Year: 2018

The Test Of Time

There is something slightly fake about this Victorian photograph: the quality of the print is a little too good, the line between the foreground and the background is just a little too sharp.  I have examined the print carefully, and as far as I can make out, it is a genuine studio photograph from the … Continue reading The Test Of Time

Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 5. Blue Days, Black Nights

The fifth and final £1 buy from the Slaithwaite antiques shop is an intriguing Edwardian studio photograph of a lady, some cushions and a telephone. Such photographs were common in the Edwardian age, but were normally featured on the picture postcards that were popular at this time. This is a print, not a postcard: and … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 5. Blue Days, Black Nights

Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 4. Enlarged To Any Size

There is something slightly reminiscent of that great British comedian, Les Dawson, about this fine Victorian lady, who is the subject of the fourth of my five studio portraits bought from a second-hand stall in Slaithwaite. The portrait is the work of James Wright who had studios in both the Lancashire mill town of Oldham … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 4. Enlarged To Any Size

Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 3. Lady Ormonde.

My third £1 purchase from the second hand stall in Slaithwaite was this delightful nineteenth century carte de visite from the London Studio of the society photographers William and Daniel Downey. William Downey (1829-1915) was born in South Shields and worked as a carpenter and boat builder before opening his first photographic studios in South … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 3. Lady Ormonde.

Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 2. In The Limelight

There used to be a a shop in Huddersfield called something like "Global International Mobile Phones And Repairs", which sounded all very grand, but was no more than a little chap in a broken down room with a counter made from a piece of wood balanced on two packing cases. Trades and industries that are … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 2. In The Limelight

Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 1 Pendlebury Wave

We were in Slaithwaite yesterday visiting the excellent Slaithwaite Art Festival, and afterwards called in one of the many antique emporiums in the village. There I found on one of the stalls a fine collection of old Victorian photographs. I managed to limit myself to just £5's worth, and came away with five excellent examples … Continue reading Five From A Slaithwaite Stall : 1 Pendlebury Wave

Great Chips Of The World : Series III, No. 5 – Saphire

Variety : Saphire (new variety of the classic Marfona potato) Appearance : Early main crop, smooth skin, white potato Chipability : Produce well-defined chips with crispy skin and fluffy white interiors

Picture Post : A Street I Must Have Known

This was taken in Sheffield in the early 1980s. I am not entirely sure where it is, but it is a street I must have walked down, a street I must have known.