Recently, a previously unpublished photograph went up for auction on Ebay. We were keeping our eyes on it to add to our collection. It was an unexceptional image, occupying less than half of a full side of a standard postcard, but interesting as it was clearly taken by an amateur who declared it was “taken with the Kodak”. The image is the same size as the film negative from these sort of cameras, but has only been exposed on part of the photographic card. The quality of the image is generally poor, but the scanned version on Ebay did it no favours either.

The postcard was sent back to England on the 6th May 1905, and was probably taken a short time before. One imagines it was developed by the owner of the camera. It shows the scene at Museum station, with one of the Beyer Peacock engines, probably No.8 or 9, at the head of a train shortly to depart for Valletta.

Astonishingly, the hammer-price was a phenomenal £551!! Definitely not one we could afford to buy, and probably setting new records in the postcard world!