Even more than a century before the cats dominated the Internet, photographers were already in love with our adorable furry friends and taking many photos of them. French photographer and filmmaker living in Paris, Mathieu Stern found about 120-year-old cat photos in a hidden time capsule in his old family home. He estimates the box dates to roughly the year 1900.
According to the photographer, someone in Mathieu Stern’s family told him about a possible time capsule in their old family house. After some investigation, he found a box dating from around the year 1900 (judging by the objects and the technic of the photos found inside).
There were a few very old cat photos (actually glass plate negatives) in the box, along with a few other objects. Stern then decided to restore them using one of the oldest ways to make photography prints: Cyanotype.
Video: Developing 120-year-old cat photos found in a time capsule
In the amazing video below, you can watch how Mathieu Stern revived the very old photos (at least 120-year-old) using the Cyanotype technique.
Someone in Mathieu Stern’s family told him about a possible time capsule in their old family house. After some investigation, he found a box dating from around the year 1900 (judging by the objects and the technic of the photos found inside).
Stern then decided to develop them using one of the oldest ways to make photography prints: Cyanotype.
Cyanotype – the old technique used to revive 120-year-old cat Photos

Discovered by the English scientist and astronomer Sir John Herschel (7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) in 1842, cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. The process uses two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide.
John Hershel named seven moons of Saturn and four moons of Uranus, the seventh planet, discovered by his father William Herschel (15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822). He made many contributions to the science of photography.
Cyanotype – a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. This is the technique that the French photographer and filmmaker Mathieu Stern used to revive 120-year-old cat Photos he found in a hidden time capsule in his old family home.
Sources
- “Man develops 120-year-old cat photos he finds in a time capsule” on NYPost
- Cyanotype on Wikipedia
- John Herschel on Wikipedia
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