Catalogue description M W Earley collection of railway photographs

The Earley collection is dominated by images of GWR locomotives from the early days of the 'Big Four' to the introduction of diesels on British Railways Western Region, but also covers the Southern, LMS, LNER and their successors. Earley's work is characterised by high quality images of moving trains, workshop scenes and the railway infrastructure. There are also photographs of SNCF locomotives in France and the collection includes photographs by Halls, Clarke and Rumble (further references to whom can be found in other NRM collections).

Earley, Maurice W, d 1982, railway photographer, founder of the Railway Photographic Society, of Reading, Berkshire

Typed negative register together with fourteen manuscript folios of photographic exposure handbooks and diaries covering the period 1922 to 1941; card index listing locomotives by class and company, together with associated subjects; schedule giving details of albums and contents. Nearly every print in the albums is identified by a unique negative number.

Earley began his career as a railway photographer because he was "not satisfied with those [pictures] which were then available". In 1925, the Great Western granted Earley a line-side permit, giving him the opportunity to take the photographs of GWR locomotives travelling at high speed which made his name as a railway photographer. The permit specified Sonning Cutting and it became one of Earley's favourite locations - his negative registers list pages of photographs taken at this spot near his home in Reading. Initially Earley used 3½ x 2½ ins glass plates, but preferred working with 5 x 4 ins plates because he felt "there is nothing to equal the detail gained by the larger negative".

In 1922 Earley founded the Railway Photographic Society so that its members might comment on a circulating portfolio of prints, and this undoubtedly helped to raise the standards of railway photography. The RPS attracted other skilled railway photographers, like C C B Herbert and Dr Pat Ransome-Wallis, whose work is also represented in the NRM's collections. Such was their loyalty to Earley that when he retired from the Society at the age of 76 they all retired with him.