives but shot at different times which makes her wonder if maybe the two ladies were photographing one another.

The professional photographer has since received hundreds of re-tweets and emailed responses from internet users who have joined the hunt. A photographer herself, she’s always curious.

She has launched an internet campaign to track down the models – one of whom she believes could be “Hawaiian or bi-racial” – along with the owner of the film. “By somebody who was very invested in creating something – not just taking a snapshot”. She does, however, have a few theories on the origin story of the photos.

“If nothing else, I just thought I had some cool artwork for my apartment”, she jokes.