ACTRESS CHOOSES A STRANGE PET. : Photo Shows: Bebe Daniels, the film star, and her pet leopard. Neither seems to fear the other. United States 1928 ©PastPix/Topfoto
UK photo library Topfoto has boosted it’s Planet News photo files with the addition of 11,000 images from the agency.
They say: Available for the first time at TopFoto.co.uk the reunited original glass plate negatives from Planet News dating back 90 years. Planet News opened its London office in late 1927. Located at 8 Bouverie Street, just off Fleet Street, the agency supplied the United States, Britain and the Empire with a stream of news and photographs throughout the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. In 1958 the American rival to Associated Press, United Press Association, merged with Planet News and Hearst’s International News Photos (INP) to form UPI London. Planet News retained some brand independence within UPI for many years but UPI closed its London operation in 1970 and TopFoto bought the picture library, with all rights contained within. Part of Planet News was left behind as it was badly damaged. Decades later the abandoned negative collection reappeared at auction and was bought by a syndicate of press photographers called PastPix. They meticulously restored and digitised over 11,000 original glass plate negatives.