Update: it's making photographs again.
By October 23, the Model 20 had produced new four-picture strips and completed a full maintenance-button photographic cycle. The earlier bill-acceptance problem was resolved after correcting the paper-availability issue. That was a useful reminder to check the host machine's readiness before replacing a validator.
There is still work to do: an exposure-flash replacement was ordered, and intermittent strip losses point to paper-handling checks. Successful cycles are progress, not proof of consistent service or electrical certification. The notes below describe where the project began.
The booth that started it.
The Booth Goose grew from a very real machine: a vintage Auto-Photo Studio Model 20, with its “Photographs” roof sign, original curtain and surviving chemical-processing machinery. Its reported history included roughly twenty years in climate-controlled storage after removal from a bar.
“It worked when it was put away” is useful history. It isn't present-day proof. That distinction is where our notebook begins.
What the photographs added.
The inside views show far more than an empty cabinet: a round paper magazine, camera/exposure assembly, multi-arm carrier, processing tanks and a chain-driven delivery mechanism. They also show deposits, wear and later payment/control equipment worth tracing.
That makes it a substantial analog restoration candidate. It does not certify completeness, electrical safety or photographic performance.
The work we're documenting.
The initial work included mains-cord repair, identification of the bill-validator retrofit, questions around start/readiness controls, and matching modern photobooth paper with the proper reversal process. Since then, the paper-related acceptance issue has been resolved; exposure and reliable paper handling remain part of the work.
For electrical, flash and chemistry work, a guessed diagram or a similar-looking product isn't enough. We keep the known facts separate from the parts that need qualified inspection or process confirmation.
What a good ending will need.
A finished cabinet isn't the same thing as a reliable booth. Before calling it ready for customers, we want documented safe recommissioning, consistent full cycles, good strips and an operating/maintenance record.
When those things are real, they'll belong here. For now, “restoration in progress” is the honest label—and a useful way to learn.
If your booth has a similar story.
Send photographs and the history you actually know. Keep the original sign, curtain, loose components and paperwork together. Don't energize an old machine just because a buyer asked whether it works.
Show us your booth