Caitlin Thompson holding the photo of a woman that she discovered tucked behind wallpaper in her Dunedin house. Photo: Checkpoint / Screenshot
It's a photo opportunity of a different kind; the chance to identify a smiling woman in a decades old black and white photo found tucked behind the wallpaper in the hall cupboard of Dunedin house.
The Kenmure home built in 1958 has only had three owners.
The latest owner, Caitlin Thompson, was just looking for place to put the vacuum cleaner when she discovered the photo, complete with a hand-written note.
Now Thompson wants to identify the young woman and return the photo to her family.
Thompson said the photo appears to be from the late 1940s or 1950s era.
"The note says: 'To Rene, with love Renee'. It's signed by Franz Barta, he's a portrait photographer who was operating in Dunedin between 1944 and 1975, so we can tell that it's an original."
The picture may have fallen behind the wallpaper, but equally it could have been stashed there intentionally, Thompson said.
"We are planning on renovating the house and there was some wallpaper peeling off in the hall so we pulled it down and out came this photograph."
Thompson said she would like to think the photo may have been part of a love story.
"I wonder if she's given this photo of herself to someone that she was involved with, or somebody that she loved - it could be anything though, who knows?"
The photo has a cardboard frame and is in very good condition, Thompson said.
The woman in the photo looks "joyful" and the picture is quite compelling, she said.
Thompson said she would love to hear from anyone who recognised the woman in the picture, or thought they may know a Renie or Renee who lived in Dunedin in maybe the 1950s.
The easiest way to get in touch may be via the Otago Daily Times, which ran the story initially, she said.
