Historic Bentley snowflake photos for sale in US

Ten of the pioneering photos of snowflake crystals US farmer Wilson A Bentley began taking more than a century ago are to be sold in New York.

Bentley (1865-1931) is credited with capturing the first images of single snowflakes on camera. He made thousands of the jewel-like prints, no two alike.

His photomicrography technique involved a microscope and a bellows camera.

He caught pneumonia in a blizzard and died just weeks after the publication of his book Snow Crystals.

The sale of his crystal images is a rare event, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Chicago art gallery owner Carl Hammer is selling them along with 16 of Bentley's winter scenes at an antiques show at New York's American Folk Art Museum.

"They're remarkably beautiful," said Mr Hammer.

"There are imperfections on the outer edges of the image itself and on the paper, but the images themselves are quite spectacular."

'Good for 100 years'

Snowflake expert Kenneth G Libbrecht said the photos did not meet modern standards because of the "crude equipment" Bentley used.

"But he did it so well that hardly anybody bothered to photograph snowflakes for almost 100 years," Mr Libbrecht added.

Bentley, who was known as The Snowflake Man, wrote in 1925: "Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others.

"Every crystal was a masterpiece of design, and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost."

Mr Libbrecht said the method of singling out a crystal to photograph had not changed.

"You basically let the crystal fall on something, black or dark-coloured, and then you have to pick it up with a toothpick or brush and put it on a glass slide," he said.

Liverpool schoolchildren's bus driver dies at wheel

The driver of a coach carrying Liverpool schoolchildren home from a skiing trip has suffered a fatal heart attack at the wheel.

The 34-strong party from West Derby Comprehensive were returning through Germany from a skiing trip in Austria when the coach span out of control.
It ploughed into the central reservation of a motorway in Karlsruhe.
No-one else was injured and the staff and pupils stayed overnight in a nearby Red Cross centre.
The vehicle was on hire from Newcastle-based Keiths Coaches.
It is understood the driver had worked for them for many years and was very experienced.

It is astonishing and miraculous that they were not injured Headteacher Margaret Rannard

Keith Grimes, Managing Director of the coach company, said: "At this time my main concern is with the safe return of the children to school that are currently on route to Calais with a fellow coach operator from Germany."
He thanked German and Northumbria Police for their help and said the Red Cross had provided food, drinks and bedding for the children.
Headteacher Margaret Rannard said all parents have been informed and a replacement coach was bringing the children home.
"It is astonishing and miraculous that they were not injured. My thoughts go out to the family of the driver.
"He was one of two drivers that took the students around all week and they got to know him.
"It's terribly, terribly sad," she said.
The pupils, aged between 14 and 18, are due back in the country on Thursday morning.