Photography
Number of items in collection: 959
Short description:
Most older recordings in this collection are currently available to Higher and Further Education institutions only. Interviews published more recently and open to all include Maurice Broomfield, John Bulmer, Vanley Burke, Judy Harrison, Martin Hartley, Brian Dowling and Max Kandhola.
Oral history interviews charting the life stories of British photographers. The interviews were conducted as part of an Oral History of British Photography (C459), an ongoing oral history project that was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the charitable trust based in the oral history section of the British Library.
Oral history recordings provide valuable first-hand testimony of the past. The views and opinions expressed in oral history interviews are those of the interviewees, who describe events from their own perspective. The interviews are historical documents and their language, tone and content might in some cases reflect attitudes that could cause offence in today’s society.
Long description: Most older recordings in this collection are currently available to Higher and Further Education institutions only. Interviews published more recently and open to all include Maurice Broomfield, John Bulmer, Vanley Burke, Judy Harrison, Martin Hartley, Brian Dowling and Max Kandhola.
Oral history interviews charting the life stories of British photographers. The interviews were conducted as part of an Oral History of British Photography (C459), an ongoing oral history project that was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the charitable trust based in the oral history section of the British Library.
Oral history recordings provide valuable first-hand testimony of the past. The views and opinions expressed in oral history interviews are those of the interviewees, who describe events from their own perspective. The interviews are historical documents and their language, tone and content might in some cases reflect attitudes that could cause offence in today’s society.
What the interviews tell us
One-to-one oral history interviews explore memories and recount narratives rarely found elsewhere. Personal testimony fills knowledge gaps, provides new insights, challenges stereotypical views, and overturns orthodoxies. These recordings reveal collective memory, individual agency, gender, skill, influence and intentionality.
Ethical use of oral history
The interviewees have been generous in sharing their memories - often traumatic, confidential and intimate - and listeners are asked to treat this material with respect and sensitivity. Recordings should be analysed and presented in context, so that the interviewee’s meaning is not misconstrued. Quotations and audio clips should be referenced as, for example: “Interview with Max Kandhola by Shirley Read, September 2016, Oral History of British Photography, reference C459/222 part x, © The British Library Board”. Each interviewee whose recording appears on this site has assigned copyright to The British Library Board and given their consent for the recording to be used for educational study. We have made every effort to contact all the interviewees and inform them about this project. However should any participant wish to discuss their involvement they should contact the Lead Curator, Oral History at the British Library (oralhistory@bl.uk)Oral history at the British Library
The interviews on this site are a small selection from the many thousands held in the Oral History section of the British Library. These recordings go back over 100 years and cover many facets of life in Britain. Many interviews were gathered through National Life Stories, an externally-funded unit within the Library established in 1987 to “record first-hand experiences of as wide a cross-section of present-day society as possible”.All recordings on this site are governed by licence agreements.