Images from the 1900's

irw1

irw1

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812
Name
Ian
Edit My Images
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Hey folks,

Just after some general advice really, in relation to a collection of about 2000 old Half Plate glass negatives that I have had stored for a number of years now. They are mostly c.1900, and 99% of them have never been seen by the public before...

Quality-wise they are superb; very clear and detailed and generally in very good condition. The little sample shots below were scanned, (rather poorly,) about 10 years ago, and they certainly need re-scanning if I am to do anything significant with them. And therein lies my question - what would you do with them if you had such a collection? :shrug:

The images were all taken by one man, and cover most of Hampshire and Dorset in the south of the UK - including many, (I think,) historically important sites, people, towns, countryside etc.

I am considering putting them on somewhere like Alamay when they have been properly re-scanned, as my searches on there have thrown up very little in the way of similar images.

If nothing else, they are fascinating to look at, and I just a cannot get over how much time the photographer must have spend documenting life in those days.

Any thoughts much appreciated! :thumbs:

Lyndhurst Highstreet 1:

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Lyndhurst Highstreet 2:

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The Queens Head - Burley

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The Crown Inn - Bransgore

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Christchurch Highstreet and Priory

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Any ideas very welcome! :)
 
I think you should scan em all and post them on here as I love looking at shots like this.
 
WOW, they are fantatsic.

Some councils and local libraries have online galleries for shots like these. Have you tried them?

Photopolis in Dundee is an example.
 
We demand more!!!! :D

LOVE these types of shots, just brilliant :)
 
68lbs said:
I think you should scan em all and post them on here as I love looking at shots like this.
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:lol: Me too 68lbs - some of the "people based" shots do it for me, I'll dig some out! :)
 
4000 page book 'Now and Then.' ? :lol:
That would be some project!
 
A few more:

Can't remember where this was taken atm - any ideas anyone?

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Blanford Camp 1

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Blanford Camp 2

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Canford Cliffs

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I need to go back and look at the original plates - I'm not sure if the blown skys etc on some of the images are the results of poor scanning or just how they were taken.
 
irw1 said:
:lol::nuts::nuts: Good idea Peppy, but not one I think I have time for at the moment!
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If you want a hand with some of the 'now' photos I'm sure I could help ;)
I can say for sure that blandford camp looks a little different now though!
 
Fantastic collection, you could make some serious money out of these. Books on old photographs are very popoular and I've not seen many of this quality. A bit of research and Bob's yer uncle :thumbs:
 
davekiddle said:
These are brilliant! Lyndhurst looks almost the same as now! I think you should publish them somehow.
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Thanks Dave - uncanny how Lyndhurst looks pretty much the same isn't it? Much less traffic back then though! :gag::lol:

Publishing them is an option, as a very limited number did appear in a book some years ago - it's what to do with so many of the darn things that I'm struggling with now! :shrug: I obviously wouldn't turn down any profit making options, :naughty: but I'd quite like to share them in some way regardless of the money factor tbh. I don't thinks it's fair to keep things like this locked away where nobody can enjoy them, so I'm very open to any ideas!
 
Fantastic collection ..... think of all the ways Francis Frith Collection is used...
 
ROFL2K9 said:
Fantastic collection, you could make some serious money out of these. Books on old photographs are very popoular and I've not seen many of this quality. A bit of research and Bob's yer uncle :thumbs:
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Cheers Rolf, you may well be right. :shrug: It's not straight forward though, hence why I'm asking for ideas here. Pretty much all of them have been identified, (as there's mostly no labels on the boxes!!) scanned, (although not very well, and not at a high enough resolution,) and linked to a data base for easy reference. So, much of the time consuming ground work has been done, it's just deciding exactly how to go forward I guess...
 
bb123 said:
Fantastic collection ..... think of all the ways Francis Frith Collection is used...
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Cheers Ben - you're right, they have made good use of the many old images they have. I seem to remember a rather paltry offer from them many years back, but I politely declined. ;)
 
These are fantastic, if they were mine I wouldn't be publishing them online for free, I'd be licencing them to your local library or council to retail prints...
 
The quality of those is fantastic !

I love looking at old photos from Warrington where I live and I've looked at many books with photos from 1900 - 1920 and none of them are anywhere near as good a quality as those !

