Colourised photos of Fareham life since the 1890s brings history to life in new exhibition

FOR more than a century, a collection of photos showing Fareham’s past has been stuck in black and white.
By Richard Lemmer
Published 30th Dec 2019, 11:30 BST
Updated 31st Dec 2019, 14:20 BST
A colourised photo of men at work in H Gibbon & Son Foundry, Quay Street, Fareham in the 1950's.A colourised photo of men at work in H Gibbon & Son Foundry, Quay Street, Fareham in the 1950's.
A colourised photo of men at work in H Gibbon & Son Foundry, Quay Street, Fareham in the 1950's.

But digital artists have brought the historic scenes to life by colourising the pictures for the first time – and they are being exhibited in a museum in the town centre.

The Life Through The Lens exhibition, at Westbury Museum in West Street, features 10 colourised images and 40 black and white images dating back to the 1890s.

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For the past two years, a team of 10 volunteers has been cataloguing and digitising over 3,500 photographs held in the museum collections.

A colourised photo of Fareham firefighter Fire Brigade Sub-Officer Sidney Frost in breathing apparatus, taken around 1940.A colourised photo of Fareham firefighter Fire Brigade Sub-Officer Sidney Frost in breathing apparatus, taken around 1940.
A colourised photo of Fareham firefighter Fire Brigade Sub-Officer Sidney Frost in breathing apparatus, taken around 1940.
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Adding colour to the photos reveals how ‘futuristic’ some of the scenes would have appeared to people at the time, said Emma Banks, who is the community manager at the Hampshire Cultural Trust.

She said: ‘There were lots of photos of the fire service, and the one where the fireman is wearing a gas mask is very futuristic – it’s like a steam punk image.

‘There’s a debate to be had that when you colourise a photo, you change what the image is.

The original black and white photo of strawberry pickers in Fareham taken in 1890.The original black and white photo of strawberry pickers in Fareham taken in 1890.
The original black and white photo of strawberry pickers in Fareham taken in 1890.
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‘The process has been around for a while but it is becoming increasingly popular.

‘Feedback so far has been really positive.’

The team at the museum worked with curator Wolfgang Wild, who runs photo archive website Retronaut, to colourise the images.

All the photos are digital duplicates, meaning the original black and white photographs are preserved.

The original black and white photograph of Fareham Fire Brigade Sub-Officer Sidney Frost in breathing apparatus, taken around 1940.The original black and white photograph of Fareham Fire Brigade Sub-Officer Sidney Frost in breathing apparatus, taken around 1940.
The original black and white photograph of Fareham Fire Brigade Sub-Officer Sidney Frost in breathing apparatus, taken around 1940.

The exhibition also includes a selection of original, hand coloured postcards.

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Young people from across Fareham were invited to choose a photograph to be used in the exhibition – with a group of 12 agreeing to have a photo of Fareham Youth Club taken in the 1970s.

Cheryl Balson, group coordinator at the Genesis Centre Youth Group, said: ‘They are brilliant at the museum.

‘By involving the youth group, it helps give young people a voice and a place in the history of the area.’

The museum wanted to make the images accessible to everyone, according to Emma.

‘The photos are all about the community.’

The Life Through The Lens exhibition runs until Saturday February 8, 2020.

Related topics:FarehamWest Street