Images of the Harris Tweed industry by acclaimed Scottish documentary photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert have been published this week for the first time in 32 years.

Originally photographed on a newspaper assignment back in 1992 the negative lay undisturbed in Sutton-Hibbert's archive until recently, and now are being brought back to life, and shared for the communities on Harris to enjoy.

With a long 34-year career in documentary photography the Glasgow-based photographer recently had his photographic archive acquired by the University of St Andrews Photography Collection. During the process of organising the photographs and archive Sutton-Hibbert reassessed many of the early projects that he had photographed. These projects are now being printed as small affordable zines, available rom his website at www.jeremysuttonhibbert.com

Sutton-Hibbert reminisces about his visit to Harris, "I visited Harris and Lewis to take these photographs on assignment for a Scottish Sunday newspaper supplement magazine. I was accompanying a very talented writer and journalist Euan Ferguson, who sadly is no longer with us. We criss-crossed the islands meeting crofters and those in the tweed industry, gaining insight into the then current challenges they faced in marketing and selling their world-renowned product.

Donald (Noe) Smith at the yarn store, in Kenneth Macleod, Shawbost Ltd, from ‘Harris Tweed 1992’ by documentary photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert.

As we left one mill, Euan and I were taken to the store rooms, and told, “choose any tweed you want, any colour. And we’ll give you each 5-metres worth, enough to make yourselves a jacket.” Years later I got that jacket made, and still wear it with pride, a lovely memory of my visit to the islands and of the beauty of Harris Tweed."

Images in the photographic zine include a portrait of Miss Marion Campbell BEM at home, of Coinneach Campbell weaving in Bragar, Alastair Pout by his loom, and images from within the mills of Kenneth Macleod, Shawbost Ltd. and Kenneth Mackenzie Ltd in Stornaway.

The Harris Tweed 1992 photographic zine is one of six publications Sutton-Hibbert has recently released. Other topics covered are images of Glasgow shipbuilding, homing pigeon auctions in Ayrshrie from 1991, and a look at the East European fish factory 'Klondyker' boats in Shetland in 1994.

Talking of the new publications Sutton-Hibbert says, "I want to share these images in the communities that the images were taken. Making small affordable publications is a great way to do that. These aren't just photographs but are people's memories, it's a great privilege to be able to photograph in communities and with that comes a responsibility to be able to share the work."

The black and white zines are available online at www.jeremysuttonhibbert.com

New publication of Harris Tweed 1992 photographs