The Isle of Wight during the 1950’s

Crowds of people, quieter roads, and a few more piers!

All the images in this section of the site come from a recently acquired collection of 100+ original black and white negatives from the mid to late 1950s.  I believe that these were originally used to make postcards as they still had the tape with place names stuck on them.  After countless years most likely having having sat in a cupboard or loft / attic it’s about time they were used again.  Unlike the usual 35mm or medium format negatives used as source material, these negatives measure an impressive 14cm x 8½cm.  The detail contained within them is nothing short of incredible.   

The top picture shows a tiny section of one of these negatives... ..with the red rectangle in the next picture showing just how little of the overall image it makes up.  Scanning directly from the original film allows me to gather this much detail.  Like all my other ‘old’ pictures these are not copies of postcards or existing prints!

Please feel free to browse through the collection and take a look at the past.  Due to the sheer number of images to scan and clean up (removing dust, dirt and scratches - nothing else!), it’ll take some time to get all 100+ of them ready and looking good again.  The wait will be worth it, I assure you.  Please do come back regularly to see what’s been added to the archive.  :-)

Due to the popularity of these images they are now exclusively available from:

 “Framers”, 56 Union Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight.  Tel:  01983 566054

Please take me back to the gallery