Preserving a photograph collection for the future

Erica Donaghy writes about repackaging the photographs and enhancing the catalogue for the collection of Mr J Hayllar and requests your help to identify some mystery buildings!

An important aspect of the work we do here at ERO is ensuring items are housed in a way which protects them, assisting with their long-term preservation, whilst also allowing easier access to researchers where possible. Our first County Archivist, F.G. Emmison, wrote an article, ‘The Sage of the Big Intake’ (Essex journal, 26 (3) 1991, pp.56-58, 71) in which he described the ‘astonishing accumulation of historical documents’ in the first years when ERO was established. We constantly strive to improve the storage of these documents, especially as we now have access to acid free materials and un-dreamt of resources that our predecessors were not so lucky to have.

(Click on a picture above to be taken the a gallery for more information)

With this in mind, the Hayllar Collection (catalogue reference: I/Ha), which was deposited with the ERO in June 1950, has recently been re-housed and listed to item level. Not much is known about Mr J. Hayllar, other than that he lived in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. He travelled through various parishes in Essex photographing the parish churches, as well as secular buildings and other parts of the parish between 1920 and 1950. The photographs range from the exterior and interior of parish churches, to local estates, farms and mills as well as other local landmarks. The photographs are mostly focussed on the buildings themselves, but some show fascinating human elements such as vehicles, shop fronts, children playing and people going about their day.

The photographs were arranged by parish and stored in envelopes labelled with the parish name. These had already been catalogued to parish level by ERO staff.

(Click on a picture above to be taken the a gallery for more information)

In 2023 a project began to re-house the photographs into pocketed transparent melinex sheets which would then be kept in acid-free boxes. This would not only contribute to their long-term preservation by protecting them from environmental factors, but would also reduce the risk of them being damaged or affected by being handled.

As this re-housing project was being undertaken, it was also a good opportunity to look more closely at their catalogue and it was decided to list each photograph individually. Mr J. Hayllar labelled his images clearly, often providing the names of buildings and streets or roads. This information has now been included in the catalogue in more detail, enabling researchers to search for photographs that might be of potential interest to them.

Whilst many photographs were labelled with enough information to identify the subject, whilst others were simply labelled ‘view in the village’, ‘street in the village’ or ‘old house in the village’. To try and identify as many of these as possible, staff here at the ERO used other images in the collection, images on the Historic England website as well as Streetview through google maps online. This has helped identify at least some of the subjects of the photographs, and if researchers have any further information to offer about other still-unidentified photographs we would be happy to hear from them!

(Click on a picture above to be taken the a gallery for more information)

The Collection has now been fully re-housed, labelled and stored at a new location in the repositories here at ERO. Fortunately for us, the new packing has not created a lot more volume than the original, as so often happens when items go to conservation! The item listed catalogue will be published online in due course at Essex Archives Online, and hopefully at some point in the future the photographs might be digitised to further protect them and increase access to these fascinating and beautiful images.

The Reach of The Marconi Photographic Section

Lewis Smith, the Essex Record Office’s Engagement Fellow, takes a look at some of the things in the Marconi Photographic Section’s archive.

Founded by Guigielmo Marconi in 1897, the Marconi Company (which held various names over its lifetime) were pioneers in wireless technology. Famously based in Chelmsford (regulars in the area will draw attention to places like ‘Marconi Road’ and ‘Navigation Road’), his technologies helped to shape the world we live in today: so much of our lives are a result of their research, from radio to navigation, from aeronautics to maritime, from communications continent to continent.


A11449 – 16748 MARCONI CO. TRADE MARK OR LOGO, 1947.

One part of the most interesting parts of the Marconi Company’s history was the Marconi Photographic Section, whom took hundreds of pictures over the organisation’s lifetime. These records are now stored at the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford. Unfortunately, this collection remains largely underused – so the British Society for the History of Science and Essex Record Office tasked me to spend some time scoping out the Marconi Photographic Section’s archive, working out what kind of images are within and, perhaps most importantly, work out how they can be used. Whilst I have only been in the archive for a relatively short period of time (since the beginning of October), there are some very interesting historical angles in desperate need of further research – from business to imperial history, from labour to marketing history.


A11449 – 78774, MAP OF NADGE RADAR CHAIN, 1968

One thing to note is that there are a lot of pictures of non-descript machines and circuitry – fans of the history of electronic engineering need look no further: historians of oscilloscopes, transmitters and receivers, power supplies, RADAR arrays, and pretty much all kinds of specialist electronic engineering will find something of interest here. These images present an extensive product history of Marconi’s inventions and patents. Perhaps more generally appealing, there is a lot for those interested in maritime and aeronautical history: one of the key ideas that came about from wireless communication was the idea of wireless navigation, and Marconi fitted many different pieces of equipment to aircraft and ships to aid in their navigation around the globe.


A11449 – 15771, TYPE D.F.G.26 RECEIVER WITH OSCILLOSCOPE TYPE O.R.3, 1945

But the view of higher international politics, engineering and industry are only one side of the coin: the prevalence of this technical equipment masks ordinary life. The archive presents us with a rich social history of the worker and their working practices. Workers, many male and female, black and white, British and international, are presented in the factories assembling intricate circuits. To look at the ethnography behind the people in these pictures reveals the clear shifts, both natural and forcible, in middle and working class employment. Notice particularly with image 2015 – everyone is happy and content, giving the viewer the impression that everything was okay working for Marconi. It wasn’t always this sweet.


A11449 – 2015, GIRLS WINDING & LACQUERING SHOP AT WORKS, 1919

As this is evidently the photographic archive of a business, there is huge scope for a business historian. These photographs are frozen moments in time, specifically captured because they want to show a particular angle, person, product or scene – why one moment and not another? Why one person over another? Why one place over another? More specifically, there are multiple photographs of how the Marconi Company attempted to market itself in a world of innovation: some of the most interesting pictures are of the exhibits set up to advertise wireless communication at various exhibitions.


A11449 – 2464, MARCONI STAND, AERO EXHIBITION, OLYMPIA, 1920

What is most interesting about the archive is the company’s vast spread throughout the globe: as with any history of the twentieth century, Empire remains front and centre. Imperial conquerors can come and go as they please, but radio technology meant the constant connection between colony and coloniser. Furthermore, the concept of technological Imperialism remained hot in this period: teaching others how to use Marconi equipment orients them towards using that equipment for a long time, forcing the colony to ask for technical help from the coloniser. This relationship is observable in the photographic archives as Marconi equipment was placed in different colonies, greatly expanding the imperial nation’s reach.


A11449 – 3070, MAHARAJAH USING A MARCONI TELEPHONE IN INDIA, No date.

Art lovers may also find something worthwhile in the archives. There are photographs of many different artistic drawings by members of staff in the collection depicting a variety of different scenes. The collection features many talented artists, as well as plastic models of Marconi scenes and vehicles, models of scientific principles, and copious drawings. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that science and art are two separate unconnected topics, but the collection features some stunning images which clearly appeal to the art behind science.


A11449 – 14559, PAINTING ENTITLED “VOICE OF FREEDOM”, 1943.

This collection is for use in the Essex Record Office under Accession A11449 in over 100 individual boxes. This project hopes to eventually digitise and map these images to show the company’s reach. I have spent time electronically tagging the pictures with keywords: if you would be interested in looking at this spreadsheet or further discussing the project, do contact me at lcsmit@essex.ac.uk. Whether for research or for a casual perusal, this collection really has a lot to offer!