MrEd Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 Hello all. Recently my local village museum was donated 4 photo albums of about 200-250 photos of various ww1 topics. These aren’t the usual posed photos of soldiers and their units. They are of men ‘in action’ in the front line, British, American, Scottish, Irish troops. Lots of photos of German pows and French civilians aswell. The photos depict men in action on the front line, and the rear supply type areas, field dressing stations and the like. Also include photos of some British and Belgian royals and American congressman. Some regiments are named (Leinster, artillery, east Surreys, Stafford’s, highland Territorials etc) They are firmly stuck in 4 albums but one of them is loose and has ‘The Sport and General Press Agency Ltd’ on the back. we are wondering what to do with them, the first thought was to give them to the IWM - which in principle is fine but I feel these should be digitised and published online for the public to view/study etc. they are safe in the village museum but they don’t want to keep them forever as they are not directly related to the village so is outside of their mandate but they equally think they are of value. I would welcome suggestions as to: - are they of value (by which I mean social/historic not monetary)? - atleast 1 has been published before (I found it online) - is it a ‘well known’ set of photos or are these ‘previously unseen’? - can anyone suggest where a potential suitable repository for these could be? (Other than IWM!) I attach a couple of examples of the contents, I have deliberately taken the photos in such a way that they can’t be cribbed for sale on eBay etc until I am clearer what to do with them. thanks ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exXIX Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 The IWM maybe?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 7 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2022 4 minutes ago, exXIX said: The IWM maybe?... Well, that’s what I said in my post. Any suggestions apart from the IWM as my concern is they will just be archived into the black hole of the IWM and not actually be viewable anywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 The IWM used to have an archive of photographs in the old Bethlehem Hospital (Bedlam) which I once visited, but don't know if this exists in this digital age Perhaps the Cloth Hall in Ypres have an archive they could go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knittinganddeath Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 (edited) What's the context of the album -- is it known who compiled the photos? What was their connection to the pictures? When was the album made? If there are personal photographs, it would immediately be much more interesting as a document IMO. If the person who compiled the album is from the village, could the museum be persuaded to keep it based on that connection? Edited 7 December , 2022 by knittinganddeath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 (edited) That one of the East Surreys is part of a group of photos taken of the 12th East Surreys c1917 and is held already by IWM I think. Charlie Edit: OBJECT TITLE THE BATTLE OF MESSINES, JUNE 1917 Q 2819 OBJECT CATEGORY Photographs PRODUCTION DATE 1917-06-11 CREATOR Brooks, Ernest (Lieutenant) (Photographer) https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205079670 Part of MINISTRY OF INFORMATION FIRST WORLD WAR OFFICIAL COLLECTION Edited 7 December , 2022 by charlie962 Update to iwm link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 7 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2022 2 minutes ago, knittinganddeath said: What's the context of the album -- is it known who compiled the photos? What was their connection to the pictures? When was the album made? If there are personal photographs, it would immediately be much more interesting as a document IMO. If the person who compiled the album is from the village, could the museum be persuaded to keep it based on that connection? Hi who compiled the photos is not known, they were donated by someone who has lived in the village for only about 15 years so the photos have no (known) connection to the village. They appear to be press photos rather than personal. the museum is happy to keep them until a suitable home can be found but they can’t keep them forever as they have a finite amount of space/remit. 3 minutes ago, charlie962 said: That one of the East Surreys is part of a group of photos taken of the 12th East Surreys c1917 and is held already by IWM I think. Charlie Thanks Charlie, we are in the process of inquiring with the IWM about whether they have them in their collection already or not - if they already have them then that changes things somewhat if that makes sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 Note I've tweeked my post for link and source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 7 December , 2022 Share Posted 7 December , 2022 That German prisoner is also an Ernest Brooks photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 7 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 7 December , 2022 (edited) 10 minutes ago, charlie962 said: Note I've tweeked my post for link and source. Okay thank you, so it is *possible* that some (or maybe all) were taken by Lieutenant Ernest Brooks for the MfI. Interesting, gives me an angle to look at thank you ed edit: seen your response - highly likely he took all of these photos then, they are all in a similar style. possibly these are well known photos and in the public domain already so unlikely to be ‘previously unseen’ work i shall endeavour to scan all of them anyway Edited 7 December , 2022 by MrEd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 8 December , 2022 Share Posted 8 December , 2022 2 hours ago, MrEd said: Okay thank you, so it is *possible* that some (or maybe all) were taken by Lieutenant Ernest Brooks for the MfI. Interesting, gives me an angle to look at thank you It's a possibility. You never know, there may be some previously unknown images amongst them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMB1943 Posted 8 December , 2022 Share Posted 8 December , 2022 (edited) Ed, There is a thread on GWF, within the last few days, started by I think Moonraker regarding the disposal of his collection of photos I believe, and this whole was discussed extensively. The major issue with donating to a museum, especially as large as the IWM, is that the museum usually