Naylor Street, 1934

Frank’s Cafe

Gladstone Street, 1934
After a short break, I am back in full swing with three photographs taken from a family album. I am fascinated by this kind of social photography. Amateur shots taken on (most probably) a Box Brownie purely as a family record. The real sadness is their anonymity. I have no idea of the names of any of the people in the photographs. If any of the children are around, they will now be in their eighties, for all I have is the street name and the date on the backs of the snaps. The group of children aaare in Naylor Street, which ran into Vauxhall Road. Gladstone Street, however, is in Birkenhead (Gladstone Road was in Liverpool but I can find no trace of any Gladstone Street). The young boy with a cat is standing outside Frank’s Café. Whether that was its actual name or the name of a family member who owned it is unclear (it is not listed under Frank’s Café in my 1932 Directory).
I would love to see a concerted effort to create an archive of such photographs that can be deposited in the Liverpool Record Office. They often tell us a great deal about the people of Liverpool and would be an invaluable source of reference to future generations. More to follow next time.

More...