A photographer who bought an old camera at a flea market found photos from 30 years ago

Old things have a special charm, although not everyone thinks so. But photographer Kati Dimoff from Portland occasionally searches for old cameras at a flea market or second-hand stores in the hope of stumbling upon a long-lost or forgotten treasure. And one day she was lucky — Kati found photos in the Argus C2 camera, which captured the catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. 

The footage was taken in Portland — it was covered with smoke from a volcano in Washington state. The 5-point eruption occurred on May 18, 1980, killing 57 people and causing $ 1.1 billion in damage. This number of victims is explained by the fact that the eruption was a rare type — "directed explosion".

One of the photos was different from the others — it showed a smiling family in the backyard of the house. 

After the photos were published in the local newspaper The Oregonian, a man named Melvin Purvis identified them — they belonged to his late grandmother. 

"I click on the photos, start flipping through and see a photo of my wife, grandmother, son and myself," said the stunned man. 

Unfortunately, his mother and grandmother had passed away by then, so this lost family photo became especially precious to Melvin Purvis. 

Argus C2 cameras were manufactured in Illinois in 1938-1942.

Photographer Katya Dimoff.

Longview City Bridge. In the background is the volcano of St. Helens.

The family of Melvin Purvis. "I almost fell off my chair," Melvin said. The camera found belonged to his grandmother (pictured), who died in 1981. However, it is not known how the camera got to the flea market. Purvis ' mother (pictured to the left of his grandmother) died recently.

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