I have been “downsizing” my collection of old photographs from various sources and selected a number that I really must keep and hear are five of them.

A Little Beauty

A delightful studio photograph taken in the Handsworth Studio of H Whitlock around 1900. In the early days of photography simple cameras for people to use were simply not viable, so the professional photographer set up a studio and the family went there for photographs, if they could afford it. Whitlock was a notable Birmingham photographer and one of his studios was in Handsworth. Initially exposure times were quite long so smiling was ruled out as it is difficult to keep a straight smiling face. Also small tables were provided for anyone standing to lean on to stop any movement. Here the exposure time must have shortened quite a bit as the children have nothing to support them, but it looks as though smiling was not encouraged although it was not far away.

NY Photographer

A print of a stereo photograph of a photographer taking a stereo photograph high above Manhattan in about 1915 and without seemingly any support. It makes me shudder!

Group Outing

A reproduction from a lantern slide by Marion Silverston in about 1900 that I have entitled “Group Outing”. Almost all the characters have a badge in the left lapel of their coat but I cannot read it. So who they are has not been determined but it has been suggested that the place may be Wenlock Abbey. I think the sharpness of the image and the delicacy of the contrast is quite remarkable. Marion Silverston was a significant Birmingham photographer who set up a studio in Edgbaston and concentrated on photographing children.

Lady Disdain

“Lady Disdain”, so named by Marion Silverston, again an image from a lantern slide. I think that this must have caused quite a stir, with it’s black background and intriguing image..

A Goose Fair

The Goose Fair at Strettle. A small print, date unknown. This is intriguing for me because in the bottom right hand corner there is a small sign which states that “ This is a real photo”!

A Host of Angels

Lantern slides are a very good source for the depiction of angels. This is not surprising given that Church halls were frequently used for lantern shows.

So here is a selection, mainly rather beautiful, but in one case gruesome and beautiful at the same time.

Two of our slides, “Angels are near” and “the Spirits’ Flight” were used by Margaret Barker in her book “An extraordinary gathering of angels”.