The Bag of Ken Feil

[zachary]

So anyone who knows me knows I like "old" things. I shoot with old cameras and lenses, and I recently acquired an old bag to carry said cameras in.

I was at the camera coop in Houston recently, well, maybe a month ago going through the bargain bin and found this old leather and canvas bag that kind of intrigued me.

Upon further inspection of said bag, I discovered that there was a name written on the inside of the top flap, which read as so:

Ken Feil
The Washington Post
Wash., DC


The address was drawn through, but not the name, and below it was written another address, in Miami Florida.

I thought huh, Washington post huh. I bet this bag has some interesting stories to tell. So I talked to fellow member here Kelly Onassis who works there and she said $5, so $5 later the bag was mine.

Here is a picture of the bag on the counter after I bought it.




So, did some research on this gentlemen, Ken Feil. And what I found has blown my mind. This gentleman was a very well known and prolific photographer for the Washington Post in the 70's, and was very involved in photographing the watergate scandal.

Here are some of his photographs:

Washington Post Feed | author: Ken Feil

Brief History: Wiretapping - TIME

Hirshhorn Museum Director Abram 'Al' Lerner - washingtonpost.com

Washingtonpost.com: Celebrating a Century

Now, some interesting tidbits. One of the photos says it was taken in 1918 by Ken Feil, but he was also taking photographs in the 1970's. He had to at least be in his mid 60's by that time. And I know that he at some point left the Washington post and lived in Miami, possibly when he retired.

Ive called the most recent number on the bag and it is disconnected. Im left to assume that he is no longer with us as this man would have to be close to a hundred today if he was in fact working for the Washington post in 1918.

Which begs the questions how did I come into possession of his camera bag? How did it end up in the bargain bin at camera coop. Maybe Kelly can shed some light on how it ended up there?

Either way, I feel very blessed to have this little piece of history and plan to take very good care of it.

Just wanted to share that with everyone.

[Murph]

Neat!

[zachary]

I know, isn't it cool?

[Some Idiot]

Cool story and an interesting find

[contributor_M]

Great find and story behind it.

[L Stegall]

What a find! Fantastic story!

[zachary]

Stop hijacking my thread please.


Thanks for all the positive comments guys, im shocked that I found such a piece of history, and I would like to find out even more about this gentleman.

[irfan.in.tx]

Cool connection with history.

[d2creative]

Originally Posted by zachary

Stop hijacking my thread please.

It's a cool find. Good luck with finding out more! Post back if you do.

I'm sorry I laughed at a funny comment in your serious thread. I'm ashamed and it won't happen again.

[groovyone]

As I had posted but apparently imagined it, cool find.

[Abel]

I already cleaned this thread up once.

TC, you're answer to me about your intent on that post still wasn't clear and it came off as a rude comment by you. It was reported by several members and I asked you to explain your comment to me. You did not.

I'm cleaning this thread up once again. Stay on topic and drop the bickering

[k onassis]

It used to be mine.

Ken is my great-grandfather.

ok, I'll stop, I was just messing around....

No clue how it got there. Tomorrow I will let the powers that be know this story and see if I can help solve this mystery.

I am on the case. Hahaha, get it? Ok, lame....sorry....

On a different note, HAPPY EASTER and HAPPY PINHOLE DAY!!!!!!

(be back tomorrow night, hopefully with some answers)

[zachary]

Originally Posted by k onassis

It used to be mine.

Ken is my great-grandfather.

ok, I'll stop, I was just messing around....

No clue how it got there. Tomorrow I will let the powers that be know this story and see if I can help solve this mystery.

I am on the case. Hahaha, get it? Ok, lame....sorry....

On a different note, HAPPY EASTER and HAPPY PINHOLE DAY!!!!!!

(be back tomorrow night, hopefully with some answers)

Very cool, ill be excited to see what you find out!

[CtrlAltDel]

Very cool find! $5 !!! Wow! Cant wait to hear more about this. Can you post some more photos of the bag?

[zachary]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDel

Very cool find! $5 !!! Wow! Cant wait to hear more about this. Can you post some more photos of the bag?

I would but that would require I develop them and scan them and frankly im lazy. I dont own a digital camera outside of the one on my phone.