Photographs

Photographs and Prints

The photographs and prints in the collection at Kingston History Centre are chosen more for their content than their artistic merit - although an artistic picture is always appreciated.

The images cover three main themes; people, places and events. The prints show images dating mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries, before the invention of photography. Our earliest photographs are from 1850 and come right up to date with entries for the annual Capture Kingston photography competition.

The collection is arranged in two main series, Kingston town centre and the rest of the borough. There are over 12,500 images in the main collection, over 8,000 of which are of Kingston, and over 5,000 in the special collections. You can browse our albums of copy prints or ask the staff to help with finding specific images.  We are in the process of cataloguing and digitising all the images but still have some way to go.

Some of our photograph collections, such as those donated by June Samson of images from the Surrey Comet from the 1950s or entries in previous Capture Kingston competitions (formerly called the Les Kirkin competition) can be seen on our  Flikr account.

Electronic or printed copies of photographs from the collections can be supplied for private or commercial use, prices are available upon request.