Collection
The National Media Museum is home to over 3.5 million items of historical and cultural significance, and our diverse Collection encompasses some of the finest and most compelling visual material to be found anywhere in the world.
Amongst the Collection are three pivotal firsts - the world's earliest known surviving negative, the earliest television footage and the camera that made the earliest moving pictures in Britain.
Choose from the National Photography, National Cinematography, National Television and National New Media Collections to explore an online selection of artefacts.
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National Photography Collection
The National Photography Collection incorporates a number of world-class collections and includes key images by the most influential photographers of our time alongside an extensive collection of photographic technology.
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National Cinematography Collection
Tracing the history and prehistory of cinema, focussing on professional and amateur film production and consumption in Britain, the National Cinematography Collection comprises over 13,000 objects and artefacts.
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National Television Collection
Demonstrating the evolution of the medium, this is the world's largest collection of television technology; from its earliest rudimentary inventions to the refined technologies in use today.
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National New Media Collection
Our youngest collection aims to record the evolution of digital media, and represent the internet and gaming as well as traversing the boundaries between photography, film, television and radio which have been blurred by digital technology.
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Collection Resources
We have a growing collection of online and downloadable resources for anyone with an interest in Photography, Cinematography, Television and New Media, from media students to film and photography enthusiasts.
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Collections Online
Collections Online is a database of 230,000+ objects from the collections of the Science Museum, the National Railway Museum and this Museum.
Explore Collections Online