Express & Star photo archive FAQs

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the Express & Star photo archive website:

Is every photo from the Express & Star archive on the website?
Answer: No. There are an estimated 1m printed photographs in the Express & Star store, an estimated 500,000 of which are covered by the newspaper’s copyright. An initial 3,000 photographs have been digitised in order to get the project up and running?

What sort of photos are available on the website?
Answer: To launch the website, photographs from the industry section of the collection were prioritised as they matched the 3,000 photograph limit set for the initial digitisation project. The photographs are primarily from the 1970s through to the mid-1990s, which was when digital photography began to be more widely used by Express & Star photographers.

Have all the photographs from the history of the Express & Star been preserved?
Answer: 
Not all of the photographs have been retained. The archive was a working facility, where photographs were placed and removed on an hourly basis in the pre-digital age. The photos that are left today total around 1m but they are only a fraction of those featured in the newspaper for more than a century.

How do I find an old photo from a story from the Express & Star, published since 2006?
Answer: The newspaper’s website Expressandstar.com publishes a selection of the hundreds of news stories published in the Express & Star every day.
Visit the website to see if it has the story you require.
If you are looking for a recent story on a particular subject, type in the key words (ie golden wedding Walsall) into the search box in the corner of the page.
If this is unsuccessful, you may want to scour an old edition to find the printed story.

How do I find an old photo from a story from the Express & Star which predates 2006? Or: I cannot find an old story on Expressandstar.com?
Answer: We do not have the facility for readers to view old editions online and the Express & Star does not run an archive library service.
Anyone looking to read an old edition of the newspaper should visit Wolverhampton City Archives, which holds all back issues of the Express & Star on microfilm.
These can be viewed and photocopied. Visit the City Archives website for more information: http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/visit/wolverhampton-archives/

I have a concern about a photograph which appears on the website. What should I do?
Answer: 
Complete the comment form at the bottom of the page. This will send a message to the site administrators who will review your issue and respond.
The website is not manned 24/7 as it is supported by a multi-organisation partnership. But they will aim to come back to you within three working days.

I would like to licence an image from the collection. What should I do?
Answer: 
The city archivist will be able to help you with an image request. They can be contacted at: Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies, Molineux Hotel Building, Whitmore Hill, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SF. Telephone: (01902) 552480. Or email here: Click

I would like to order a printed copy of an image from the collection. What should I do?
Answer: 
Again, the city archivist will be able to help you with an image request. They can be contacted at: Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies, Molineux Hotel Building, Whitmore Hill, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SF. Telephone: (01902) 552480. Or email here: Click

See also: https://photo-archive.expressandstar.co.uk//flag-up-an-issue-about-the-express-star-photo-archive/