I like to think of myself as an archaeologist of images (or an imaginary archaeologist if you prefer). I like nothing better than digging up old pictures, dusting them off, and bringing them back to life to see what they can tell us about times gone by. We are not talking about the equivalent of … Continue reading The Imaginary Archaeologist
Category: Pictures From Nowhere
After The Rain
I recently acquired a lovely old 1904 album of photographs taken in and around the Scottish village of Brig o' Turk. Despite the age of the photos, you are not drawn into the usual "then and now" comparisons: as far as I can tell, little has changed. It is the captions that provide the time … Continue reading After The Rain
Stirling Scan
What better way to spend Sunday than to walk down King Street in Stirling. On the left are the offices of the Stirling Journal and on the right is the Golden Lion Hotel, and in the distance, the imposing Athenaeum building. The walk started ninety-odd years ago when someone took a photo of the scene, … Continue reading Stirling Scan
Hastings Hats
Some years ago I had a phase of buying old glass plate negatives on eBay. I had to abandon the practice as they would consistently arrive through the post in pieces. Here's one that made it without breaking - it shows a group of women (could it be a milliners outing) in Hastings. Just as … Continue reading Hastings Hats
Walking Snaps
This is a small print that came into my possession one way or another, and it's a fine early example of street photography. It probably dates from the 1920s and I have no idea as to either the location or the identity of the subjects. Like all such photos, however, it is dripping with social … Continue reading Walking Snaps
Portrait Of An Unknown Man With Hair
Let me start by saying that I have no idea who this is. Neither do I know how it came into my possession. Whatever the story of its life as a photograph - from Victorian studio to the box in the corner of my room marked "Found Photos" - it surely pales into insignificance compared … Continue reading Portrait Of An Unknown Man With Hair
Tall And Short
You can see how this photograph came about, you can read the mind of the photographer - big and small, tall and short, contrasts ... or whatever. The really intriguing question is who are these five men and could they possibly be related. There are some facial similarities, but surely the gene pool couldn't be … Continue reading Tall And Short
Tasker And Self At The Gliding Club
You almost get a sense of freedom when you are dealing with found photographs (aka photos of unknown origin). The photographs are really "moments in time"; the subjects have no back stories and their futures our outside our knowledge or control. You are free to concentrate on the image itself. That instant in time that … Continue reading Tasker And Self At The Gliding Club
Chapters From A Book Yet To Be Written
This group of young ladies, in what can only be described as eccentric dress, comes from a batch of photographs I bought several years ago which also contained some photographs of performances by the Brighouse Amateur Theatrical Society. We can therefore surmise that these fine ladies were the chorus from some Brighouse amateur theatrical production … Continue reading Chapters From A Book Yet To Be Written
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