In 2014 Alan J. Ward purchased a collection of ‘quarter plate’ glass negatives on a whim, from an Ebay seller in Brighton, that had no provenance. There are about 230 in total, dating from 1914 through to the 50s. Through a few clues offered up in the images and the original boxes they came in, he pieced together the beginnings of a substantial lost family history, that seemed strangely to parallel his own. Through a forensic research process and an almost voyeuristic obsession with this collection, new photographic work evolved in response to the locations, subjects and objects in the images. Intrigued by the odd, and easily overlooked elements and repeating motifs of the collection, Ward explores the forgotten, lost, ordinary, and extraordinary distant voices and still lives of the archive. The book includes a companion text by author George Szirtes, 'Gearing: a coincidence', and an interview between Alan Ward and archivist David Govier 'Unlocking the boxes' which explores the role of research in contemporary artistic practice.