Future home for photography collection

[Andyvon]

Could anyone please suggest where I could find a good home for my photography collection. I estimate I have about 50,000 photographs which have all been made into about 250 albums. Each set of albums reads like a book so each photograph is in order and has accompanying text explaining the picture and the trip.

I lived abroad until I was 12 and I've spent most of my life travelling. Although I have lots of standard pictures of destinations, I later specialised in Nature or people. I'm 48 now but my first photographs were taken in Italy in 1967 (when I was 5!). Many were taken in Asia and the Med. in the 60s and 70s and I have many sets I took behind the Iron Curtain in the 80s. Those show many fascinating scenes that have disappeared now. I also have many taken in the Arctic which are quite stunning as well as many sets taken in Europe, North Africa and the US when I was concentrating on people. They show many unusual scenes taken in often dangerous places such as the back streets of various cities.

My collection is only really of immediate interest to me. However, it does have many interesting records of people and places that have now gone. I just wonder who would be interested in the collection besides me for personal reasons. I'm starting to worry what will happen if anything happens to me. I don't want the council to put everything in black bags and dump the lot! Except for my brother, father and my wife's wayward daughter we have no family to speak of. My father's 80 and I bounced this question off my brother but he didn't bite.

Any suggestions for a good home for the photos would be very welcome.

[Buenchico]

If the National Media Museum isn't directly interested they might be able to suggest somewhere that would be:
http://www.nationalme...n/DonateAnObject.aspx

Chris

(PS: I had a similar problem when my father passed away. He had a substantial collection of wild flower photographs. The quality wasn't good enough - or the species rare enough - to make his photographs valuable to organisations like the RHS, so I ended up giving them to a drinking partner of his, who shared his interest in wild flowers)

[Invictas]

Further to Chris' suggestion,there is also the National Photographic Society,who may be able to suggest a home for your albums.
http://www.national-p...raphic-society.co.uk/

The National Archive has an Image Library,so they might be interested too?
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm

[Andyvon]

Sorry I haven't got back sooner.

Thanks Chris and Invictas. Those links are a great help. I'm being very realistic with myself when I think my collection is only really of interest to me. It's a record of my life but also of many people and places around the world in other times. I'll contact these organisations and I hope someone will be interested.

[Invictas]

Andy,
Please don't "put down" your collection.
It is often these collections that have social history photos in them that are the most interesting to collections.
There are plenty of photos of historic moments,but who has a photo of the bakers at 23,Acacia Ave Cheam in 1950?
You might! LOL

[Andyvon]

Yes, thank you Invictas. I do tend to put myself down like that.

Social history is an excellent term as that's what many of my photos are. Inuits kayaking for seals in Greenland and Inuit women processing the skins and fish. I've got lots of pictures of food queues, empty shelves and city streets empty of cars in places like the USSR. Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. Also of people living on the streets in Europe, North Africa and the US. Many of those scenes and countries don't exist anymore.

All my photos are detailed with text so they must be of interest to someone or some organisation. I'll try the links tomorrow.

[wolf63]

Is there a charity that you have an interest in?

If so it might be a good idea to ask them if they would be interested in them.

Greenpeace, WWF etc might be interested in photographs that are of an environmental interest.

A history society ?

Or self-publish and we will all divvy up the funds - my roof leaks and my cat wheezes.

;-)

[Andyvon]

LOL Wolf!

I'm not sure what you mean by a charity. My wife and I often give things to our local hospice shop and we took a car load from our loft today. I'm not sure if they could do much with the albums though. I've asked at my local county library in the past and CAB but they didn't offer much advice - less than here. I'll try Greenpeace and WWF too so thank you.

Other than that I've always been too busy to spend much time on it until now. I'm just starting to wonder what would happen if I got hit by the proverbial bus.

[wolf63]

I hope that you are wearing a fluorescent jacket whilst out on your night-time wander around the town.

I volunteer in an Oxfam Book Shop and we sometimes get photographs donated - it is hard to sell them and make a reasonable sum of money.

[Andyvon]

I don't venture through the town Wolf. I walk to a nearby village and back along two roads through the countryside. No fluorescent jacket I'm afraid, although I do wear a white T-shirt, even in the winter! I just walk fast!

I suppose the photos you receive appeal to those with a specialist interest in whatever subject they are. I've got over 250 albums so storage is a problem too. All one end of my loft is given over to the albums, then there are all the negatives, spare prints etc (I have a digital camera but I always get prints too).

[horseshoes]

This person deals in ephemera and may be able to give you some good advice. He is not a relative or friend, he is somebody I have sold some old documents to. I know he deals in all sorts of ephemera including photos. I'm quite certain his name is John. It may be worth an ask. Good luck.

mayflyephemera@msn .com

[Andyvon]

Thank you Horseshoes

[Thisoldbird]

I realise this is a very old post buy immediately thought about TV history/ documentary type program.  I can imagine something could be done to show a wide audience your work.