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Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection

Snapshots of Britain and the world in the 1930s, 40s, & 50s. Published between 1938 and 1957, this is a collection of archive prints which filled the pages of the weekly magazine which included light-hearted and humorous stories and major social issues, both domestic and international.

Choose a picture from our Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection for your Wall Art and Photo Gifts

Picture Post was the premier British news magazine of the day and is widely considered a high-water mark for British photojournalism. Launched under the editorship of Hungarian émigré Stefan Loran, who left Germany after being imprisoned by Hitler, the magazine was staunchly antifascist and sympathetic to social causes. Its photojournalists pioneered new forms of story telling under the editorship of Stefan Lorrant and later Tom Hopkinson.

Once read by close to half the UK population the magazine's circulation reached a staggering 1.7 million copies within weeks of its launch. The staff photographers were a mix of Brits and Europeans schooled in the classic style of 35mm Continental photojournalism. Included here are photos of ordinary people doing ordinary things taken by Bert Hardy, Felix H Man, Grace Robertson, Bill Brandt, Kurt Hutton, John Chillingworth, Thurston Hopkins and others whose innovative use of photojournalism captured the imagination of the British people.

549 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Francis Reiss - Picture Post Prints

Francis Reiss - Picture Post Prints Collection
12 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Felix H. Man - Picture Post Prints

Felix H. Man - Picture Post Prints Collection
18 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Grace Robertson - Picture Post Prints

Grace Robertson - Picture Post Prints Collection
8 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Bill Brandt - Picture Post Prints

Bill Brandt - Picture Post Prints Collection
5 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Kurt Hutton - Picture Post Prints

Kurt Hutton - Picture Post Prints Collection
55 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Bert Hardy (1913-1995)

Bert Hardy (1913-1995) Collection
77 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: John Chillingworth - Picture Post Prints

John Chillingworth - Picture Post Prints Collection
34 items

Picture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Thurston Hopkins - Renowned British photojournalist

Thurston Hopkins - Renowned British photojournalist Collection
49 items

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Cinema Silhouette

Cinema Silhouette
A couple silhouetted against the bright neon lights of a Granada Cinema. Original Publication: Picture Post - 7045 - Usherette - unpub. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Gorbals area of Glasgow; Two young boys walking along a street in 1948

Gorbals area of Glasgow; Two young boys walking along a street in 1948
31st January 1948: Two boys walking along a street in the run-down Gorbals area of Glasgow. The Gorbals tenements were built quickly and cheaply in the 1840s

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Charge Of The Light Brigade

Charge Of The Light Brigade
Painting depicting The Charge Of The Light Brigade, which was a disastrous charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Teasmaid

Teasmaid
March 1950: A teasmaid machine. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Bagpipe Player

Bagpipe Player
24th September 1955: A bagpipe player of Princess Louises Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders wearing the Sutherland tartan at Stirling in Scotland

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Church Sheep

Church Sheep
6th August 1955: Sheep huddle in the doorway of the Abbey on the tiny island of Iona, famous for its connection with St Columba who founded a community on Iona after he was expelled from Ireland

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Tour De France, August 1951

Tour De France, August 1951
18th August 1951: A group of contestants racing in the Tour de France. Original Publication: Picture Post - 5381 - The Greatest Show On Earth - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Under The Arch

Under The Arch
31st January 1948: Two children walking in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The Gorbals tenements were built quickly and cheaply in the 1840s

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Portsmouth Beach

Portsmouth Beach
19th August 1939: A solitary deckchair in front of the esplanade on Portsmouth beach, Hampshire. Original Publication: Picture Post - 202 - Portsmouth - Pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Hounds And Horse

Hounds And Horse
17th January 1953: Some of the hounds of the Pytchley Hunt with a horse at a meeting in Daventry in Northamptonshire. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6531 - A Hunting We Will Go - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Staffordshire Potteries

Staffordshire Potteries
Factories in the Staffordshire potteries, 2nd March 1946. Original publication : Picture Post - 3088 - Pottery : A Working Partys Problem - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Bannister On Bike

Bannister On Bike
14th July 1951: British athlete Roger Bannister cycling through Oxford. He later became the first athlete to run a mile in less than 4 minutes

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Sherry Cask

Sherry Cask
27th February 1954: A glass of sherry and a candle next to cobwebbed barrels in a wine cellar at Jerez in Spain. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6734 - Sherry Comes From Spain - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Dylan Thomas

Dylan Thomas
10th August 1946: Welsh poet and playwright Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953), relaxing outside. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4156 - Nest Of Singing Birds - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Triumph Sports

