A full house greeted our guest speaker Chris Makepeace this afternoon, and they were rewarded with a wonderful talk about the value of photographs in understanding our history. Illustrated with a reel full of seldom seen images, we were given advice on examining and dating photographs. What buildings were in the background- were some of these recently erected or subsequently demolished? What about the public transport- were the trams driven by horses or electric? Examine hair styles and fashions for further clues! He continued describing the variety of ways in which photographs have given us a fuller appreciation of the past, including insights into working lives and early depictions of the Mancunian slums.
Impressing on us the value of our own photographs, he asked that we label them with information such as the date, those present and so on, as who knows whether (and to whom) they will be of later interest? Once a photo is taken history has been frozen!
Suitably inspired, we asked our group members to bring in some of their own photographs for next week’s session, telling the group about their significance. Why not come along and share something with the group?
Our thanks to Chris for a superb couple of hours, we hope to welcome him to Burnage Library again soon.