'Photographs on glass'

Friday 05 July 2024

The Priaulx Library will be presenting a selection of its glass plates for this year's Priaulx Library Garden Exhibition.

'Projecting the past: the Priaulx Library's photographs on glass' will give people an opportunity to see some of the glass plate photographs discovered by library staff while cataloguing its collection.

"The 600 plates that we have catalogued so far cover a wide range of subjects including St Peter Port harbour, diving competitions at La Vallette, a Guernseyman’s experience of the 2nd Boer War, images of 1930s’ Guernsey and provide a record of local events and celebrations,’ said Sue Laker, chief librarian at the Priaulx Library.

"The process of creating images from glass plates had been showcased in the recent Renoir exhibition as local photographer Paul Chambers had used the process to recreate some of Renoir’s. Paul has then photographed some of the library’s glass plates and we will share information in the exhibition on our collection and the process of preserving it.

"We have been incredibly lucky with the condition of some of the plates, especially when some are people’s holiday photos and have just been stored in attics for years. It’s lovely to be able to put them on display and we are incredibly grateful to Ravenscroft for its continuing support of the exhibition."

The exhibition is free to attend from next week until early September.