NEW MILLS PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE

New Mills Local History Society was formed in 1982 and, alongside its other activities, soon began to collect
photographs of local interest, either donated by members of the public or copied from originals lent for that purpose. Many people generously contributed in this way, and the collection now contains about 6000 photographs.  The Society's archivist has stored the photographs and negatives under archival conditions and, as each photograph was acquired, he compiled an index card recording details of the photograph.

It became increasingly obvious that such a rich collection of photographs was not as accessible to the public as it
ought to be, and in 2004 it was decided that an application should be made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to enable the collection to be digitised and placed on public access computers in New Mills Library and New Mills Heritage Centre as well as being made available more generally via the internet. The Heritage Lottery Fund agreed to grant £46,700 for the work to be done as a joint project ofthe Local History Society and Heritage Centre.

From 2005 to 2009 the archivist prepared the collection for scanning and provided information about each image from the index cards, so that the collection could be put into a large database. Other volunteers helped in many ways, particularly with the indexing of the database and additional information, so that, in all, many hundreds of hours of volunteer-time have been spent on the project. New Mills Local History Society is delighted to see all this work coming to fruition and hopes that the collection of photographs will be useful and give enjoyment to people all over the world, particularly those with New Mills connections.

Donations

Donations or copies of images will be gratefully accepted to enhance the collection and provide new material for public and private research. Please email the New Mills Local History Society with details using the form provided. Originals will be copied and then placed in protective storage. Material can also be lent for copying and the originals safely returned. If you are considering donation or loan of material please consider the following points:

1. May the Society supply low-resolution black and white copies ?
2. May the Society supply high quality photographic images for personal use ?
3. May the Society put the images on the internet (at small size and low resolution)?

We would always prefer to scan from originals or good quality photographic copies. We can scan prints or transparencies from half frame up to A3 in size.