
This woman is on a stroll somewhere on sunny Jersey, caught (like the couple in the grass in the distance) by a walking pictures movie cameraman. She is gripping her handbag and also swinging a smart looking folding camera by the short strap. I like the determined look she is giving the cameraman; by this time the cine photographers were probably a familiar sight to holidaymakers but here it clearly looks as if the encounter is something to be endured! Nevertheless she took the ticket and purchased the strip of three prints later in the day. It was cut up but then the prints were mounted in a photo album, so have survived in fairly good condition (although the negatives show quite a lot of scratches from careless handling in the darkroom).
It was taken by the firm of Walkies based at 39 Broad Street in St Helier, where most of the walking picture firms had their main office over the years. The woman in the very brightly patterned dress behind is next in line.
I was wondering what camera the woman herself was using, so asked camera collector David Gardner. “There were many makers of folding cameras in the 1920s but you would be on pretty safe ground to bet it’s a Kodak as they sold far more than anyone else. There are a few of clues which support Kodak. (These) lead me to suggest the No.1a Pocket Kodak Junior, the UK model produced 1930 to 1936.” This picture of the back of the camera (below) certainly matches very closely. Interestingly the Kodak logo hinges outwards to help prop the camera up to enable the taking of portraits. Neat! It may be her own, but often you could hire a camera at the seaside for the week.

I did ask Dave Gardner if he might be able to spot the location, and he came back: “This is roughly where the picture was taken. It’s in the south west corner of Jersey, a path down to the La Corbiere Lighthouse. It seems has been a popular path for holiday makers for many years because of the views and the sunsets. The building is now a hotel apartment place called Corbiere Phare”. Even better, as he is a camera collector, he notes that is a Camera Obscura in the centre of the old view!
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