Sunday, August 02, 2009

From the Archives: First World War "Official" Photographs (National Library of Scotland)



















Searching for historical images of women in uniform, I found these terrific photographs from the National Library of Scotland's Digital Archive. Many of the original photographs document a less expected, more routinized view of war. My favorite set show dogs (non-trad breeds) and pigeons being trained as messengers. I was also taken by the more candid views of troops in relaxed or sporting, non-combat situations. Visit the collection to curate your own image set.

4 comments:

Jim Green said...

These are great images, my grandfather was in WW1 and I find images from that time fascinating. The fur coat image at the bottom is my favourite.

li'l hateful said...

Good to see that there was always time for field hockey and cricket. Remind me to show you the gas mask photos from the family photo collection. Hopefully I'll have the box in a couple of weeks.

Wuh said...

I like the thick trench coats and their oversized pockets. I'm wondering if they are gray or dark green? I'm thinking the latter, which makes them all the more attractive.

andrea.at.the.blue.door said...

The ladies' cricket team is just wonderful. It's interesting to speculate what kinds of lives these women had after the war.