Fred Bond (of Kodachrome & Kodacolor From All Angles)

[Plate Voltage]

About 10 years ago, I bought a copy of the 1942 first edition of Fred Bond's Kodachrome and Kodacolor From All Angles. I was a heavy Kodachrome user at the time and I thought that the book would give me some insight into the film I was using, and what it was like to shoot colour when it was a new medium. I had a friend over this evening and I ended up pulling the book out and we flipped through it, and I pointed out that most of the colour plates were made from 8x10 or 4x5 sheet film and that Fred Bond was fortunate to have been able to shoot large format sheet film Kodachrome. I've never seen any of Fred Bond's photographs outside of his books though and there don't seem to be any posted on the internet anywhere that I've been able to find. Does anybody know what happened to his pictures, particularly the large format Kodachromes? Are they in an archive somewhere or available to view?

Also, everyone knows about Kodachrome's archival stability is excellent while early Ektachrome images didn't last well. How well did those early Kodacolor negatives and the prints last?

 

[onepuff]

I have some Kodachromes from the 1950s and they look as fresh as the day they were developed. I suspect archival stability will very much depend like any other film or paper on how and where they are stored.

 

[snapguy]

good

My Kodachrome slides and prints -- some from the 1950s -- are in fabulous condition. Some Anscocolor from that time is just about dead.

 

[Alan Klein]

These Kodachromes are about 45 years old from my wife's parents that I scanned from the slides. Still in excellent shape.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/sets/72157626911395064/

 

[Dr Croubie]

My mum took a trip to Japan in 1967 (actually, she met my dad on the ship on the way there).
A few weeks ago, we looked through some of her slides she took then. Identical conditions for the last 40 years, all in the same box. The Kodachromes that she started with still look great, but when she ran out of that she bought Fuji along the way, they're all a bit faded.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Try contacting George Eastman House. They may have a collection of his slides.

PE

 

[bwiese]

I just noticed some of Fred Bond's 4x5 and 5x7 transparencies (1940s and 1950s Kodachromes) listed for sale on ebay by seller oldstuff4-u, which can also be found searching for "fred bond trans". In general searching for Kodachrome or Ektachrome transparency or slide on ebay may bring up some old items, though who knows how they were stored. I don't know the original color renditions, though they look like the typical Kodachrome colors to my untrained eye.

Example listings (listed between $65-$125):
Original Fred Bond 4 x 5 Trans. CO Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park, Dream Lake, Hallets P
Original Fred Bond 4 x 5 Trans. NY Niagara Falls, from Goat Island
Original Fred Bond 4 x 5 Trans Indiana Old County Courthouse - Paoli, Orange Co
Original Fred Bond 4 x 5 Trans. So Carolina - Flower Market
Original Fred Bond 4 x 5 Trans. Louisiana NEW ORLEANS
Original Fred Bond 4 x 5 Trans. MS - Vicksburg, view from Mississippi River