retains the right to dispose of them at any time— so not only may the photos just go into the basement, but they may actually be sold off to fund other projects. Since the photos are apparently by a noted, official war photographer perhaps they could go to a university with a war studies dept; Kings College, London / University of Wolverhampton and others come to mind. Regards, JMB Edit: Moonraker thread is in Great War Chat: Bequeathal of postcard collection….. Edited 8 December , 2022 by JMB1943 Add info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhclark Posted 8 December , 2022 Share Posted 8 December , 2022 https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/topics/world+war+i+photographs+by+ernest+brooks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 8 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2022 4 hours ago, JMB1943 said: Ed, There is a thread on GWF, within the last few days, started by I think Moonraker regarding the disposal of his collection of photos I believe, and this whole was discussed extensively. The major issue with donating to a museum, especially as large as the IWM, is that the museum usually retains the right to dispose of them at any time— so not only may the photos just go into the basement, but they may actually be sold off to fund other projects. Since the photos are apparently by a noted, official war photographer perhaps they could go to a university with a war studies dept; Kings College, London / University of Wolverhampton and others come to mind. Regards, JMB Edit: Moonraker thread is in Great War Chat: Bequeathal of postcard collection….. Thanks that’s helpful, will have a read. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 8 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 8 December , 2022 5 hours ago, nhclark said: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/topics/world+war+i+photographs+by+ernest+brooks That’s how I envisage presenting them - that’s a greta website thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temptage Posted 9 December , 2022 Share Posted 9 December , 2022 On 08/12/2022 at 08:13, MrEd said: That’s how I envisage presenting them - that’s a greta website thank you Use a free website like Weebly. That way you dont need to pay for a domain name etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulkheader Posted 9 December , 2022 Share Posted 9 December , 2022 On 07/12/2022 at 21:14, exXIX said: The IWM maybe?... NO, NO, NO! Not a good track record for such donations. Witness the recent ‘downsizing’ of their reference library. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulkheader Posted 9 December , 2022 Share Posted 9 December , 2022 Some great images by the way. Being mercenary, you do realise these have a value ? Worth considering auction disposal if funds required for more village relevant exhibits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 9 December , 2022 Share Posted 9 December , 2022 (edited) 43 minutes ago, caulkheader said: Worth considering auction disposal if funds required for more village relevant exhibits. If there is no identifiable link of Album to Village, I think that would be a good idea, having first scanned them at highest definition. They seem unlikely to be unique but as a collection are of great interest. One has to be prepared that a potential buyer may split up album and sell photos individually. Regrettably this happens all too often with unique collections where loss of context is irreplaceable. It means you would be doing what the IWM might have done anyway. But you can make a copy of digitised work available to researchers. Edited 9 December , 2022 by charlie962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 9 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 9 December , 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, temptage said: Use a free website like Weebly. That way you dont need to pay for a domain name etc Thanks, I have a website and hostage so can host them myself 1 hour ago, caulkheader said: Some great images by the way. Being mercenary, you do realise these have a value ? Worth considering auction disposal if funds required for more village relevant exhibits. Yes, and that is one option the museum is considering but we dont really have any idea of monetary value tbh ed Edited 9 December , 2022 by MrEd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 9 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 9 December , 2022 51 minutes ago, charlie962 said: If there is no identifiable link of Album to Village, I think that would be a good idea, having first scanned them at highest definition. They seem unlikely to be unique but as a collection are of great interest. One has to be prepared that a potential buyer may split up album and sell photos individually. Regrettably this happens all too often with unique collections where loss of context is irreplaceable. It means you would be doing what the IWM might have done anyway. But you can make a copy of digitised work available to researchers. I definitely want high res scans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 9 December , 2022 Share Posted 9 December , 2022 (edited) 12 minutes ago, MrEd said: we dont really have any idea of monetary value tbh Number of photos times a nominal price indication per photo from Baywatch should give ball park? The individual photos are of course 'genuine period items' which gives them a premium. Main advice, don't rush! Edited 9 December , 2022 by charlie962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted 9 December , 2022 Author Share Posted 9 December , 2022 6 minutes ago, charlie962 said: Main advice, don't rush! 100% we are aiming to do the ‘right thing’ and I am hoping to make them available to forum members as well (digitally) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exXIX Posted 9 December , 2022 Share Posted 9 December , 2022 On 07/12/2022 at 21:20, MrEd said: Well, that’s what I said in my post. Any suggestions apart from the IWM as my concern is they will just be archived into the black hole of the IWM and not actually be viewable anywhere! Maybe start or give them to someone running a history blog site?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Posted 10 December , 2022 Share Posted 10 December , 2022 If you look on fleabay for similar photographs you'll get a feel for what sellers are asking - doesn't mean they'll sell for that though. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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