Colour pictures from 1939 (but no trains)

[petethemole]

A recently re-discovered collection of colour photos taken in 1939 has recently appeared on line at http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/04/25/1939-england-in-color-part-1/23 (link to part 2 is on the page). There are some good landscape, village and townscape shots of London, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Co Durham, including the waterfont at Wells-next-the Sea. They seem to be a useful resource.

 

Pete

[dgilbert2]

Wow, a lost time! Thanks

[Fenman]

A recently re-discovered collection of colour photos taken in 1939 has recently appeared on line at http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/04/25/1939-england-in-color-part-1/23 (link to part 2 is on the page). There are some good landscape, village and townscape shots of London, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Co Durham, including the waterfont at Wells-next-the Sea. They seem to be a useful resource.

 

Pete

 

No trains, but the London collection includes a couple of shots where the vast bulk of Cannon Street station is looming in the background, before War-damage led to the removal of its overall roof. Reputedly one of the best terminus stations, architecturally, in London, now unfortunately one of the least inspiring.

 

Great find - thanks for sharing the link.

 

Paul

[petethemole]

One thing I noticed was the row of timber-framed houses at Lavenham. They were all rendered/plastered, obscuring the timber framing. Today the framing is all exposed. It was quite common to plaster over the walls, which protected the framing from the weather. The alternative was to tar the exposed timber surfaces, giving the traditional black and white effect. Deterioration .of the plaster combined with changed attitudes to building conservation ( as in, people started caring) means that many Late Medieval to 17th century buildings now have exposed framing. Modern preservatives allow the natural oak to be exposed. Pre-war photos of old towns and villages often show buidings that are clearly timber-framed, if you look carefully, even when 18th/19th century shop fronts have obscured the jetties. So pre-war townscape models featuring timber-framed houses would IMHO be more authentic (and easier to model!) if some were plastered.

 

Pete