Photographers Apprentice
ONE of the most exciting and remarkable photographic finds of recent years was made in, of all places, a Borders garden shed. Comprising a massive accumulation of glass negatives, it is the work of John Wood, a photographer whose studies of village life at the turn of the century sparkle with a quality rarely seen.
It is a find which has enthralled everyone who has seen prints taken from Wood's negatives. In the short time since their discovery, several Scottish museums as well as one south of the Border have shown interest.
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Photographers Apprentice
The unique collection came to light in May 1983, when Coldingham garage owner Bob Thomson and his 10-year-old son, Roy, were on the hunt for material to use in a school project Roy was tackling. He was researching early 20th century life in the Berwickshire coastal village. Bob, a keen amateur photographer, had copied and enlarged a couple of old postcards he'd been given and was told that a local man, Jimmy Brown, might have some more. As it turned out he didn't, but 85-year-old Jimmy, a retired market gardener, told Bob there was something in his potting shed which might be of interest and which he was welcome to have. That turned out to be two boxes full of sadly neglected half-plate glass negatives, thickly coated with decades of grime, dust, leaves and goodness knows what else.
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Photographers Apprentice
It's obvious that Wood was a man of imagination. He realised the photographic potential in scenes, which would have been part of everyday life and accepted as such by most people. What's more, he persuaded folk from all walks of life to pose for him.
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Photographers Apprentice
The picturesque village of Coldingham hasn't changed too much since Wood's days. As Bob gave me a guided tour he pointed out pubs, houses, even whole streets, which have remained basically unaltered. We stopped at a quaint red-tiled cottage and compared it with a photo taken around 1895. The picture could almost have been taken the day before.
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Photographers Apprentice
However, at least a small part of John Wood's incredible collection avoided this undignified fate and lay untouched until the day in May 1983 when Bob Thomson found it.
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I do hope you enjoy the images.
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