When I Googled Royaltone Photo Service bonus photo, I brought up a self portrait by Andy Warhol, shot with a Kodak Instamatic. Makes sense, the original Instamatic, manufactured from 1963 to 1970, used a 126 film cartridge. The 126 format produced a square image, just like these. Of course, the original Instamatic sold in the millions, and 126 cartridges were made for years afterward, and may in fact, still be available. Take a close look at these photos. The woman in the black suit, on the green chaise lounge is sitting next to a chaise with a yellow towel, just like the one that the lady in the skimpy two piece is using. The same chaise used by the lady in black can be seen in the corner of the image of the lady in the yellow suit. All these photos were probably shot on the same day on the same roof, probably in the New York City area. It would be nice if these three pictures had been dated, but the styles, and the Instamatic connection, I'd say mid sixties to mid seventies.
The way photos from that era yellow works perfectly for this subject matter.
ReplyDeleteNo way these are from the 70s. I'd say 1965 or 66, going by the hair.
ReplyDeleteI have some Royaltone Photo Service pictures that have the Bonus Photo and the accompanying film negatives. I happened here because I was trying to date them by seeing when Royaltone was operational. However, I think you are incorrect. I have two sets of pictures with negatives. One set seems to use 126 film which you correctly stated was developed from 1963 to the mid 70's. However, the other set of pictures have 127 film with 12 4cm x 4cm exposures. That film was manufactured in the 50's and was popular until the early 60's. It does not seem that Royaltone exclusively developed the 126 film cartridge and that widens your potential date range.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://thedarkroom.com/film-formats/127-film/