Flotilla Photos for Sale

We have a new selection of pre-produced photographic prints for sale in the Orkney Archive, which cover many different subjects. Some of them are much larger than the usual 8x6 inches in size, so our price of £4 is a real bargain.

[Please note we do not have multiple copies of these items for sale. If you wish to buy a copy of any of these images and the pre-produced ones have been sold, you can still order copies from us at the normal prices. Please see our normal Production Price List below and email archives@orkney.gov.uk to order.]

For all the boat-lovers out there, here are a few with a definite marine theme.

We love this image below of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla illuminated in Kirkwall Bay. This photograph was taken by Tom Kent on the 25th May 1911.

TK 158 Kirkwall Bay

Four years later in 1915 Margaret Tait describes a similar sight:

"The moonlight is very welcome these war times, as the authorities can't make one put out the moon as they can the lights in the windows. I went down to see the ships in the Bay and I was told there were more ships coming and going to K'wall at present than comes and goes to the ports of London. It was a lovely sight the ships stretched right across the bay as far as Finstown and were all lighted up making it look like a miniature town."

Archive Reference: D1/525 Diary of Margaret Tait, sister of cabinet maker James Tait, Broad Street, Kirkwall

TK 3315 Kirkwall Harbour, date unknown

TK 3307 Kirkwall Harbour, date unknown (after 1899)

RHR 4996

The above photo is mounted on hardboard, so costs slightly more at £7.

Our usual costs for photographic reprints are:

The Photographic Archive holds more than 60,000 images relating to Orkney and its people, with the earliest dating from the nineteenth century.

The images are a priceless record of changes that were occurring throughout the UK as well as in Orkney. They show changes in the working and social lives of the people, changes in farming methods, the effects of two World Wars and the huge influx of military personnel, industries that have largely disappeared and much more.

So pop round to the Orkney Archive during our normal opening hours and have a browse, you never know, your perfect photo could be printed and already waiting for you!