Dr Janet Tall, Head of Archives, Learning & Development, writes: We are grateful to the Friends of the Nations' Libraries for enabling the purchase of the photographic negative collection of Henry Wykes (1874-1964), an Exeter-based commercial photographer, for the Devon Archives and Local Studies.
Wykes was an ambitious photographer who operated from premises in prestigious central Exeter locations, including Bedford Circus and later Northernhay Place.
Dating mainly from 1920-1964 the images include detailed street scenes from the inter-war era, portraits of the city’s inhabitants and depictions of events which took place in and around Exeter. Wykes set up a portrait studio in his Northernhay premises and used a large format camera, which he adapted to use a half-plate format. The collection includes a mixture of formats, including glass plates and acetate negatives.
Wykes quickly recognised the commercial opportunities that could come from capturing local scenes and events. This was sparked in 1917 by a dramatic electric tram accident in central Exeter. Having rushed to the scene with his camera he turned his images into postcards which were marketed to onlookers. This aspect of his work has ensured that the collection is much more than an assembly of portraiture. Wykes held a pilot’s licence, and among highlights from the inter-war images are aerial views of Exeter from 1927 onwards.
The collection documents an important period of change in Exeter, capturing street scenes that no longer exist, such as Bedford Circus. The Second World War had a profound effect on central Exeter and the collection includes original negatives documenting the Baedeker raids in 1942, which caused widespread destruction in the heart of the old city. Fortunately for the archive Wykes kept his photographic negative stock in a basement room, which survived the bombing even though the buildings above were destroyed.
Images in the collection from the later 1940s onwards depict the post-war reconstruction of the city. They complement many other collections held at the Devon Heritage Centre, including images of the engineering business Willey and Co. and the activities of organisations and their premises, such as Tuckers Hall and Exeter Guild of Weavers, Tuckers and Shearmen. The collection also depicts occupations across the city which have changed greatly, including commercial activity in the Exeter Canal and Quay area.
In the early 1970s the archive came into the possession of Peter Thomas, whose passion for the images led him to create the Isca Photographic Collection. A keen amateur photographer, he augmented the collection with his own images. These documented the on-going changes in the city from the 1970s until his death in 2020, capturing major construction such as the Princesshays shopping and commercial development. The acquisition of the Wykes collection has enabled the donation of this additional material. Together they provide an unrivalled pictorial archive of change in the city over the period of a century.
