For over a century five generations of the Gibson family photographed shipwrecks around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. They worked with determination and perseverance to document vessels that had run aground or been stranded, dashed against rocks or sunk in the waters around the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall, widely regarded as some of the most treacherous for seafarers.
With so much maritime traffic using the shipping lanes which passed the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall, wrecks were commonplace in an era when manual navigation techniques were the norm and weather forecasting somewhat limited.
The Gibson family regarded the images as artfully produced records of dramatic events. The photographs generated income when shipping companies bought prints to use in support of their insurance claims. The Gibsons also produced photographs to sell to the public as souvenirs.