Bidspirit auction | An Archive of Photographic Prints

An Archive of Photographic Prints and Ephemera relating to the Lauder Family and Robert Lauder and Co of West Hartlepool - A comprehensive archive relating to the Lauder family and the firm Robert Lauder and Co. of West Hartlepool, dating from the mid-19th to mid-20th century. The collection comprises a variety of photographic prints including albumen and silver gelatin processes, alongside legal documents, correspondence, and newspapers. Notable photographic content includes a large-format albumen print of the New Tay Viaduct by James Valentine, inscribed NEW TAY VIADUCT FROM N. 7367 J.V., and rare 19th-century views of Accra, Gold Coast Colony, including the Secretariat building and group portraits of European and local figures. Industrial and transport subjects feature a photograph of a railway wagon with a purple stamp for Harrison and Camm, Railway Wagon Builders, Rotherham, dated 15 June 78, and several mid-20th-century silver gelatin prints depicting industrial boilers and workers. Documents include tenancy agreements from the North Eastern Railway Company for land at Cliffe House dated 1890 and 1909, and correspondence addressed to Captain Robert Lauder of the 4th Durham Artillery Volunteers. The ephemera includes Victorian-era receipts, Post Office savings books, and copies of the Northern Daily Mail from 1952 and 1967, as well as a 1944 edition referencing the firm building sea ambulances for the D-Day effort.