Looking For information on film brand

[Joshua Reisbord]

I have a roll of film exposed by a family member about 50 years ago and can not find any information on the stock. The brand is Londonchrome from Richmond British Columbia. I assume it was purchased from London Drugs a drug store brand in that region.

Does anyone have any information on this stock such as the developing process used? Should I push the film in processing seeing how old it is?

Thanks
-Josh

Edit: Added photos of the cassette with the label removed and the label itself.

 

[MattKing]

Most likely it is some version of Agfachrome. I'll send a link to your post to a friend who is in the process of retiring from the Photographic division of London drugs, after working there managing one or more of their labs for decades.
I'm expecting to talk with him in the next day or so - I'll report back.

 

[Joshua Reisbord]

Most likely it is some version of Agfachrome. I'll send a link to your post to a friend who is in the process of retiring from the Photographic division of London drugs, after working there managing one or more of their labs for decades.
I'm expecting to talk with him in the next day or so - I'll report back.

Awesome! Thank you for this!

- Josh

 

[AgX]

Most likely it is some version of Agfachrome.

Did Agfa offer private labelling 50 years ago?

The cassette may be from Agfa, the label as such likely not. But we got a specialist on this forum on these issues.

 

[MattKing]

Did Agfa offer private labelling 50 years ago?

I'd be willing to bet that those are replacement labels on the film.
There is even a possibility that the original label is underneath.
Who else could it be, given the Made in Germany label - Perutz???

 

[AgX]

Made in West-Germany.
Yes, Perutz. But they used plastic cassettes at some time.

I got no Agfa cassette at hand with such wide label, and none with a label loosening. But as indicated I am anything but an expert on cassettes.


But it likely either is Peruchrome or Agfachrome.

 

[MattKing]

London Drugs used to be very active in the photography market here - they had private label film as well as labs in many of their stores. They even used to sell darkroom supplies.
They still have several stores with C-41 minilabs, but only one store still does E6, and their volumes must be low, because I think they batch up the E6 film and process it together.

 

[AgX]

Maybe the OP reconsiders his dating. What about 40 years ago?

 

[Joshua Reisbord]

I'd be willing to bet that those are replacement labels on the film.
There is even a possibility that the original label is underneath.
Who else could it be, given the Made in Germany label - Perutz???

I removed the label this morning, and there is nothing under it.

 

[Joshua Reisbord]

Maybe the OP reconsiders his dating. What about 40 years ago?

It could be about ≈40 years. That might be a better guess.

However the family member who told me how old it may be is about 60, and her father took the photos before he passed when she was young.

 

[abruzzi]

Does London still process film? because the label says processing is included.......

 

[MattKing]

London Drugs isn't likely to honour the "processing included" from the 1970s - but I enjoy the "hope springs eternal" in anybody.

 

[MattKing]

I spoke with my friend.
This film was from a program that London Drugs ran for a very short period of time ~ 15 - 18 months? ~ at or about 1980.
The film was not developed by London Drugs, but instead sent out to a lab called Williams Colour.
There was also a LondonColor negative film.
Both LondonChrome and LondonColor were non-standard films for most of the Canadian market, in that they were not compatible with any of the Kodak processes found most commonly in the market - not E6, not even the older E4 (in the case of the LondonChrome) - and not C-41or C-22 (in the case of the LondonColor).
The line staff and managers were never told what the process was, although they guessed that it was the proprietary Agfachrome process (in the case of the LondonChrome).
The program created difficulties for the store staff and customers, was not a success, and was soon discontinued.
It is going to be very difficult to determine with certainty what process the OP's film is compatible with, and quite unlikely that you will be able to get it satisfactorily processed in colour.
I don't know whether any black and white process might yield a black and white image.
One observation my friend made was that the corrosion to the end caps was consistent with cassettes he had seen that had been manufactured in East Germany.

 

[bdial]

It might be a job for Film Rescue https://www.filmrescue.com/

 

[runswithsizzers]

It might be a job for Film Rescue https://www.filmrescue.com/

Thanks for providing that link. Very interesting.

 

[AgX]

I spoke with my friend.
This film was from a program that London Drugs ran for a very short period of time ~ 15 - 18 months? ~ at or about 1980.

This time period makes sense concerning Agfa.

One observation my friend made was that the corrosion to the end caps was consistent with cassettes he had seen that had been manufactured in East Germany.

Your friend must have mixed up things.
All pre-1990 Orwo type135 cassettes I have seen so far were from plastic.


Yes, the corrosion of the caps came to my attention at once. BUT I got for instance llford cassettes that have stronger corroded caps. But this in first instance is matter of storage condtitions.

 

[Ian Grant]

The film was almost certainly from Tura, they confectioned film and paper for own branding, as well as for sale under their own name. They sourced films and paper from Agfa Gevaert, Ferrania, and Ilford.

Ian

 

[AgX]

I am not aware that Tura branded Agfa films other then under their Tura brand.

After cancelling their own production, though remaining independant, they grew into a kind of Agfa-outlet.

 

[Ian Grant]

Agfa's rebranded film went through Tura. The only exception were Perutz fims, Agfa Gevaert had bought the company in 1964 and kept the brand name going. Ilford use the Kentmere name in a similar way, and Kodak with Wratten.

Agfa dropped the Perutz brand name when they switched to E6 in 1983. Turachrome switched from Agfa to an E6 compatible film, most likely Fuji, around 1980.

Ian

 

[Joshua Reisbord]

It might be a job for Film Rescue https://www.filmrescue.com/

I have filled out a request and we will be sending this roll of film to Film Rescue.
I will post any information on the development process here as well as the results.

- Josh