Makes me wonder if someone local to me has 2000 odd stashed away in their loft.
 
irw1 said:
Cheers Rolf, you may well be right. :shrug: It's not straight forward though, hence why I'm asking for ideas here. Pretty much all of them have been identified, (as there's mostly no labels on the boxes!!) scanned, (although not very well, and not at a high enough resolution,) and linked to a data base for easy reference. So, much of the time consuming ground work has been done, it's just deciding exactly how to go forward I guess...
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I know that in my area there are quite a few of these books that are published in conjunction with the local evening paper i.e. the Yorkshire Evening Post. It might be worth contacting your local newspaper with a suggestion of a joint venture... they get a bit of extra advertising and you both get to share the profits from a book with a popular and recognisable brand on the front page and original top-notch photos inside..... :D
 
Oh, and the name's ROFL not Rolf :bat:
 
Before you think about very charitably letting museums, libraries etc have these, consider whether or not you have the stamina to pursue a commercial return on them. Alamy you have mentioned, but then there's also the possibility of somebody doing a book run - even yourself. There's always a demand for old photographs from the current residents.
 
MisterE said:
Before you think about very charitably letting museums, libraries etc have these, consider whether or not you have the stamina to pursue a commercial return on them. Alamy you have mentioned, but then there's also the possibility of somebody doing a book run - even yourself. There's always a demand for old photographs from the current residents.
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Good advice MisterE, cheers. :thumbs: A few did appear in a little book about the local area, (New Forest,) that myself and business partner did about 8 years ago - it sold fairly well, covered the printing costs and we still have a few left. :) (It was very time-consuming though!) However, I am thinking more "online" now tbh, as the capital outlay for (even small) runs of book printing is a bit prohibitive and the returns fairly small and quite slow to materialise. Most of the collection is still totally unpublished though...

Any other idea apart from Alamy folks? :help:

Thanks to everyone for your input so far btw! :thumbs:

ROFL - sorry for getting your name wrong earlier!
 
I'd sell them as individual prints, rather than as a book.

I love seeing road surfaces, window frames, loads being carted as in #3, stances and body language, and all with no blasted converging verticals!
 
I must have missed some of your comments when typing/posting myself, sorry dudes. :$

Flash In The Pan said:
These are fantastic, if they were mine I wouldn't be publishing them online for free, I'd be licencing them to your local library or council to retail prints...
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Cheers Flash, and I do agree to some extent. Obviously, I'd quite like to make some money from them if at all possible and I certainly won't be giving them away! ;) I thought Alamay might be a good source of revenue, but haven't looked into it in any real detail. I haven't considered any other online options at all as yet tbh. It's been a long time since I even gave these any thought at all, and reviewing them now has revived my enthusiasm! :D

Borats Baby said:
The quality of those is fantastic !

I love looking at old photos from Warrington where I live and I've looked at many books with photos from 1900 - 1920 and none of them are anywhere near as good a quality as those !

Makes me wonder if someone local to me has 2000 odd stashed away in their loft.
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Cheers Borats Baby. You're right, this guy was a seriously good photographer imo, and most of the very brittle glass plates have survived very well. Before I came to own them, some of them suffered flood damage, (don't ask! :gag: ) and the collection is missing some significant local areas that I am sure he would have photographed. :( I'm trying to find the images I have of the photographer's own car, (a real luxury I imagine,) as he'd customised it with a massive box on the back to carry all his camera kit! :)

ROFL2K9 said:
I know that in my area there are quite a few of these books that are published in conjunction with the local evening paper i.e. the Yorkshire Evening Post. It might be worth contacting your local newspaper with a suggestion of a joint venture... they get a bit of extra advertising and you both get to share the profits from a book with a popular and recognisable brand on the front page and original top-notch photos inside..... :D
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Cheers again, an avenue I may well look into. :thumbs:
 
Alamy and the other well known stock libraries are all general do-it-all libraries. In recent times I've come across specialist libraries devoted to specific areas. It's a question of research, trying to find if there's one devoted to old photos like yours. You could try that Freelance Photographers book (Amazon). And here lies another idea - start your own. With 2000 of them, you've got a good start.
 
MisterE said:
Alamy and the other well known stock libraries are all general do-it-all libraries. In recent times I've come across specialist libraries devoted to specific areas. It's a question of research, trying to find if there's one devoted to old photos like yours. You could try that Freelance Photographers book (Amazon). And here lies another idea - start your own. With 2000 of them, you've got a good start.
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Two excellent suggestions there, thank you very much indeed! :thumbs: I am certainly well up for doing all the necessary research, but suggestions like this will really help me to head in the right direction! I hadn't even thought there may be dedicated stock resources for "Old Photos" until you mentioned it! :bonk: Starting my own is another aspect I could *possibily* manage, but again, hadn't even considered. :clap::clap: Nice one MisterE. :thumbs:
 
more more more love em :D
 
Dangermouse1964 said:
geez old pics in such good condition.....rare

I love them all
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Thank you DM! :) The quality really is very good, and I know I am lucky to own them. :)

I will drag a few more off a CD later and post them - trouble is, there is sooo many I cannot choose which ones to share here! :thinking: :lol:

Once again, thank you all for your comments and input on this thread, I do appreciate your help. :thumbs:
 
Great to see these having a public airing. :)

It's amazing how some places are still totally recognisable - especially The Crown at Lyndhurst and the Queen's Head at Burley. (Do I detect a bias towards the local hostelries :suspect:)

But I've never seen any sort of traffic coming UP Lyndhurst High Street - it's been one way for over 20 years.

