Products of former Bradford furniture company Christopher Pratt & Sons have gone on display at Bradford Industrial Museum.

The exhibition is about the history and development of the furniture-making company as a whole. In tandem with it is a display of photographs taken in the early 20th century by Christopher Pratt Jr, an enthusiastic photographer and grandson of the original Christopher Pratt.

Museum spokesman John Ashton said: “The family were committed Methodists and it was in commemorating Eastbrook Methodist Hall, that he began to capture the world around him.

“Methodist Missions in the city tried to establish social clubs and activities to attract working men and their families and by doing so, hoped to steer them from drink and towards regular attendance at church. In his work, Pratt reflected the condition of the city’s poor, the activities being provided and the leading people involved in the Methodist movement and the events they attended.

“Hundreds of glass negatives exist from this period, giving us an incredible insight into what life was life for working people before the First World War.”

John added; “Examples include The Garden Party, showing Thomas and Elizabeth Pratt in the foreground.

“The image Woman And Children Down A Back Alley appears in 50 Glorious Years, The History And Story Of Eastbrook Hall, published in 1954.

“Fifty years ago the site of Eastbrook stood in the centre of slum and broken-down property, and within a half-mile radius was to be found the heaviest crime area of the city, which was deplorable comparable with any other industrial city of the times.

“Here indeed were ‘fields ripe for conquest’.

“In another picture, men advertise a pictorial address at Southend Hall to be given by W A Prunell. Prunell was in charge of Southend Hall from approximately 1907 to 1910 so the picture was probably taken within this period.

“A sandwich board advertises ‘scenes from Pilgrim’s Progress’ and ‘The Making Of A Mission’ by The Bradford Wesleyan Mission, published in March 1911.

“The wording reads: ‘...at our first meeting in June, Mr Nield gave an illustrated address on ‘England’s Enemies’; and a week later demonstrated the folly of betting and gambling, by a lantern lecture on ‘Flats and Sharps’.

“On another occasion, slides illustrating Bunyan’s immortal ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ were found very effective in making the gospel appeal”.

The exhibition runs until April 21 at the museum, which is open 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Friday, and 11am to 4pm, Saturdays and Sundays.