One of the most exciting and remarkable photographic finds of recent years was made in, of all places, a Borders garden shed. Comprising a massive accumulation of glass negatives, it's the work of John Wood, a photographer whose studies of village life at the turn of the century sparkle with a quality rarely seen.
It was a find which has enthralled everyone who has seen prints taken from Wood's negatives. In the short time since their discovery, several Scottish museums as well as one south of the Border have shown interest.
The unique collection came to light in May 1983, when Coldingham garage owner Bob Thomson and his 10-year-old son, Roy, were on the hunt for material to use in a school project Roy was tackling.
Jimmy, a retired market gardener, told Bob there was something in his potting shed which might be of interest and which he was welcome to have. That "something" turned out to be two boxes full of sadly neglected half-plate glass negatives, thickly coated with decades of grime, dust, leaves and goodness knows what else.
From the developing dishes came pin-sharp pictures of all aspects of rural life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As well as Coldingham, the towns and villages of Eyemouth, Duns, Ayton, Reston and St Abbs feature in the photographs. There are photos of ploughmen in the fields, early motor vehicles, soldiers, stonemasons, sheep-shearers, blacksmiths, shipwrecks, magnificently posed portraits
A mixed collection of how people at the turn of century travelled.
We wish to thank Mary Thomson for granting ourselves permission to allow you to view the images found here.
Please note that the images have had basic AI colourisation with no further post processing.
