Photography

Some years ago I posted the appalling story of the treatment of old photographs by someone I refuse to admit I'm distantly related to. You can read the Criminal Waste of History here.

For me old imagery is extremely useful when illustrating books and articles. Thus recently, having shown an interested party some of the images I had discovered, an interesting conversation followed which got me thinking when the other said how it was "amazing these photographs have survived". Well in the case of those rescued from the bonfire, this is true. But is this really the case? Remember images in those days were precious, few images were taken and those that were successfully developed cherished as these represented a significant investment. Furthermore, these images were often 'captioned' in the sense the names of those pictured were given on the reverse, often including the date and even the place. Such was the case with Maitland Kempson pictured below - indeed without the note on the reverse I would have had no idea who the man was.

Yet will old images be so easy to find in future? Will we have any notion as to who, where and when? Today's technology makes photography commonplace - we have images from cameras, mobile phones, tablets, and the many video cameras dotted around everywhere. Now 'when' is easy to as the digital record puts both the date and the time - assuming the equipment is set correctly, of course. But does anyone ever bother to caption images, except for those on social media? And are they saved and easily retrievable? No. Usually when the equipment dies the images die with them, and even those saved online will never be found again once the photographer's copyright has started to countdown from 70 years - unless passwords are known.

So, it is not surprising to find old images have survived from a century ago, but try finding an image of Jack or Lindsey a hundred years from now and recognising them when you do. Best of British!

Tamworth Through Time

A second book published last week, a fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Tamworth has changed and developed over the last century.

While Tamworth has revealed archaeological evidence of Roman occupation, it was when the Saxons settled here that the town rose to prominence. As capital of the powerful kingdom of Mercia, the location of its castle at the confluence of the rivers Tame and Anker was a naturally defensible position against the Danes. In more recent times the landscape around this part of southern Staffordshire has been influenced by the Peel family, William McGregor, and Thomas Guy. The Industrial Revolution saw the canal and the railway play important roles. Coal mining then left a scar on the landscape. This has now been covered by a massive housing development which grew with the arrival of families from Birmingham. Within the pages of Tamworth Through Time not only is there a comparison to be made between old and new views, but also between the old residential areas to the north and west and the new developments to the east and south.

As always I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Lichfield Through Time

A new book out this week, a fascinating selection of photographs tracing some of the many ways in which Lichfield has changed and developed over the last century.

The Romans were around Lichfield with a major settlement at neighbouring Wall and Celts were certainly here at that time too. Yet it was with the arrival of the Saxons that Lichfield came into its own. St Chad built the first church, bringing the bishopric of Mercia here in the sixth century and the first cathedral being constructed soon afterwards. Queen Mary’s charter of 1553 made Lichfield a county and created the office of Sheriff of Lichfield, a position which continues until today. During the English Civil War the Royalist stronghold of Lichfield was besieged twice, the second resulting in the collapse of the cathedral’s central spire.

Later centuries saw Lichfield become a city famous for its intellectuals. Among the most famous were Erasmus Darwin, David Garrick, Anna Seward and, undoubtedly most famous of them all, Dr Samuel Johnson. Within the pages of Lichfield Through Time not only is there a comparison to be made between old and new views, but also glimpses into some of the lives of people who have contributed to recent development of this delightful city.

As always I would welcome any suggestions for themes or subjects, or even specific words to examine the origins, meanings and etymologies. I’d be delighted to hear from you.