Author: Alan Burnett

Thomas Boxell Of Brighton …

  This small photograph of a seated woman is the work of a Victorian photographer called Thomas Boxell, who - at the time this photograph was taken in the late 1870s - was operating out of a studio in Pickering, Yorkshire. The story of Thomas Boxell is typical of so many of the semi-itinerant studio … Continue reading Thomas Boxell Of Brighton …

Politicians On Postcards : Bob’s His Uncle

 For want of something better to do, I thought I would start a short series entitled "Politicians On Postcards". The length of the series will, no doubt, be determined by how many examples of this rather specialised genre I can find in my collection. There can only be one place to start a series on … Continue reading Politicians On Postcards : Bob’s His Uncle

Instantaneous Sadness

There is a sadness about this woman of two centuries ago. It is as though the instantaneous camera of Mr. William Colton Pearson has captured her in a moment of doubt: not quite knowing what awaits in the new century that lies just around the next bend of Manchester Road.

Winking At A Carpenter

At a meeting of the Old Gits Luncheon Club the other day we got to talking - as one does when you've had a pint or two - about the latest developments in geo-positioning technology. There is now a system available, it appears, which has assigned a three word code to every three metre square … Continue reading Winking At A Carpenter

They Sailed Away

I can't decide whether this couple posed for this photograph or whether they were actually asleep and a companion got his or her smartphone out and took a quick picture that would make a fine profile picture on Facetwit or the like. But this was the 1930s and it would take a year and a … Continue reading They Sailed Away

Stone, Chapel And Chimney

In suspect that this photograph dates from around 1970. Whilst the precise date may be lost, the location is undoubtedly West Yorkshire and that part of the county characterised by stone walls, chapels and mill chimneys.

When Boris Says Turn

It was a time of political chaos, when the Government of Britain was wracked by internal divisions and factions. Cabinet meetings were characterised by open hostility and serial resignations, and the Prime Minister seemed to stand back and watch the fighting so as not to alienate one faction or another. The issues being argued about … Continue reading When Boris Says Turn

Up And Down Bold Street With Arthur Medrington

Arthur Stanhope Medrington opened an artist studio at 128 Bold Street in Liverpool in the late 1870s. Like so many jobbing artists of the time, his work was largely confined to providing relatively cheap portraits of Victorian middle class families - the type of work and the type of market that the new invention of … Continue reading Up And Down Bold Street With Arthur Medrington