First Derry Primary School children on the Grand Parade
A TREASURE trove of glass plate photographic negatives depicting life in Derry in the1930s is to be auctioned.
They will be on offer to the highest bidder almost half a century after being salvaged from a house blown up by a bomb.
A member of an Army search team found the boxes of glass plates hidden under the floorboards. They went unclaimed, and ended up with the soldier who recovered them.
The 68 quarter plate glass negatives provide a glimpse into ’30s Derry, including public events such as bands, parades, marches and celebrations.
Auctioneer Paul Cooper stated: “Despite being binned, bombed and buried, the plates remain in astonishingly good condition.
“They really are a quite stunning record of the people and places and life in the city more than eighty years ago.”
Much of the newspaper’s archive was rescued from a skip where it had been dumped by builders renovating the firm’s old premises after it closed.
Those negatives are now part of the Derry Library’s Heritage Collection.
The Waterside negatives will be sold in an online auction on Tuesday, December 5.
For more details visit www.cjmasset.com
A huge parade passing over the River Foyle
