To me, one of the more fascinating aspects of using old film cameras is that it feels like I’m actively touching history. I’ve written about this before regarding my Rolleiflex Automat MX, which was made in 1951 — making it the oldest camera currently in my collection. But when I received a pack of four 4×5 film holders from an eBay seller recently, I was brought into a similar type of reflection, and it all started with two words hand-written on the bottom of the holder: Graveraet Tatler.
At first, I didn’t think much of it; it looked like, perhaps, someone’s unusual name. But I decided somewhat arbitrarily to Google it, and see what I came-up with. As it turns out, a lot.
First, Graveraet Tatler is a title — the name of the annual yearbook at Graveraet Senior High School in Marquette, Michigan, a small city (population around 20,000) on Lake Superior located on the upper peninsula of the state. To jump straight to the end of the story, it seems clear that this particular film holder was once used to photograph images for a high school yearbook. But the story doesn’t really quite fully end there.
Graveraet Senior High School doesn’t exist anymore, as such. It started life early in the 20th century. In September 1916, a local benefactor — successful banker Louis G. Kaufman — donated $26,000 to help cover the cost of the land and its clearing. That land, on Front Street, between Ohio Street and Hewitt Avenue, would become the school’s location, but World War I put things on hold. While the school board announced in 1917 that the building would be called Graveraet High School, it didn’t open to students until 1927. The school served the community well as its only high school for nearly four decades.
However, Graveraet High School was replaced in 1964 by a new school, Marquette Senior High School, about a mile and a half away. The old school on Front Street ultimately became Graveraet Elementary School, which it remains today, with its beautiful architecture, terrazzo floors, and its Kaufman Auditorium — named for that 1916 benefactor — still hosting events today, over 100 years since the school was originally envisioned.
As for the Graveraet Tatler, well, that hasn’t been published since shortly after I was born. My Graflex Riteway film holder, on which the publication’s name is scribed, could easily have been in-use for even the most recent editions of the yearbook (the early 60s), but is perhaps more likely to have been a bit closer to midcentury.
Regardless of its exact age, it’s interesting to ponder what images may have been captured by the students of Graveraet High School on film sheets inserted into this very holder. I have visions of school dances, sporting events, club activities, and other goings on of high school students in the 1950s. The midcentury Fords with their two-tone paint and chevron of chrome on the sides driving past the elegant brickwork on the school. And I wonder what camera they used; perhaps it was a 1953 model Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic like the one I use today?
I went back and checked; my eBay seller is located in Marquette, which means that this film holder spent pretty much its entire life in small town, upper peninsula Michigan, serving the high school yearbook staff — and who knows how many other photographers in Marquette since then. One wonders how long it sat around, unused and unloved, until its eBay listing brought it out west.
This particular holder is in good condition. It has no light leaks. And while it may be decades old, it’ll still be a faithful companion for many photo shoots to come. And every time I insert it under the spring back of my Graflex, I’ll be thinking of those school dances and two-tone Fords and midcentury high school students browsing the Graveraet Tatler, asking their friends to autograph pages next to the images the started life in this very film holder.
