Most of the images we see of Manchester in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the work of professional photographers.
They focused on the popular bits and sold them on to the postcard companies.
Then there were the serious amateurs who were often as good as the professionals.
But there are also the snappers, who captured whatever took their fancy.
Often the images are a little blurred and in many cases have a significance lost in time.
And so with this in mind here is the new series.
Snaps of Manchester is an occasional rummage through pictures most of which were never meant to be shared beyond the family.
Of course the advent of the camera phone has given this a new lease of life.
But for now I am concentrating on old fashioned images and I have my new facebook chum Sandra to thank for many of these pictures.
Here is King Street before the city planners got rid of the traffic. Now I don’t have a date for this one but judging from the cars I suspect it will during the 1920s or 30s.
To our right is the old bank which has undergone many conversions and was at one time a music store.
What I like is the way the image captures a quiet day, and while I alluded to dodging cars there is of course little danger of that.
There are few of them and the noise they made would have alerted most people to their passing.
Once we have a date it should be possible to identify some of the shops, particularly those on the left of our photograph.
And with the way these things work there will be someone who can supply a possible date, and others who will remember the shops.
All of which makes for great history.
Now I think I can just remember King Street with cars but like so much of our recent history it is easy to forget the detail.
And that is what makes such snaps all the more useful because they wander off the beaten well trod path and provide us with scenes which the professional did not think as interesting.
So over the next few weeks with Sandra’s permission I shall bring that Manchester back for all to see.
Picture; King Street from the collection of Sandra Hapgood.
They focused on the popular bits and sold them on to the postcard companies.
Then there were the serious amateurs who were often as good as the professionals.
 |
| King Street in the 1930s |
Often the images are a little blurred and in many cases have a significance lost in time.
And so with this in mind here is the new series.
Snaps of Manchester is an occasional rummage through pictures most of which were never meant to be shared beyond the family.
Of course the advent of the camera phone has given this a new lease of life.
But for now I am concentrating on old fashioned images and I have my new facebook chum Sandra to thank for many of these pictures.
To our right is the old bank which has undergone many conversions and was at one time a music store.
What I like is the way the image captures a quiet day, and while I alluded to dodging cars there is of course little danger of that.
There are few of them and the noise they made would have alerted most people to their passing.
Once we have a date it should be possible to identify some of the shops, particularly those on the left of our photograph.
And with the way these things work there will be someone who can supply a possible date, and others who will remember the shops.
Now I think I can just remember King Street with cars but like so much of our recent history it is easy to forget the detail.
And that is what makes such snaps all the more useful because they wander off the beaten well trod path and provide us with scenes which the professional did not think as interesting.
So over the next few weeks with Sandra’s permission I shall bring that Manchester back for all to see.
Picture; King Street from the collection of Sandra Hapgood.
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