The Archive of Hart Photography Ltd. Fine Art Prints & Canvas Wraps

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The Archive of Hart Photography Ltd.

Now available to purchase as Fine Art Prints & Canvas Wraps

The-Archive.co.uk is a web site devoted to local view photographs and other nostalgic images from our archive. Most view photographs are of Lye, a district of Stourbridge in the West Midlands (formally in the county of Worcestershire). However, as we uncover more images the areas will expand into neighboring areas and occasionally into other parts of the country. The images include: street views, aerial photographs, industrial images, car & lorry photographs, celebrities and much more. Most of the pictures were created by multi award winning photographer William R. Hart ABIPP. AMPA. ARPS. between the 1950’s and up to the early 1990’s.

William had developed a passion for photography since first being introduced to it at the age of fourteen by a teacher at Valley Road School in Lye. One day a teacher entered his classroom and asked if anyone would be interested in learning about photography, William raised his hand. He didn’t know it then but this small act was to shape the rest of his life. William Hart in his camera shop during the late 1950's to early 1960's After leaving school at the age of fourteen, William worked for a time at the local Co-operative Society and later joined the army to complete his national service. After leaving the army during the late 1940’s, he returned to work for the Co-op, for a short time he even had a job in the ticket office of a local train station. However, none of this was really for him. During this period he’d been carrying on his passion for photography and was by now photographing a small number of weddings, portraits and other various assignments for family, friends and friends of friends.

It was now time for a change. In 1958, together with his wife Mavis, William started his photographic business. Then known as W. R. Hart Photography and later to become Hart Photography Ltd. and better known these days as Portraits by Hart. In the beginning the business couldn’t survive through photography alone, so, in order to make a decent living he sold photographic equipment, cameras, projectors, film & really anything photography related. In fact by the early 1970’s Hart Photography had become one of the largest sellers of cameras & equipment within the Midlands area.

Many of the local view photographs shown on this site came about almost accidentally. When a new model of camera was delivered William would often wander the streets local to his shop to try it out. When Japanese cameras first went on sale, they were thought of as not so good quality as their European counterparts, so he would always test them out. Little was he to know then he was creating an invaluable photographic record of the local area for the future.

During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the area was to change considerably when much of Lye was redeveloped. Many of the traditional terraced houses and shop premises within the upper part of the High Street were demolished. Approximately one third of the High Street shops were lost and never replaced. Some buildings were in a poor state of repair and needed demolishing but the majority were just in need of renovation and TLC. As I’m sure you’ll see from viewing the many photographs within this site.

For many years we have been selling framed prints from our collection of views. Past customers have ranged from individuals looking for wall art in various forms for their home, to businesses wanting interesting images from the local area to adorn their offices and reception areas. Our pictures and prints have also been purchased by a number of pubs and breweries for decoration within their premises. In fact many have even gone all over the world to countries including; Australia, The USA, Canada, New Zealand and many more.

Now via this new web site, you can choose your pictures from the comfort of your own home or office. You can browse online, pick from the various finishes and sizes available and pay via debit/credit card or by PayPal.