Monday, October 21, 2013

Incredible collection of photographs charting more than a century of Cornish shipwrecks taken by members of the same family

Via WiscoDave

History: The Minnehaha was shipwrecked in 1874 with some of the crew, who did not make it into the rock, drowned as a result

The images of 200 ships were taken by four generations of the Gibson family over 130 years

A thousand negatives record the fate of their passengers, crew and cargo as they traveled around the world

Started when John Gibson bought his first camera 150 years ago and set up a professional studio in Penzance

The archive could sell for between £100,000 and £150,000 at an auction for Sotheby's this November

Their journeys would end in tragic circumstances, crushed up against the rocks with the precious cargo lost and some of the crew members dead.

But, no matter the treacherous conditions, every time a ship ran aground off the coast of Cornwall, members of the Gibson family would be there to take photos of the vessel's demise.

These ghostly images of shipwrecks were first taken 150 years ago when John Gibson bought his first camera and have now been put together in a collection which is expected to be sold for between £100,000 and £150,000 at an auction next month.

More @ Daily Mail

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful, eerie B/W photographs. That entire collection would be amazing to see.

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    Replies
    1. Yes and maybe we will get to see more in the future.

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