HP Press Release 01/09/04

Britain’s first National Photo Album unearths hidden photographic treasures

HP is pleased to announce the initial success of the National Photo Album, one of the most ambitious public archiving projects in recent history. Having urged the nation to dust off its old photograph albums and rummage through its attics, HP has been astonished to see people react so positively.

With over 5,000 images already submitted and more than 300,000 hits in the first two months, The National Photo Album has been embraced by the public.  The search has uncovered some hidden gems from the photo albums of members of the public, such as:

- The enchanting image of Big Ben taken during the strikes in the 1970s, when fuel was at a premium and the spot lights had to be switched off
- A chance meeting with George Best relaxing on holiday in Majorca in 1972
- Young twins working a wooden washing machine in 1939
- A boxing match between sailors, to entertain the troops on HMS Emperor of India in 1915

“We expected a good response, but I don’t think we ever imagined that people would react in such a positive manner.  The HP National Photo Album is quickly turning into the vital photographic resource we always hoped it would. And there’s no doubt that The Daily Mirror has contributed enormously to our success as we supplied its ‘Pic of the Week’ for almost two months,” said Peter Urey, marketing and category manager for HP’s Imaging and Printing Group. “No one else is providing a photographic resource which contains pictures solely taken by everyday people and we believed that this difference would offer a ‘back stage pass’ to our history, now we know for sure that it does.”

The aim of The National Photo Album was to search for images of individuals, families, workplaces, events, outings, cities, towns and villages, all accompanied with the story behind each picture; anything which revealed something of the way Britain has worked, played, lived and loved over the past two hundred years.  The results have been fascinating with a hugely varied collection of pictures and stories.

“The HP National Photo Album is an excellent incentive to keep British History alive,” said one of the National Photo Album’s visitors.  “It’s always great to be able to see other people’s pictures of years, events and times gone by and I’m certain that as the word spreads, it will be a much visited site.”

“We were hoping for pictures which would immediately provoke attention such as pictures of Elvis Presley’s only visit to the UK, but what we have found is that we have received a far more interesting selection of stories,” added Urey. “When you read a story about a 10 year old boy, with numerous siblings who was the only bread winner in his family, you realise the importance of these pictures as historical materials.”     

The HP National Photo Album is free to access at www.nationalphotoalbum.co.uk  Anyone wanting to contribute to the archive can offer their pictures for consideration in one of two ways.

- Option 1: Upload images directly onto the archive at www.nationalphotoalbum.co.uk by following simple step by step instructions.
- Option 2: Submit entries via post to HP National Photo Album, 31 St. Petersburgh Place, London W2 4LA where they will be vetted and uploaded by experts.*

*All images must be accompanied by a suitably sized self-addressed envelope. Every effort will be made to return the images in good order but HP cannot be held liable for damaged or lost photographs.

HP has a unique history and expertise in digital imaging.  Currently it is assisting museums and art galleries around the world including the UK’s National Gallery, in digitising their collections to ensure that the world’s most important images are captured for posterity.  Now it is turning its attention to the treasure trove of photographs that lie gathering dust in the nation’s attics.

By digitising and storing these valuable images HP is aiming to ensure that this valuable photographic inheritance is not lost and can be shared with millions of people. Suitable pictures will be added to the HP National Photo Album which will be a searchable online database of images that can be accessed and downloaded for free.

About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2004, HP revenue totalled $78.4 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.