Bradford Christopher Pratt photos show 'side of life that disappeared'
A Bradford boy's pictures depicting "a side of life that has disappeared" from the city have gone online.
The exhibition, called Lad Wi' Camera, shows the early photographs of Christopher Pratt, who was born in the city in 1888. He started to take pictures in about 1900 when he would have been aged 12. Archivist John Ashton said Pratt was "born in a prosperous house and could afford all the latest gear as not many people owned a camera then". Mr Ashton, an archivist at Bradford Museums Photo Archive, said some of the images were taken while Pratt was still at school, using a technology that had only recently become more widely available. His grandfather, also called Christopher Pratt, had founded a furniture store that is still trading. Pratt's middle-class upbringing allowed him to photograph society events like garden parties at his home. Pratt took many photos of nature around where he lived but also made forays into inner-city Bradford, taking pictures of conditions there. Mr Ashton said: "Housing was then packed in much closer to the centre of Bradford and his pictures show a side of life that has disappeared." Ian Beesley, a Bradford-born acclaimed photographer, said Pratt "realised the power of photography if used for campaigning". "He also used the pictures as magic lantern slide shows to portray living conditions," he said. Mr Beesley, said: "You could argue he was one of the earliest social documentary photographers, particularly in the north of England. "He was a pioneer and his images along with many others means the Bradford Industrial Museum has one of the best photographic collections in England. "He was a competent, thoughtful photographer that used his camera for pleasure but also for the betterment of his fellow Bradfordians." The Lad Wi' Camera exhibition has gone online due to Covid-19 restrictions. The full online archive of 1,000 of Pratt's pictures were digitised a few years ago. #MuseumPassion is a celebration across the BBC's TV, radio and digital outlets of the UK's museums with live events on Thursday. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.