One man in Geneva, New York hit the jackpot.
David Whitcomb purchased a house in New York state in December 2020 with plans of turning it into a law office. Upon further inspection, he and a friend discovered a hidden attic full of historical treasures.
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Whitcomb told Fox News that he bought the building with plans to use the first two floors as office space. The third floor, which was meant to be an apartment, had not been occupied for 30 years.
The two only made the incredible discovery after they noticed a damaged area of the ceiling that looked like it had floorboards above it. The lucky man had no idea the attic was a part of the house.
"It wasn’t in the paperwork," he said, "and we didn’t do an inspection because we knew the apartment needed to be repaired."
Whitcomb discovered numerous photographs that belonged to photographer James Hale. He discovered the original print of Hale’s famous photograph of Susan B. Anthony that serves as her official portrait in the U.S. Library of Congress.
The man also discovered vintage photography equipment, old negatives and outtakes from photoshoots, including more photos of Susan B. Anthony.
After making his discovery, photography and history experts were brought in to examine the historical items. Whitcomb is now auctioning off many of the items he’s found in the attic starting in mid-September.
Due to the age of the attic, and after 30 years of sitting untouched, Whitcomb said there was a lot of work to do to prepare for the auction, including further identifying each piece and cleaning off ash and dust. The ash reportedly came from a fire in the building next door in the 80’s and damaged the hidden attic.
He’s one lucky homeowner!
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