Triumph Sports
24th October 1953: A Triumph Sports car. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6771 - German Diesel Car For The Motor Show - pub. 1953 (Photo by Ronald Startup/Picture Post/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Passenger Plane

Passenger Plane
3rd November 1945: A Sunderland flying boat used by British Overseas Airways for business flights to India. The aircraft carries 16 passengers, travelling the 4769 miles in 30 hours and 20 minutes

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Pony Fair

Pony Fair
Wild and unbroken Exmoor ponies are rounded up for auction

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Shapely Nightie

Shapely Nightie
30th April 1949: A woman in a nylon nightie by Charmese. Original Publication: Picture Post - 4758 - Nylon For Lingerie - pub. 1949 (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Dunster Market

Dunster Market
17th March 1951: Sheep pass the market house in Dunster, Somerset. In the background is Dunster Castle. Original Publication: Picture Post - 5228 - Why Your Clothes Will Cost You More - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Floral Accessories

Floral Accessories
23rd November 1946: A floral display that can be attached to a dress, worn on the wrist or in the hair to add a floral and peerless touch to personal fashion

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Coach And Ten

Coach And Ten
circa 1930: A coach drawn by ten horses drives along a road in Rhodesia. Original Publication: Picture Post - Coaching In The Old Days (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Tenement In Perth

Tenement In Perth
16th April 1955: A narrow tenement building in Bridgend, Perth, the Fair City, once the capital of Scotland. Perthshire is a renowned as a fertile agricultural area

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Bards Burial Place

Bards Burial Place
5th August 1939: Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, where William Shakespeare and his family lie buried. Original Publication: Picture Post - 181 - Town That Lives On Shakespeare - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Edinburgh Old Town

Edinburgh Old Town
30th January 1954: A street scene in the old town of Edinburgh with the castle in the background. There is evidence of Iron Age settlement in Edinburgh

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Wall Sign

Wall Sign
20th February 1954: A painted sign on a wall in Belfast reading God Is Love. Original Publication: Picture Post - 7029 - The Best And The Worst Of Some British Cities 5 - Belfast - pub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Off Duty Usherette

Off Duty Usherette
circa 1954: A young woman talks to a boy friend after her evenings work as a cinema usherette. Original Publication: Picture Post - 7045 - Usherette - unpub

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Shamrock Sign

Shamrock Sign
20th February 1954: A painted sign on a wall in Belfast reading Joy, Love, Peace in the shape of a shamrock. Original Publication

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Union Notice

Union Notice
A busman reading a notice announcing a Transport and General Workers Union meeting to discuss strike action

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Train Stewards

Train Stewards
Stewards setting up their beds in the dining car of a Canadian Pacific Railway train during a three day journey across Canada, June 1939

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Topiary Bird

Topiary Bird
15th September 1945: Artfully shaped shrubbery in the Topiary Nurseries at Kew Gardens. Original Publication: Picture Post - 2090 - Crazy Garden - pub.1945

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square
1953: Londons famous Berkeley Square. Original Publication: Picture Post - 6626 - Berkeley Square - unpub. (Photo by Kurt Hutton/Picture Post/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Textile Research

Textile Research
Textile research being carried out at a scientific institute in Manchester.Picture Post - 6871 - The Best And Worst Of Our Cities : Manchester - pub. 1954

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: North Connel

North Connel
West Highlands Railway at North Connel. The WHR took many years to plan as it crosses rough terrain and moorland. The route, opened on 11th August 1894

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Thirsty Sheep

Thirsty Sheep
A flock of sheep waiting by the water trough at Maiden Castle Farm, Dorchester.Picture Post - 4826 - Where Are The Downland Sheep? - pub. 1949

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Unclaimed Marshland

Unclaimed Marshland
An inn on the banks of the River Test, Hampshire surrounded by undrained marshland.Picture Post - 1341 - The Story Of The Test Valley - pub. 1943

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Llama Lunch

Llama Lunch
A Llama eating straw at London zoo.Picture Post - 6839 - Could It Happen To Our Princess? - pub. 1953

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Wimbledon Common

Wimbledon Common
A group of children playing in the sun on Wimbledon Common, London

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Cricket Match

Cricket Match
1957: Spectators watching the cricket match on Wimbledon Common. Original Publication: Picture Post - 9113 - Wimbledon Common - unpub. (Photo by Grace Robertson/Picture Post/Getty Images)

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Searching Car

Searching Car
A customs officer searching the boot of a car at Calais

Background imagePicture Post, Premier British News Magazine Collection: Looking For Jobs

Looking For Jobs
Two men looking for work in a Labour Exchange window



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