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It’s always cool looking at photos from the past, especially if those photos are of places you know and love. Now, Londoners and other history buffs will be able to peruse some of the earliest pictures of London (and the rest of the UK) on the Historic England online archive – the organisation has just acquired a new ‘world-class’ collection, featuring 8,000 of the earliest and ‘finest’ photos of England.
Historic England (HE) has got its hands on the Janette Rosing collection – a hoard of historic photographs of Old Blighty collected by the renowned photographic consultant, connoisseur, and collector throughout her life. Now, many of Rosing’s thousands of 19th and early 20th century photographs have undergone a detailed conservation assessment before being digitised and added to the HE archive.
Among the collection is a photograph of St Paul’s Cathedral from Bankside taken by pioneering Scottish photographer George Washington Wilson at some point between 1860 and 1900 (above). Another London gem on show is a 1953 photo of Bethnal Green by William Whiffin (below).
Ian Savage, collections manager at Historic England said: ‘From maritime scenes by James Mudd to detailed architectural studies by Linnaeus Tripe, each photograph in this exceptional collection offers a glimpse into the past, showcasing Janette Rosing’s expert eye for quality. Rosing’s collection will continue to connect us with our history and inspire future generations to appreciate England’s rich cultural legacy.’
It’s hoped that fundraising efforts by HE will help eventually catalogue and digitise the entire collection.
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