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Picture Dating

Preface
For many other unrelated reasons I'm digging up old stuff around the house and I came across a set of 4x photo albums (4x6' albums).



Above is a sample of some of the photos in the albums, all four albums seem to be consecutive and they appear to be of a factory of sorts (probably rubber) as well as some photos of a beach front, one or two of a waterfall, and some palm plantations connected to afroementioned beachfront.

I'm curious as to where or when theyse photos came from. I don't recognise any of the landscape nor the factory from the photos so it's definitely not anywhere that I've been, as well as these photos are very very sepia coloured and so unless whoever took these photos was very bad at the camera, they seem to point themselves to a certain period of time.

The albums
The albums themselves (photo of album cover coming soon)! are not entirely identical. One of them is a generic Kodak branded album with Mickey Mouse front. One is titled 'Sangkamol Colour Lab' (in Thai) with addresses pointing down South Thailand/Trat. Interestingly, the Sangkamol album advertises the QSS 'Quick Service System' 27 minutes development and 10 minutes print, which points to a Noritsu Lab. The last two albums are both titled 'GT Colour Lab' (again, in Thai) with addresses pointing to Charansanitvong/Prannok, in Bangkok close to Sirirarj, Wat Aroon -type areas. Interestingly, not that far from home, but also far in terms of getting photos devleoped - I'm sure there are closer places.

Still, this is all speculation. Perhaps the photos weren't developed at any of these places at all, and just coincidentally used these albums?

Photo paper
All photos in all four albums used the same photo paper (which is why I earlier said 'speculation') which is Kodak photo paper. Specifically, Kodak photo paper with the rear watermark (THIS PAPER MANUFACTURED BY KODAK) with only one underlining under the 'C' in the word 'manufactured'. (Read more about kodak paper watermarking here).

With regards to this study on Kodak photo paper, specifcially the backprinting, tells us that the watermark 'THIS PAPER MANUFACTURED BY KODAK' ran from 1972-1989 so we can date our pictures from around then. Furthermore, the underlining of the watermark is discovered to be irrelevant, and shows only where in the manufacturing roll the paper was cut from. However, post-1980, selective overlining was introduced 'to accomodate wider paper rolls', which our photos have none. So for now these photos date between 1972 - 1980 (plus, plus... because old stock is possible option too.)

Appendix
Other photos from the set, in no particular order:





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