BROOKSVILLE, Maine — When local volunteer DJ Duncan Bailey bought an old Kodak camera at the WERU-FM rummage sale in Brewer last spring he didn’t realize its contents would develop into a mystery involving a dinosaur.
Vintage Tri-X black-and-white film lay undeveloped in the gully of the Pony 135 point-and-shoot that Bailey selected from a box of old cameras and purchased for $2.
“I looked at the back and saw it still had film in it, an old roll of Tri-X from the late ’60s or ’70s,” Bailey said. “Eventually, my dad said, ‘Why don’t I give it a shot?’ and develop it.”
Steve Bailey, also of Brooksvillle, took the film to his home darkroom and developed the film the Baileys believe is around 4 decades old.
“We were looking at the negatives and said, ‘What is that?’” the younger Bailey recalled on Saturday. “It was a dinosaur with a family. It was the last thing I expected.
“We’ve been trying to find out who is in the pictures ever since,” he said.
Eight of the 10 grainy, overexposed and mostly unfocused photos feature a fiberglass brontosaurus that Duncan Bailey believes is the mascot for Sinclair Oil Corp., which is nicknamed “Dino.”
The dinosaur is mounted on the roof of the family car, and several of the shots show kids riding the prehistoric herbivore.
The now-antique car appears to have the words “Maine 73” on the license plate with the registration number 211-075.
“My girlfriend, Jordan Ruff, called the DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles] and they said they don’t keep records back that far,” Duncan Bailey said. “It looks to me like an old Oldsmobile.”
The family photos, which feature a young girl with curls and her two younger brothers, one of whom is a toddler, and their father wearing a suit, give a few clues.
“In the background of one of the shots there is a billboard for the Maine milk committee and another one for franks” or hot dogs, Bailey said.
The billboards and a picture of a river or lake literally filled with logs are other clues to the photos.
“It was before the ban on billboards” in Maine, which occurred nearly four decades ago, Bailey said. “They stopped those [river-run log drives] in ’76 so that puts an end bracket on when it could have been.”
The last photo that does not feature the brontosaurus shows a duck pond with a small white house in the center of the water.
Bailey is hoping to find someone who recognizes the people in the photos and knows the story behind the dinosaur.
“I hope the kids in the photos find the shots in the Bangor Daily and are really happy about it,” Bailey said. “I hope we find out the background story about the family trip and the brontosaurus. It might be possible the dad is still alive because that could be only 40 years ago.”
The film was developed in the fall and Bailey has been showing the photos around and also posted them on Flickr, looking for clues.
“A lot of people say they like the photos but nobody has any leads,” he said.
Those who have information about the mystery pictures can contact Duncan Bailey at muncadunc@gmail.com. To see the photo album on Flickr, visit bdn.to/dinos.
What a cool find! I have that exact camera at home that I bought from a rummage sale, but unfortunately no treasure like this inside.
Neat pictures.I looked at them posted on Flickr.com at the link above. Pretty neat. I wonder what the family was doing with the Dino. I hope someone recognizes them and the pictures get reunited with the family.
Nice that he knew enough not to open the camera back, exposing the film…. Not that many of us still around who knew about cameras requiring film!
The Swift Premium Franks ad is from about 1963, so I’m thinking these pictures were not taken in the 70’s. I hope this helps, and good luck.
yup 64 or 65 Olds Cutlas
If you find an old camera always try to make a picture with it before opening the back, then attempt to advance the film. If the takeup turns upon doing this you know there is film inside letting you know not to open the back until you completely rewind the film.
The registration plate look liked 211075 I could not tell if it was Maine plate. Is there any old Bureau of Motor Vehicle retirees or S.P retirees who can look at the plate?
211-075 looks exactly like a municipal plate. and the scenery looks alot like up in the county. the dad looks like a cop.
The photos weren’t ‘mostly unfocused’, that was a misquote. They were damaged by light leaks in the camera and dust in the developing process. Wh0ever took the pictures was a very good photographer.
I have seen one of the dinosaur in the area of Old Orchard Beach and Pine Point. It sits on the top of an old Gas Station that is still in business…maybe they might have some information about this. Not sure of the name of the station but it right on the corner in Pine Point….
The more I look at the photo the more it looks like that same Dinosaur on the top of that old Gas Station in Pine Point…..,
It does appear to be a rare Sinclair Brontosaurus….http://www.unmuseum.org/brontotoy.jpg
So how did it get to a field in Maine?
I don’t think the photo is in Maine…the billboards and scenery appear to be in the Midwest?
I had an inflatable one in my garden and it was stolen.