I have been collecting photographic memorabilia since I was twelve years old. In that time I have amassed a huge collection of all things photographic. One of the spookiest things that ever happened to me arising from this was down to my late mother. She bought a box of jumble in 1972 from a church hall as it had two old cameras on the top. I remember her saying it cost 50p. In the box were hundreds of old glass negatives going back to the 1920's. In the late 1990's I stated to sift through them. They were all in mint condition. It turned out they were taken by a very keen amateur photographer who worked for the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
I was looking at them on the light box and discovered one of my late mother Jean and her best friend Marjorie taken in 1935. She was able to identify this by the colour of her school socks. That's mum on the left. When I showed her the positive print she nearly had kittens. She clearly remembered the the shot being taken but on seeing it some 65 years later for the first time was flabbergasted. She said, "You know son, that has survived the blitz and my friend passed away many years ago". It was a truly moving experience for us both.
As you can see there are various shots on view. One of Cloch Lighthouse, Loch Lomond,
Cross Keys Hotel, a Singer outing to Glen Fruin, old worthies and a cracker of a fellow astride his Ariel motorbike. I know exactly where that shot was taken, as in the background, is the swing park I used to play in as a child. Clydebank College now sits on top of it. It is ironic that the College is now due for demolition, as they say, nothing is forever.
As part of my everyday sales pitch to my clients, I am constantly reminding them that every time I take a photograph of anything or anyone, I am by default capturing a piece of history. Never more obvious than by looking at these old ones. I wonder if sometime in the future, people will be looking at mine in the same way?
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