A tourist bought an envelope at a flea market, where he found negatives from an unknown genius

When in 2001, an ordinary tourist from the United States, Tom Sponheim, bought an envelope with negatives at a Barcelona flea market for $ 3.5, he probably did not suspect that he would find not just photos, but the work of a talented master.

Tom returned home, but he was still obsessed with finding the mysterious author of these shots. And in 2010, he organized a search through Facebook. Sponheim posted the photos on the page and bought a targeted ad that attracted Barcelona residents interested in photography.

However, despite the popularity of the page and the fact that many people recognized themselves or friends in these photos, the identity of the photographer remained shrouded in mystery. Until in 2017, a certain Begonya Fernandez, struck by the talent of the author of the pictures, did not join the search.

In one of the photos, Begonye was able to identify the elementary school. This was the starting point.

The woman found out about a photo contest held in 1962 with the same locations in the photos.

The investigation led her to the archives of one of the oldest associations of photographers, Agrupació Fotográfica de Catalunya. There, in one of the magazines, she recognized a photo from a Facebook page.

Milagros Caturla. Under the photo was the author's name — Milagros Caturla. This woman received a pedagogical education, but worked all her life as an administrator.

She was passionate about photography, even equipped a dark room in her apartment. Milagros has repeatedly won local photo contests. She died in 2008.

Although Milagros Caturla is no longer alive, Begonha Fernandez and Tom Sponheim decided to continue the case so that as many people as possible could see the photos of Milagros. In May, her work will appear at the Barcelona Photography Festival.

These pictures are worthy to hang in galleries, and not to gather dust in flea markets.