Unearthing heritage photos seems to be in the Zeitgeist. And Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel in Nova Scotia, probably Baddeck (??), is the lead photo in this story of the photography archive from National Geographic. And is Graham Bell carrying a camera? A picture of loving relationship, which is of course an essential condition for health.
Alexander and Mabel Bell. Photo taken July 1898, on Sable Island by Arthur McCurdy. Mr. Bell is carrying a camera and at the time, he and Mabel were unaware that McCurdy was taking their picture with the second camera. It is a picture that shows the constant love and communication between Alexander and Mabel. It is one of my favourite photographs from the Bell Family Collection.
The case Bell is carrying looks more like a binocular case, I have seen several from the period that were similar – probably military, where Bell had many military contacts through his Hydrofoil and flight works. Cameras at the turn of the century were usually big bulky things on tripods.