Gateshead Local Studies' photograph collection is a diverse collection of images of the Gateshead Borough. The collection dates back to the early days of photography in the 1800s and takes us through Gateshead's history over the past 150 years to the present day. The collection is a working archive and the Library continues to collect photographs that represent important events and developments in our history. These pictures will become an archive for future generations and show how our area has developed in the latter part of the twentieth century. Recent acquisitions include images of Gateshead Quays, the construction of the Angel of the North, the Tall Ships' visits and the National Garden Festival amongst others.
The collection is held at Gateshead Central Library in the Local Studies Department. Although a selection of images from the collection are available for public viewing in the Library, a large proportion are too fragile or rare to be handled regularly. In addition, many images remain unidentified. The iSee Gateshead Project will digitally preserve these items and staff and volunteers will help to identify and sort through unidentified images.
The collection is not just limited to photographs. Also in need of preservation are a rare collection of glass-plate negatives and lantern slides dating back to the late 1800s. Many of these images have never been printed and have been seen by only a handful of individuals. The project will use specialist negative scanners to preserve these items and make them available to the public for the first time
