Is this the first Google Maps reporter?

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The internet has changed many things, from the way we find our missing part on this website to the way we find out how and where someone lives. You may have seen Google cars driving through your neighbourhood with a camera on the roof recording every street in the world. We came across a picture of a Model T with a large camera attached. In the 1920s, when this picture was most likely taken (we wonder which camera it was taken with), the internet hadn’t been invented yet and even Google founder Larry Page's father had yet to be born (1938), but that didn't mean Streetview wasn't known and certainly didn't mean that people weren't curious about others.

The 1920s was an influential period in the history of photos and cameras. SLR, or single lens reflex technology, became increasingly common in that decade. A camera on the car also became more interesting. We don't know the background of the photo, but it could be the first Streetview car.

Photo from the archive.

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