Eric Guy and Philip “Oz” Osborne Collier shared a Studio on the Oxford Road. They both photographed the countryside, for the most part this meant getting as far away from Reading as possible. The Museum of English Rural Life has a large collection of photographs by both men.
Philip Osborne Collier
Everyday Oz would ride his motorbike out into the country to take photos, this means most of his pictures were taken within a short bike ride of the town. He was a commercial photographer, and much of his work was sold in the form of postcards. In the early 1900s postcards were a really common form of communication, so they were incredibly popular. It appears that Oz often destroyed his negatives, many were lost this way, and some others were destroyed when they were used as vegetable cloches by a careless owner. However, hundreds are still available to view in the MERL archive.
Eric Guy
Eric Guy had a distinctive style that make his work stand out; his bright, thoughtful pictures really capture the beauty of the English countryside, whether he is documenting grazing cows or farming machinery. Much of Eric Guy’s work was published in the local and national press, especially in farming periodicals. His photographs provide a fascinating look into Berkshire’s past, below are a few examples but you can discover lots more here.
