TopFoto is one of the world's great independent photographic archives.

The story so far
Founded in 1927 by influential English freelance photographer John Topham, working from 1927-1975 and published in Illustrated, Daily Mirror, PicturePost, Life magazine, Farmers Weekly, TopFoto (originally Topham Picture Library) has been built up by two generations of the Smith family into what it is today: an expanding, independent picture agency of fascinating range and depth so you can license great images.

The heart of the TopFoto archive is made up of millions of original negatives and hardcopy prints from a number of thriving 20th Century historic British press agencies from the glory days of Fleet Street (c.1905-1969), collected and acquired by the Smiths during the 1970s and 1980s, together with original engravings from the early 1800s and glass plate negatives from the early 1900s.

We own some uniquely important photographer collections including over 3,000 negatives and prints taken by the late filmmaker Ken Russell (1950s), and the archive of key Illustrated and PicturePost photographer George Douglas known as “Speedy George” (1940s-1950s) and definitive English documentary photographer John Topham (1927-1975).

TopFoto has been involved in  4 EU part-funded projects primarily as a content partner to Europeana, and in 2020/2021 was awarded a grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, from the Cultural Recovery Fund, to support the internationally signficant archive.

In 2021, as part of our Lottery funded project, we appointed our inaugural Writer-in-Residence, Rommi Smith to work with historic photographs of inspiration from the archive.

Worldwide 
Based in the UK, we work with over 50 global partners, representing some of the finest photography collections in the world.

We were founder members of BAPLA which is the UK trade association for picture libraries and agencies and are represented at CEPIC , the Coordination of European Picture Agencies Stock, Press and Heritage which attracts the world's picture industry at the annual CEPIC congress. We are also a proud founder member of PhotoConsortium , a network of photographic archives, including public institutions and private agencies, collectors and private content holders from all over Europe.

Exhibition organisers, fashion houses, book publishers, TV producers, filmmakers, infrastructure project managers, museums, news organisations, magazines…. every day, worldwide, busy account holders download and license what they need, or send our research team to fast-search the archive.

From cruise ships to the space programme, there is virtually no kind of project or customer we haven’t supplied since that original expansion in the 1970s when the Smiths heard, over the phone line, a joyful news editor calling out: “hold the press, Topham have got it”.

Rommi Smith is a poet and playwright. She has held numerous prestigious international residencies for organisations ranging from the British Council, to the BBC, The Florence Nightingale Museum to Parliament. 

Rommi was Poet in Residence for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and Poet in Residence for BBC Music Live. She has written for and performed, extensively, on BBC Radio, featuring on programmes such as: From Fact to Fiction, BBC Radio 4’s Afternoon Drama, Poetry Please, Late Junction, The Verb and Woman's Hour. Rommi’s contribution to a feature on Blueswomen was selected for Weekend Woman’s Hour. 

Rommi was appointed Parliamentary Writer in Residence - the first such appointment in British and Parliamentary history. Invited to be Poet in Residence at Keats’ House, London [former home, now museum, celebrating the life of Romantic poet, John Keats], Rommi also served as British Council Poet in Residence at California State University in Los Angeles. Whilst in residence, she directed a brand new piece of theatre about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in collaboration with English MA students and the University's Jazz Orchestra. 

Rommi teaches creative writing for a wealth of organisations and institutions, including: The International Schools Theatre Association, The ARVON Foundation, The Poetry School. She mentored Masters’ students on the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama’s performance courses.

Commissioned to write libretto for a chamber opera exploring the recent riots in London and Birmingham, Rommi was commissioned by The Museum of London, to write a brand new work in celebration of the life of maverick actor, Charlotte Charke. 

Rommi features in the documentary We Are Poets. The award-winning film follows the lives of six-young poets from Leeds, whom she mentored to attend Brave New Voices USA; widely recognised as the biggest and most prestigious poetry slam championships in the world.  

She is delighted to have acted as a consultant/advisor to Yemeni civil rights campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Tawakul Karman, during preparations for her speech to Parliament.

Awarded a prestigious Hedgebrook Fellowship in the United States in 2014, Rommi is the recipient of the Elizabeth George Award. www.rommi-smith.co.uk



We make documentaries and audio art for radio, podcasts and public spaces.

At the heart of what we do is a belief in the imaginative possibilities of radio. Sounds that can reconfigure the world around you, move you through inner landscapes, sink into your dreams.

We are an intentionally small company that considers carefully the creative, social and political aspects of the work we put out into the world.

Falling Tree has two full-time Directors – Eleanor McDowall and Alan Hall – and we work with freelancers across our projects, including the core Short Cuts production team of Alia Cassam, Axel Kacoutié and Andrea Rangecroft.

We are one of the founding signatories of the Equality in Audio pact. 

You can listen to hundreds of our documentaries in the free, online Falling Tree archive.

Pre-order Sam's forthcoming album here: https://slee.lnk.to/songdreaming
Released March 15th 2024
Tickets for my UK tour in March/April 2024 here: https://www.samleesong.co.uk/live

Dana Fuchs is one of the most admired blues-rock stars in the world today. Her hypnotic voice and presence have led critics to compare her to Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, and Mick Jagger. Born in New Jersey and raised in Wildwood, Florida, the raspy-voiced blues-rock-soul singer-songwriter found inspiration in her parents Ray Charles and Hank Williams record collection. Upon leaving high school, Fuchs had no choice but to follow her muse to New York City finding herself as the toast of Broadway when starring in the Janis Joplin musical, Love, Janis. Soon thereafter, she did another star turn in Julie Taymor's romantic musical drama Across the Universe, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Globe Awards.
 
Dana's latest effort, Borrowed Time, finds her revisiting her Southern Rock roots with a deliciously dangerous collection of her incredible songs and lyrics. Producer Bobby Harlow (Detroit Cobras, Samantha Fish) managed to capture the tornado in a bottle intensity, urgency, power, restraint, and passion of Dana's live show on a studio album. Borrowed Time is the rawest, most rocking, musical offering of Dana's career, and is due out April 29, 2022, via Ruf Records.

What started off as academic chit-chat over drinks has now evolved into chit chat over a range of topics. But don’t worry, the espresso machine and cocktail bar are still running! So grab your favorite drink and have a listen.

https://coffeeandcocktailspodcast.com/

Support us on Patreon for just £1 per month!
https://www.patreon.com/coffeeandcocktailspodcast

Instagram: @coffee_and_cocktails_podcast
Facebook: @coffeeandcocktailspodcast 
Twitter: @CafeNCocktails
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/coffee-cocktails%C2%AE-podcast/

The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. For over three generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org, the Academy’s popular website; American Poet, a biannual literary journal; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. Since its founding, the Academy has awarded more money to poets than any other organization.

Rommi Smith is following