Some years ago whilst having a few days off from work, my wife and I decided to spend a few hours visiting our favourite antiques mall in Hungerford.
We made our way past Moorcroft pottery, old Davenports, rows of books ancient and modern and then, laying on the floor in the corner a battered old suitcase with a handwritten note, £45 the lot. We looked through the contents containing old drawings, black and white photographs of imposing interiors of some unnamed stately home and other scraps of paper. Clearly, this had been discovered in some attic, probably as the result of a house clearance. Nothing too exciting. Time was moving on and we decided to return home.
We talked about this box as we drove back along the Bath Road. It started to rain and after about seven or eight miles curiosity got the better of us so we stopped the car, turned around and headed back to Hungerford. The suitcase was still there and we purchased it.
Portrait of Julie Harris, as Sally Bowles in I Am a Camera
That rainy afternoon was like an archaeological dig. As we searched through the items, we could date nothing earlier than 1950 and nothing later than around 1960. Except, that is, for one item. A telegram dated 21st
September 1932, sent from Brazil to an address in Berlin.
SALLY BOWLES PA. FRL. SCHNEIDER HAUPSTRASSE 55 BERLIN W.30.
“SALLY DEAR, SO SORRY MUST POSTPONE OUR JAUNT.CRAZY PEOPLE HERE INSIST ON TRIP TO AMAZON.LET’S HOPE FOR NEXT YEAR OR SOME TIME. LOVE TO BOTH.CLIVE.”
We started searching our books and the internet and the mystery came to be resolved. All the items in the box were artistic in nature with a clear link to the 1950’s film industry. We traced the items to the movie, “I Am A Camera” based on the writings of Christopher Isherwood and eventually, tracked down a copy of the movie. We watched with great excitement to the scene where Sally Bowles revealed the
telegram to her friend.
This must be the most beautifully crafted film prop that we now keep together with the VHS movie.
This article is based on a a visit we made to Hungerford Antiques Arcade many years ago.
Val & Geoff Procter