The Press Photo History Project
  • Photo Research/Copyright tracing
  • Photo Agency Directory
  • Supporting the PPHP
  • PPHP Team
  • About & Contact

Quote: 30K transparency collection – digitised, captioned and researched

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

A photo client over at our content consultancy agency AboutTheImage.com has acquired a historical editorial photo collection which needs digitising. The collection is all transparency (aprox 30,000) which require cleaning,…

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December 30, 2022

New information: Evening Standard Picture Desk Staff 1930-1966

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

We have an update from Peter Francis to our 2012 post regarding the photo desk staff at the Evening Standard 1930-1966.

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December 2, 2022

Call for footage – Motor Show 1953 Earls Court London

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

This is a follow up search to our very successful call for images of the 1953 AC Ace Prototype car which was exhibited for the first time at the Motor…

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December 2, 2022

Searching for Herbert ‘Bert’ Andrews – Planet News photographer

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

The Granddaughter of Herbert ‘Bert’ Andrews, a photographer at London based photo agency Planet News, is trying to learn more about his life. ‘Bert’ joined Planet News when it opened…

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October 14, 2022

Photo Search Request: The Higham Special & Flat Iron cars

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

Above: Thomas with the original Higham Special – currently credited to Barratt’s Photo Press/PA but maybe with another photo library Above: 1926 Thomas in Thomas Special 2 – currently credited…

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August 2, 2022

FOUND: Searching for Sports photographer Owen Barnes freelance 1970’s 80’s

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

August 5 2022: Sad news. The PPHP received this message from Owen’s wife Ellen: “It is with a heavy heart I must inform you that my husband Ray Wellingson passed…

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July 21, 2022

Press Photographer Frank Martin has died – worked at Bernsen’s International Press Service – BIPS & The Guardian

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

I was in touch with Press Photographer Frank Martin a few years back – he had found the Press Photo History project and my call for information on the press…

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April 13, 2022

Central Press: Iwan Morgan remembers the staff – 1955

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

The PPHP received an email from Ex-Central Press staffer Ian Morgan, here’s what he remembers of the staff when he arrived at the agency in 1955. – here’s our original…

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April 9, 2022

Copyright and agency history: British Illustrations Ltd

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

Mentioned in our Photo Agency Directory the British Illustrations agency does not feature in many requests  – we are assuming it closed early 1900’s. Photo detail: Photo detail: Above verso from…

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March 30, 2022

Can you locate Planet News photographer’s image in publication?

By Will CarletonWill Carleton

Can you re-united Planet News photographer’s image in publication? This in from the library team at Kent based photo library Topfoto : Hi Will: Here’s  a good story that just…

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January 26, 2022
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Support The PPHP

Image requests

We provide a copyright search service connecting image license requests with image owners through our network of contacts at newspaper archives and commercial photo libraries.

The Project

We are mapping the lives and whereabouts of press photo agencies and newspaper photographers based in and around Fleet Street and the UK from 1904 - 1995, with a long term plan to map all press photo agencies throughout the world.

Why is it important?

At the turn of the 20th century, there was vast growth in press agencies and photographers due to the massive thirst for images in newspapers. Many are still in existence but others have been sold, absorbed or simply disappeared, effectively leaving gaps in the history of this industry… many agency offices were bombed during the WWII London Blitz resulting negative and print files being water damage from the hoses quenching the fires …most archives were in the building basements.

The Memories

The Press Photo History Project is building a ‘family tree’, which is helping to find the original owners of content. Eventually this would also provide an educational resource centred on the history of press photography. Starting with the Mapping of Fleet Street, this aims to include an index to photo agencies working in and around the ‘street’ and photographers memories of working lives.

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British Photographic History

Photo Archive News

The Press Photo History Project is a PhotoArchiveNews.com site

© 2023 The Press Photo History Project.

  • Photo Research/Copyright tracing
  • Photo Agency Directory
  • Supporting the PPHP
  • PPHP Team
  • About & Contact