I love the social statements they make too - Blandford Camp 1 - all the smokers. :eek:

Hope you find an arena for them somewhere. :)
 
One for Dave Kiddle - Barton On Sea!

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A private pool party?

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Rowing those cares away!

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Jeangenie, thanks for the comments! ;) I have not thought to share these before now, but I'm glad people seem to like them. I wish I had the skill to take such good photos, especially with the equipment he had available - I imagine it was "cutting edge kit" back then! :lol:

Trust you to notice the smokers ;) but you're right they do stand out - it really is very obvious in many of the "set" shots from this period. I guess back then it was a "cool" accessory. :nono:
 
If I were you, my first call would be to the local historical society. Most towns have them.
For a collection like that, they would lick your boots for years.
These shots remind me of the time I was snapping some ducks on the local canal,
a chap came up to me asking directions, He was well lost, so as I was going in the direction he wanted I offered him a lift, when I dropped him at his office, he asked me if I would like some old photo's of Runcorn and Widnes. I couldn't say yes fast enough.
HE sent me a full CD of old photos. There is one of a map of Runcorn, that was found in Germany after the war, it shows the targets for bombing on it.
 
you have to get this guy remembered!

contact the local "culture council" or whatever is the local equivilent. get a web page going etc...?

Would love to see this in a gallery!
 
Gerods said:
If I were you, my first call would be to the local historical society. Most towns have them.
For a collection like that, they would lick your boots for years.
These shots remind me of the time I was snapping some ducks on the local canal,
a chap came up to me asking directions, He was well lost, so as I was going in the direction he wanted I offered him a lift, when I dropped him at his office, he asked me if I would like some old photo's of Runcorn and Widnes. I couldn't say yes fast enough.
HE sent me a full CD of old photos. There is one of a map of Runcorn, that was found in Germany after the war, it shows the targets for bombing on it.
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Thanks for the comments and advice Gerods - and really nice to hear that someone gave you some old images too. I'd love to see the Bombing one if you have a scan of it? :thumbs:

AleksanderLoesch said:
you have to get this guy remembered!

contact the local "culture council" or whatever is the local equivilent. get a web page going etc...?

Would love to see this in a gallery!
Click to expand...

I totally agree, he deserves all the credit for these images, he really was producing quality work for his time I think, and was clearly very dedicated to his work. I will endevour to make sure his efforts are credited for sure. :thumbs:

I was just flicking through some his photographs this evening, and my wife spotted two images that looked similar...

We compared the two together and they are clearly taken from roughly the same POV...but quite obviously some time apart. From a historical point of view they make interesting viewing imo - check out the road, number of telegraph lines, the traffic, how the trees and bushes have grown etc. :eek: :clap: This guy was obviously keen to record "progression" in his locality, and I think he did it very well indeed! No computer, no film, no exif, etc - I couldn't cope, he was just shooting onto glass plates!! I have lots of respect tbh! :notworthy:

If anyone on here can hazard an educated guess as to the time gap between these two photos, I'd be very grateful. A year, two, more...?

0045compare.jpg


Cheers, Ian.
 
Excellent stuff, it's amazing how much the world changes in 36,500 days really isn't it?
 
well, whatever happens, I hope this work gets shared!

Local news would probably love a story like this, along with some pics of local landmarks throughout time!

good luck:D!
 
RichardC27 said:
Excellent stuff, it's amazing how much the world changes in 36,500 days really isn't it?
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LOl - yep, things certainly have changed. :nuts: I think most photographers still face similar challenges to "back then", but we cope with it in different ways, using the new technologies and methods available. I for one, am much more aware of the changes in my local surroundings, but am still "guilty" of not capturing them to the extent that I would like to do. I guess this was his vocation, or linked to his living in some way? :shrug:

Either way, it does demonstrate that every scene we take has significant value, and when viewed many years later - perhaps more than we ever imagined! :)
 
AleksanderLoesch said:
well, whatever happens, I hope this work gets shared!

Local news would probably love a story like this, along with some pics of local landmarks throughout time!

good luck:D!
Click to expand...

Thanks mate - I will let you all know what I eventually decide to do with them for sure. :) (This may be *several* years away from now btw! :lol: ;) )
 
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