Collection: Joseph Harold Daniels Collection

Description

A large collection of circa 1500 black and white negatives of varying sizes, taken between 1925 and 1939 by Joseph Harold Daniels, and his brother John Stewart Daniels. The collection was donated to the National Buildings Record in 1947 by John Daniels.

Joseph Daniels (1883 -1937) was born in Rodborough, Gloucestershire. Following education at Wycliffe College, he became Director and Secretary of his family engineering firm, T H and J Daniels, of Lightpill, Stroud. He was also a keen amateur photographer, and became well known in his local area for his photographs. Daniels did not marry, but lived with his brother, John Daniels, at Lightpill for most of his adult life, before moving to Nailsworth the year before his death. Alongside photography, he was also interested in archaeology, and was a member of Cotteswold Field Club. Around 60% of the collection covers Daniels' local county of Gloucestershire, with other material covering Avon, Berkshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon, Derbyshire, Dorset, Essex, Hereford and Worcestershire, Kent, London, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Surrey, East Sussex, Warwickshire, Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, North Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire. A handlist of the locations covered is available. The photographs record predominantly vernacular architecture, particularly focusing on village and rural scenes, including villagescapes, farmhouses and farm buildings, public houses, cottages, street scenes, harbours and landscapes.

In addition are packets of negatives organised by theme, including 'birds', flowers', portraits', 'machinery', 'local landscapes', and 'floods December 1929'. There are also several hundred images within the Gloucestershire Red Boxes.

It is not clear what proportion of the images were taken by John Daniels, but his name appears on several envelopes and packets of negatives within the collection.

Archival History

Provenance : Professional photographer operating c1920s-1940s, specialising in vernacular subjects in villages and towns. Much of the extensive coverage relating to GC is in RCHME Negatives / Open Access files Most of the material outlined here is dated 1929. Most of the photography was taken by Joseph Harold Daniels,some was taken by his brother, John Stewart Daniels, who donated the collection to the NBR in 1947

Content

This Collection contains the following materials:

Photograph (Negative): 560

Rights

Source: Historic England Archive