Author: Alan Burnett

Superglued To The Hillside

TERRACED HOUSES, SOUTHOWRAM BANK, HALIFAX. SCANNED NEGATIVE, 1974 Houses that are superglued to the hillside: two storeys at the front, three at the back. From the top window you could see all the way to Wainhouse Tower - if it wasn't for the mills in between.

Howard & Louise Bantes

This is a nineteenth century photograph (but only just) from the studio of Borman and Johnson of Main Street, Danbury in Connecticut. Before Norman and Johnson took over, the studio belonged to a certain Mr Blackman. On the reverse, the names of the two children are listed as A Howard Bantes, age 12; and Louise … Continue reading Howard & Louise Bantes

Pictures From Nowhere : A Thing Of Beauty

An old faded print of so little significance that it has been long abandoned. A faded caption on the reverse commemorating faded relationships. A thing of beauty. Aunt Lily And Grandma Nunn

Pictures From Nowhere : Busy

There is nothing better than a busy photograph. Two tin baths, half a skirt, a branch cutting through a frown: this 1926 photo contains enough for a lengthy essay.

Chip Shop In Halifax (1970)

Chip Shop In Halifax (1968) There was a time when every street corner had its own chip shop: a healthier age, when folk walked for their take-aways.

Straight Cut At Brookfoot

Everything seemed simpler 100 years ago, there was less clutter. The mills were proportionate, their chimneys vertical, the houses in neat rows and the canal cut straight through the landscape. This picture postcard of the area known as Brookfoot just to the west of Brighouse, is fairly typical of the first decade of the twentieth … Continue reading Straight Cut At Brookfoot

Trio With A Bow

Unknown Group : c1918 Sometimes you don't need to know who the people are. You don't need to know their story: their past, present or future. Sometimes the image itself is enough.

Devil’s Cauldron Or Cradle Of The Arts?

SCANNED NEGATIVES : HALIFAX FROM THE SHIBDEN VALLEY (c1968) This is one of my photos from 50 years ago and shows Halifax from  the Shibden Valley. The town seems to be spilling from the lip of some giant industrial cauldron, or nestling in a cradle of the arts. This particular photograph comes from a time … Continue reading Devil’s Cauldron Or Cradle Of The Arts?

Bull Green, Halifax

POSTCARDS FROM HOME : BULL GREEN, HALIFAX (1950s) Bull Green, Halifax in the 1950s. Little has changed as far as the built environment is concerned, but it is a different world revolving around the roundabout these days. I suspect that this postcard dates from the 1950s, but as it was never postally used I have … Continue reading Bull Green, Halifax