Historic Photographs
The History Department holds a wide range of photographs comprising over 100,000 topographical, portrait and historic images, mostly black and white, in print and negative formats. They mainly date from c.1880, and relate principally to the northern parts of Ireland, although other regions are covered, most importantly the west.
Signature collections include those of the renowned local photographers R.J. Welch (1859-1936) and A.R. Hogg (1870-1939); the Belfast antiquarian F. J. Bigger (1863-1926); and the Ulster Tourist Development Association, which primarily covers the period c.1940-1970.
Other collections of note include those of Cecil Newman, describing local urban and road development in the 1960s and 1970s; of Bob Martin, a shipyard worker and amateur photographer whose images reflect life in Belfast and output at Harland and Wolff's in the1950s and 1960s; the Garland collection, which records the aftermath of the Belfast Blitzs, 1941, and the work of local home defence agencies; the Hackney collection of photographic albums and accompanying diaries charting the recruitment and training of the 36th Ulster Division and their journey to the Battle of the Somme and beyond; the Browne collection of photographs relating to civil engineering projects post 1945; and an album of photographs by Glass relating to the Land War in Gweedore, Co. Donegal, in the 1880s.
The Department also maintains a large collection of lantern slides depicting social, economic and industrial life in Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and a large, publicly-accessible photographic archive, which includes copies of major collections held elsewhere in public and private hands, such as the Annesly, Young and Langham collections,
The photographic collections also chart the development of photography from its beginnings, including examples of early photographs such as daguerrotypes and calotypes. The Department also holds a substantial collection of cameras, magic lanterns and photographic equipment, dating from the 1850s, and a large postcard collection.
Highlights: Objects of Desire Online Tour (Coates Family Photograph Ambrotype)