South West Heritage Trust

Overview The Isca Photographic Collection: Digitisation Contract Introduction The South West Heritage Trust is seeking to award a contract to digitise and create accompanying metadata for c. 24,000 historic acetate images created by the Exeter photographer Henry Wykes. Background The South West Heritage Trust was founded in 2014 as an independent charity for Somerset and Devon. We are a regional organisation using museum, archive and landscape collections to support the delivery of heritage services to the diverse communities we serve. We care for 3 million museum objects and are also responsible for 10 million archives that tell the stories of Somerset and Devon. Our vision is to 'celebrate and protect our rich heritage, helping everyone to enjoy it now and in the future.' That vision guides us in three key objectives: Supporting People and Communities: We will support, empower and enrich people and communities Protecting Our Heritage: We will preserve, protect and enhance our heritage, keeping it safe and accessible now and in future Making an Impact: We will be enterprising, innovative and influential, and stand up for the heritage of Devon and Somerset Project Outline The Isca Photographic Collection includes a particularly rich visual record of the destruction wrought by the Exeter Blitz, and the post-war reconstruction of the bomb-damaged city. It offers a special opportunity to tell the story of Exeter's ruination and renewal during the 2025 commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The collection consists of c.24,000 acetate negatives depicting the social and industrial life of Exeter and its citizens between 1920 and 1960, mostly taken by commercial photographer Henry Wykes. Alongside the negatives are contemporaneous fragile glass-plate negatives, photographic prints and associated business registers. The acetate images are suffering from vinegar syndrome and the project is a race against time to digitise these unique photographs before the syndrome destroys the images. This project will save the rich information contained in these images for future generations, opening up this hidden collection for people to enjoy and to learn more about Britain's communities and industrial past. The overarching project is to rescue the negatives by digitisation and cataloguing, followed by a series of engagement outputs celebrating both the salvage project and the work and career of Henry Wykes. This will include static, online and travelling exhibitions, volunteer involvement, and community activities. Timeline The project will run from October 2024 to April 2026, with a Project Officer in place to drive the activities between April 2025 and April 2026. Budget The maximum budget available for this work is £72,000 + VAT. Payment will be released once the mirrored-hard drives have been returned and the images have been checked by staff from the South West Heritage Trust. Tender Process and Contact For full details of the contract and tender process please download the brief below. We welcome potential suppliers wishing to view the extent and condition of the collection before submitting their tender. Visits can be arranged and tenders for consideration should be directed to the Project Officer Kitty Vega at