Gibby Negatives

Negatives, some glass, some celluloid, mainly related to Durham city, taken or in some cases collected by Dr C.W. Gibby. The collection covers buildings, street scenes, views, people, paintings, engravings, manuscripts, maps, coins and other objects associated with Durham city, and reflects Gibby's interest in its history and determination to record its changing appearance. There are also a small number of negatives of other places in Co. Durham, and a large group related to railways.

The majority of the negatives are glass, the most common sizes being 3 x 4 and 3 x 3 inches.

Dr. Clifton William ('Jack') Gibby FSA lectured in chemistry at the University of Durham 1926-1967, but was best known for his wide knowledge of local history and other matters of antiquarian interest, on which he lectured widely.

The collection is arranged by an alpha-mnemonic scheme of Dr. Gibby's devising, not altogether consistently executed (in which, for example, negatives of the Assize Courts, Abbey House on Palace Green, and Allergate may be found in class A, but other buildings on Palace Green in class P. Negatives concerning Durham castle are in class Ca, those on Durham cathedral in class Ch, portraits of individuals and groups in class Pi, and railways, oddly, in class Th).

Open for consultation.

Presented by Dr. Gibby, 1970's.

Available online at online catalogue. Visual index of 5 x 3 inch prints.

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Sub-Librarian, Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

The collection overlaps with two others given to the University Library by Dr. Gibby: the Gibby Photographic Prints Collection, and the Gibby Lantern Slides Collection. See also the Gibby Papers.