Rare images of the devastation caused by atomic bombing are likely to be the work of a famous photographer.
Scotland’s Secret Bunker opened an exhibition of haunting images of the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima last week, to commemorate the 70th anniversary.
The extremely rare collection belonged to the late Clifford Ferns from Coaltown of Balgonie, who, according to his photo diary of 1946, had stumbled across an undeveloped film in a second hand camera he bought while serving in the RAF in Iwakuni, near Hiroshima.
But now, after the collection provoked international interest, it’s been revealed they are likely to be original prints by the famous military photographer Yosuke Yamahata.
And rather than depicting the horror of Hiroshima, they are more likely to capture the scenes in Nagasaki.
Experts at Bonhams have shed further light of the collection, and reveaked a fascinating account of how the pictures may have made their way to Scotland.
Tom Lamb, an expert in military photography at Bonhams in New York, said the images started off as propaganda against the Americans.
Censorship was high so the photos were passed out secretly, often swapped in under the counter deals with foreign troops.
“It is extremely likely that they were Yosuke Yamahata’s images,” he said, adding the prints were often kept in albums and diaries like Mr Ferns.
The collections are rare and could fetch upwards of £20,000 at auction.