Charles Dickens and his family lived at 48 Doughty Street between April 1837 and December 1839. It was opened to the public in 1925, having been saved from demolition by the Dickens Fellowship once the mortgage had been raised and the freehold bought. The house is now the world’s foremost repository of Dickens related material and remains the worldwide headquarters of the Dickens Fellowship. The Picture Library contains what is probably the world’s most extensive range of images connected with the author, and comprises over 5000 photographs, 2000 magic lantern slides, 1000 35mm slides and a large number of colour transparencies. There are also more than 500 portraits of the author.