Rare images preserved in archive

In pictures: rare images

A rare archive of images of Scotland's past will be safeguarded for future generations at Glasgow University.

The specially designed facility will store a series of collections by the pioneers of photography.

It will hold more than 20,000 images of historic importance, including works by trailblazers such as David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson.

Temperature and humidity levels will be controlled to provide a stable, cool environment for the images.

The facility also includes Thomas Annan's famous pictures of the crumbling closes of Glasgow, commissioned by the City of Glasgow in 1866.

David Weston, keeper of special collections, said: "We have a wealth of images that mark important periods and individuals in history and these need to be preserved.

Special collections

"The collections exemplify the profound documentary value and aesthetic beauty of photography.

"The store, made possible with significant funding from The Wolfson Foundation, will be an invaluable addition to our special collections section of the library."

Other materials stored include The Pencil of Nature by Henry Fox Talbot, the first book to be illustrated with photographs and a substantial body of photographs reflecting the life and interests of James McNeill Whistler.

Photographic negatives made by William Speirs Bruce on expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic between 1899 and 1914 are also featured, as well as the photographic record of the life and creative output of James Paterson, one of the 'Glasgow Boys'.