1980s, The (C20th Britain in Pictures)

by Ammonite Press

This series of ten books, each devoted to a decade of British life and containing around 300 photographs from PA Photos huge archives, spans the whole of the 20th Century. Hand-picked by PA Photos own archivists, most of these images have lain unseen since they were used as news pictures when they were first taken. Each image has been scanned especially for these books, many from glass plates, ensuring the best possible quality of reproduction. It is easy, looking back, to imagine a past neatly partitioned into clearly defined periods and dominated by wars, political upheaval and economic trends. But the archive tells a different alongside the major events that constitute formal history are found the smaller things that had equal - if not greater - significance for ordinary people at the time. And while the photographers were working for that moments news rather than posterity, the camera is an undiscriminating eye that records everything in its to modern eyes it is often the backgrounds of these pictures, not their intended subjects, which provide the greatest fascination.

Genres: History, Photography

300 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A selection of high quality photographs, mainly black and white, depicting various aspects of British history and culture during the 1980s. Each photograph is accompanied by a brief caption. The majority of the photos are of the rich and famous from various fields including music, politics, fashion and sport, although there are a few other cultural depictions too. This is a very well put together paperback book that screams quality throughout, and I wouldn't mind checking the others in the series.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in the 80’s I found this collection a little underwhelming.

Some of the pictures that were there were excellent, and brought back memories of a particular place and time , but quite a few I thought slightly odd choices, considering what there was to choose from. A degree of repetition too.

I probably thought about a third of the photos were great choices, a third ok, and a third disappointing. Still a great stroll down 80’s memory lane, but a slightly more meandering one than I would have chosen.