Category: Family Photographs

JOHN THE MATE

The time must be somewhere around the late 1920s. The place will have been Bradford. The man on the left is my Uncle John, who was a wagon drivers' mate. Not sure who the wagon driver - the one with the cap - was. The star of the photo shoot, however, must surely have been … Continue reading JOHN THE MATE

Walking Around Egypt

Until we ventured to France in the 1960s, it was my understanding that my father had only ever been abroad once - and that was a day trip to Calais in the 1930s. Thus initially I was surprised to see in his diary for this week in 1934 that he had gone walking around Egypt! … Continue reading Walking Around Egypt

Just Three Generations

I remember asking my father about this photograph of his father - Enoch Burnett sat at the front of this group - and he said that it was taken at the time of the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Enoch was in a reserve group of volunteers and he never got further than a training camp … Continue reading Just Three Generations

The Visual Date-Stamp

My parents, Albert and Gladys. The photograph dates from around 1934 or 35, a year or two before they were married. My father was a keen cyclist and my mother was a less keen passenger on the back of their tandem. A great photo, but the bonus is the couple walking in the background providing … Continue reading The Visual Date-Stamp

Chapman’s Bike

The photograph forms part of a box full of family photographs that may (or may not) feature the family of my grandfathers' brother, Albert Burnett (1884-1963). On the back of the photograph is written: "Mr Chapman, 2 Maze Street, Barton Hill". Barton Hill is part of the modern-day city of Bristol. I have absolutely no … Continue reading Chapman’s Bike

THREE VERSIONS OF UNREALITY

A family group: - a distant family connection I suspect as they are far too posh for any branch of the family I know of. The first version was as the print now appears - fading into a sepia memory. The second version restores it to, what was probably, the original black and white. Version … Continue reading THREE VERSIONS OF UNREALITY

Sepia Pointillism

I am told that this is a photograph of my mother-in-law, Edith, with her nephew Edward. The thing that struck me about it was not so much the subjects, but the combined effect of age-related fading and the stipple paper the photo was printed on. Together they have created a kind of "sepia pointillism" which … Continue reading Sepia Pointillism

The Grocer And The Body Builder

This postcard was with a collection of photographs handed down to me from the family of my fathers' Uncle Albert (Albert Burnett 1884-1963). It is, in fact, both a photograph and a postcard - the use of "real photographs" to create postcards was common in the early year of the twentieth century. The photograph shows … Continue reading The Grocer And The Body Builder