Mystery 1950s Ski Photos Seek Owners After 70 Years

A roll of film sat quietly inside a vintage camera for seven decades, holding perfectly preserved snapshots of strangers laughing on a glamorous ski vacation in the Swiss Alps.

When the antique Zeiss Ikon Baby Ikonta camera landed at Alabaré Wilton Emporium thrift shop in Salisbury, England, nobody realized it still had film inside. The new owner brought it to Ian Scott at Salisbury Photo Center, who made an extraordinary discovery when he developed the forgotten roll.

The images were crisp and clear. Skiers posed in wool sweaters at St. Moritz resort, one of Europe's most famous winter destinations. A woman glided on ice skates in front of the iconic Badrutt's Palace Hotel. The subjects wore numbered bibs from Cow & Gate, a baby formula brand that sponsored ski competitions in the 1950s.

The catch? Nobody knows who these people are.

Scott has launched a nationwide search to identify anyone in the photographs. The story appeared on television, in newspapers, and on his Instagram page, where it racked up 8,000 views in just 24 hours. Despite the widespread coverage, the mystery remains unsolved.

Clues hidden in the camera and film narrow down the timeline. The pocket-sized folding camera was manufactured between World War I and World War II. The film itself, Verichrome Pan 127, first became available in Britain in 1956, placing these vacation memories somewhere in the late 1950s.

Sunny's Take

There's something magical about these images floating through time, waiting patiently for someone to recognize a grandfather's smile or a great-aunt's skating pose. Scott didn't have to care about finding the owners, but he's devoted himself to this quest anyway. "There appears to be a great story behind these photographs, and it would be brilliant if someone could recognize a face amongst them," he told local press. Even if the faces remain anonymous, Scott finds joy in preserving these fragments of joy from decades past. Someone cherished these moments enough to capture them on precious film, and now they're calling out across seven decades, hoping to find their way home.