Many of these photographs were taken for publications marking a significant stage in the life of the society and its headquarters. At the time of the opening of the new building in 1936, a comprehensive collection was made for publication in ‘United Empire’ and in the brochure commissioned for the occasion. The next systematic record was made in early 1957, following the completion of the War Damage repairs for use in the ‘The Royal Empire society: the story of its home’, the Festival Programme, and the appeal brochure for the Commonwealth Studies Foundation. Other collections were created in 1959 for a publicity brochure issued the following year, in 1967 for the ‘Centenary journal’ and during the late 1970s for another publicity brochure. Photographs were also taken to document internal alterations: repairs to the Council Room in 1953, the openings of the Commonwealth Bar in 1960, the Buttery in 1962 and the refurbishment of the Commonwealth Hall and the New Zealand Bar in 1968.