This has always been one of my favourite Found Photographs - a tiny two inch print of unknown origin with the name Ethel Johnston written on the back. It could have jumped out of William Boyd's fabulous "Sweet Caress" - photographic history at its seductive best.
Tag: Old Photographs
On The Dangers Of Sinking Under Ashworth’s Merrymakers And Their Like
I became distracted earlier today, turned a little too suddenly in my chair, and knocked over one of the many piles of old photographs that are stacked on my desk and the surrounding cupboards and shelves. Assessing the perilous nature of my surroundings, I realised that I am in danger of sinking below a tide … Continue reading On The Dangers Of Sinking Under Ashworth’s Merrymakers And Their Like
Effie And Agnes Reunited
This is an amalgamation of two separate photographs that were within of batch of unknown old photographs I acquired from somewhere. The photographs are of a similar age and technique and more than likely they are the outcome of the same visit to a photographers' studio. There is a facial similarity which suggests the two … Continue reading Effie And Agnes Reunited
Messing About On Water Lane
If there is one thing I love doing, it is messing about with old images. Give me a half-decent computer, a reasonably warm desk to work on, and the occasional cup of tea, and I can occupy myself for a decade or two. There is no rational plan, no great scheme, no fixed objective: it … Continue reading Messing About On Water Lane
HEBBLE SECRETS
After all these years I can't quite pin down exactly where I took this photograph of the Hebble Brook in Halifax from. Obviously it was down by the, then, Rowntree Mackintosh factory, but I'm not entirely sure whether I was looking north or south. Dating it, is another problem. I have been taking photographs of … Continue reading HEBBLE SECRETS
A Prize Shot
This is from a strip of six negatives from the mid 1960s. The photographs were taken, as far as I can remember, at the Halifax Gala in Manor Heath. I may have featured some of these photographs before, I can't remember, but they are probably worth a second outing. The first of the six photographs … Continue reading A Prize Shot
Home 2 : Bank Bottom, Halifax
The second picture in my "Home" collection is this photograph of Bank Bottom, Halifax, which I took somewhere around 1970. Square Church spire is framed by the old Riding Hall Carpet Mill and the Halifax Gas Works. If you would like to see this picture in person, it is currently on view as part of … Continue reading Home 2 : Bank Bottom, Halifax
Market Days
By chance, because my negatives are filed with the logic of a Trumpian tweet, another group of shots featuring Halifax Borough Market came to the top of the scanning pile. These are from the 1960s: the advent of decimalisation was a Godsend for picture daters. Pictures of the market always seem to be popular - … Continue reading Market Days
The Age Of The Smile
Photograph Of Unknown Family - 1920s/30s Smiles - smiles on photos, at least - were a twentieth century invention: smiles on the faces of the subjects of Victorian photographic portraits are as rare as Trumpian truths. The reason was partly that Victorian cameras could only cope with fixed expressions - but it was also partly … Continue reading The Age Of The Smile