Elizabeth's Story

“I felt sure that a member of his family would call one day”, said the owner of the house when Elizabeth knocked at the door. “Please wait a moment”.

Returning, the lady held out to Elizabeth a box of more than 50 photographic glass plates, each about 10 cm square. “These are yours. We found them in the attic when we moved in and kept them for you.”

The glass plates belonged to Elizabeth’s great-grandfather John James Cam (1850-1919). “The house in question was owned by my maternal grandparents who had provided John Cam’s widow Mary with a home after he died in 1919. She obviously kept them, which is how they came to be there.”

In his working hours, John Cam had been an inventor with a successful engineering business, developing important vehicle components including the carburettor, radiator and handlebar controls. But in his free time, as a member of the Worcester Tricycle Club, he toured the countryside with his friends - taking photographs. In 1890, this energetic group of cyclists and pioneering amateur photographers decided to found the Worcestershire Camera Club.

But how could Elizabeth discover what was on this intriguing collection of dark, and sometimes decaying, glass plates? She knew that she needed help from somebody in the picture restoration business and, after unsuccessful approaches to various individuals, was introduced by a friend to Restoring Glory.

Using the raw image camera-file format to capture maximum detail from areas of both light and shade, the plates were photographed against a light box, and it was soon clear that they were both a fascinating record of life at the turn of the century and important in terms of the history of photography.

To honour her great-grandfather’s legacy and to share his images with a wider audience, Elizabeth has now written a book entitled ‘John James Cam: The Man Behind the Camera’. She is also looking for a museum to conserve and house the original glass plates. But most of all, Elizabeth is relieved that the pictures on those plates, pictures made by her illustrious ancestor, have been captured before they can decay any further.

If you have a treasured old photograph, contact Restoring Glory today to start out on your own amazing journey.