Haslemere Educational Museum
Culture & Learning Since 1888
Museum Library and Archives
Open to the public on Tuesdays from 10.00 to 16.00

Photographs and Postcards

This large collection of approximately 35,000 items contains photographic prints, postcards, negatives, transparencies, lantern slides, cinefilm and videotapes of a wide variety of subjects. The images date back to the 19th century up to the present day and mainly depict local places, events and activities.

The J.W.Penfold photographic collection is of particular note. The Penfold family have been based in Haslemere since the 17th century. John Wornham Penfold (1828-1909) was a surveyor and architect who rebuilt the parish church of St Bartholomew’s in the 1870s. He also designed the iconic green, hexagonal pillar box that stands in Haslemere High Street. Penfold was a keen photographer and his beautifully composed photographs capture the changing face of Haslemere over the years.

The Raynor Storr photographic album, dated c.1900, is another excellent example from our photographic collection. It contains mainly portraits of famous local residents, for example Joseph King, Conan Doyle and Lord Tennyson. It also includes many picturesque scenes of Haslemere and Hindhead, such as St Bartholomew’s church and the Devils Punchbowl.

The photograph collection contains an important record of the history of the museum from its founding in 1888 by Sir Jonathan Hutchinson to the present day. Many photographs of the beautiful and fascinating array of objects in our collection have been taken, in addition to images of the museum building, garden and grounds.

Our negatives and film collection largely depict images of local scenes and events, for example we have a video recording of the 1977 Jubilee celebrations in Haslemere and a fascinating collection of glass plate negatives relating to the museum’s founder, Sir Jonathan Hutchinson. We also have many natural history recordings and negatives, for example of fungi, fossils and birds.

Our postcard collection holds approximately 4000 items, a large proportion of which were produced by the Francis Frith Company. This collection includes beautiful imagery from Haslemere, Chiddingfold, Fernhurst, Hindhead, Liphook, Blackdown and Shottermill. We also have local postcards by the well known photographic companies Inge, Colin Futcher and Walter C. Corin.