REALLY old roll of film, salvagable?

So, I purchased a Brownie Hawkeye on eBay for $5.

The thing is, it still has a roll of film in it (used or not, I do not know).

This camera is circa 1912-1913 (according to the patent label) so the film is probably a few year older (younger actually) than that.

I'd like to see if it would even be possible to have this film developed.

I've searched the internet (via Google) to see how long exposed film usually lasts and gotten a various lengths of time (15 to 30 years). I know a lot depends on how/where this camera was stored (which I, nor the seller, have no clue).

While I am pretty sure the film is garbage at this point, just wanted to get the film gurus around here to chime in (or even assist, I trust people here than the "photographic professionals" at Walmart).

Thanks!

I was in the same boat. Check out this thread.
https://photography-on-the.net …p?t=302338&high​light=film

Matt, Matt... WHAT film? B&W, or color?
Don't expect "good" results with either, but you should have some hope with B&W.
1/ You could try clipping - cutting 3" off the end & developing it. Inspect it with a very dim green light before you put it in the fixer. You may need to increase the dev time. Then do the rest of the roll.

2/ I'd expect the contrast would be off after all the time it's been sitting there, so you may want to add another chemical to the dev. I think calcium carbonate, but I didn't ever have to do that, so I'm not sure, so...
Take it to a pro lab & ask those questions & see who comes up with what seems an intelligent answer. And good luck with it.

^^^^ being as old as I think it is (90-95 years old), I would assume B&W.

Like I said, its still IN the camera. I haven't liberated it yet, so I have no idea what kind of film it is (wanted to see if salvage would be possible; if so, I'd leave it in the camera and take it to a pro; if not, oh well, just pull it out (or leave it in)).

I wonder if Kodak would be interested in trying, seeing as it is a Kodak camera.

Or perhaps a local university media/arts department professor would do it for the fun of it (assuming he/she has experience with film developing).

I am DEFINTIELY NOT going to develop it myself, last time I developed film was in my freshman year of high school using the school's darkroom (and even then I sucked at it without an onnery old man yelling at me about how I have to keep agitating that container I just poured god knows what into).

Thanks for all the advice thus far.

It doesn't have to be that old. See my avatar? We used them in the '50s, too.

You mean partially used? What # is it on?
You might finish the roll & clip those to see what the rest might look like before you develop them.

Worth a try.

It might be old film that is not panchromatic, but orthochromatic. And if color, it might require a chemistry process which no longer is available!

If old, one problem will likely be that it will be fogged considerably due to the accumulation of cosmic radiation over the years. Kodak has long stated that color film might not experience color shift if stored in your freezer, but that freezer storage does NOT stop accumulation of cosmic rays.

How do you know that someone hasn't already opened the back and ruined the negative already?

only 1 way to find out. take it to a pro lab near you and ask them to process it. good luck!

Try this place. The specialize in old film.
http://www.filmrescue.​com/old-still-film-services.html