Janine Wiedel Photo Library - Documentary images

VULCAN'S FORGE was first shown at The Photographers' Gallery, London in 1979.https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/vulcans-forge-janine-wiedel It comprised of 250 photographs plus audio visuals, chains, pots, a steel gantry, and coal tunnel. Later in that year it toured to the ATV Center in Birmingham and to The Stoke-on-Trent Museum and Art Gallery In 2021 The original Exhibition was adapted and shown in Birmingham at the Hive Gallery in the Jewellery Quarter.

These were taken in 1978 in the village of Cradley Heath in the Black Country, West Midlands. In 1890s the area was the center of chainmaking not only in England but in the world. By the 1980s, shortly after I was there, most of the workshops were closed down and unemployment soared. This is a small selection The library is continually being updated as I continue to scan my earlier documentary photographs and stories. For more go to "search" and enter keywords or contact me direct

Florence Colliery in Stoke on Trent and Littleton Colliery in Stafordshire 1978. The last 6 photos were taken at a small independent mine / 'Footeral' near Stoke-on-Trent This is a small selection The library is continually being updated as I continue to scan my earlier documentary photographs and stories. For more go to "search" and enter keywords or contact me direct

1978/79 at Shelton Bar Iron and Steel Works in Stoke on Trent and Bilston Steel Works in the Black Country. By the end of that year, iron and steel making at Shelton ceased as the final blast furnace closed down with a loss of almost 2,000 jobs. The rolling mill, acknowledged to be one of the best in the world, survived for another 20 years but steel had to be brought down from Teeside. The steel works at Bilston closed one year later in 1979 with 3000 redundancies. This is a small selection The library is continually being updated as I continue to scan my earlier documentary photographs and stories. For more go to "search" and enter keywords or contact me direct TO VIEW: Please press "ALL" below

In the mid 1970's, The Jewellery Quarter was Britain's major center for the production of gold and silver. It still, however, retained traces of it's beginnings in the early 19th century. The area was made up of many small firms packed together within a quarter square mile. As the businesses grew they extended from one cottage to the next. Behind the small family firms and Dickensian atmosphere were high powered businesses distributing throughout the world. This is a small selection. For more go to "search" and enter keywords or contact me direct TO VIEW: PLEASE PRESS "ALL" below

When I took these photographs in the mid 1970s, pottery was Britain's second biggest net earner with 75% produced in Stoke-on-Trent. These images were taken in Aynsley (est. 1774), known for fine bone china and at Spode (founded 1770) now merged with Royal Worcester This is a small selectionFor more go to "search" and enter keywords or contact me direct To view: PRESS "ALL" below

Smiths’ Drop Forge in Aston, 1977. A typical small firm still surviving on the outskirts of Birmingham, forging components for the thriving automotive industry. This is a small selectionFor more go to "search" and enter keywords or contact me direct TO VIEW: PLEASE PRESS "ALL" below