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Photos of Wigan
Photos of Wigan



Wigan Album

Springfield Park

14 Comments

Springfield Park
Springfield Park
Photo: David Roughley
Views: 3,644
Item #: 6078
Photograph by John Lindsay Cooper from somewhere between 1898 and 1905 and is possibly the oldest known image of Springfield Park.
For those who remember the old ground, the picture is taken looking at the corner towards the Town End and St. Andrews Drive (where the floodlight with the clock stood).
The photograph was given to me by Frank Orrell who rescued it (and about 50 others) from a skip when the Wigan Evening Post was moving to it's new base. It is scanned directly from a glass plate

Comment by: RON on 10th May 2008 at 00:07

Superb photographs. This is the type of photograph what we want to see more of. Not Aunty Mabels wedding photos.
My opinion only....

Comment by: RON on 10th May 2008 at 00:20

Rescued from a skip..................Says it all about people's concern/interest about Wigan's history. That is why, in my opinion, people who are in control of Wigan's history should be born and bred Wiganers. I haven't got a University degree in some obscure subject, but I could do a dam site better job than people who are now employed by Wigan Metro on high salaries, to preserve the history of our town. I'll do it for nothing...

Comment by: RON on 10th May 2008 at 13:30

Just intereted. How do you get a Positive photo. from a Negative plate when scanning?

Comment by: Helen West on 10th May 2008 at 15:05

Can anyone guess who the men are ?
My Dad was into cycling as a young man & I believe they had races in the streets, anyone shed a light on that too ?

Comment by: David on 10th May 2008 at 16:10

With a special scanner Ron

Comment by: Kevin Higgins on 10th May 2008 at 20:15

Ron, use a scanner with a back light to obtain the image and then use software, usually supplied with the scanner, to convert to a positive image.

Comment by: peter frost on 11th May 2008 at 10:54

the guy on the right is obviously an athlete.and as for aunty mabels wedding pics
i dont mind
this site is for everybody ron

Comment by: RON on 11th May 2008 at 12:08

Any info. on a scanner that will copy negatives? i.e. make, cost.

Comment by: Ackky on 11th May 2008 at 18:50

Regards Auntie Mabel's wedding etc comments by Ron.
I agree fully with Ron, they are of no interest to anyone other than Auntie Mabels relations,which in some cases mean very few nowadays because some of the photo's of late have been from the 1890's, which can only mean few relations left who know them.If we all put family photo's on the site there wouldn't be much room for anything else.

Comment by: Kevin Higgins on 12th May 2008 at 20:14

Ron, try an Epson Perfection V200. This is the entry model and will cost in the region of £70. They do claim that it will copy 35mm Negs. Mine is a 10yr old Perfection 1200 running under Win98 and works well (but not so well with XP)

Comment by: RON on 12th May 2008 at 20:22

I have an Epson Perfection 1240U. Do you know if you can you get an adaptor for this scanner?

Comment by: Kevin Higgins on 13th May 2008 at 12:06

Ron, look for an epson film adapter. The one I have is model EU 33. Try the epson web site for dealers etc. Otherwise Ebay may be your only hope. Best of luck.

Comment by: Mick on 13th May 2008 at 22:34

The Hewlett Packard Scanjet 3770 (or more recent equivalent) is very straightforward Ron. 35mm negs and slides can be copied easily with it. Probably around £60 to £80.

Comment by: Keith Bowen on 18th July 2009 at 14:56

An absolutely superb photo, typical of the quality you'd expect from these old glass negatives. I can't agree more what a crying shame any of these early glass negatives have been "thrown away" especially if they are related to the town. As for the two guys they look the real deal. I hope to publish some photos soon of early Springfield Park.

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