Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Sq, Temple Bar, Dublin Tues-Sat 11am-6pm, Sun 1-6pm Until Nov 21 01-6714654 galleryofphotography.ie

Originally from Co Clare, Sean Sexton emigrated to London, where, in 1973, he began to acquire Irish historical photos, a collection of vintage prints that now numbers more than 14,000. This exhibition offers a glimpse into one of the finest and most extensive collections in private hands.

One of Sexton’s great discoveries is Charles Jones, the English gardener and photographer, whose efforts as the latter were unknown until Sexton came across a trunk containing several hundred of his negatives at Bermondsey market. Jones’s documentary studies of vegetables and flowers relate him directly to Karl Blossfeldt, August Sander and more recent figures who share a typological approach to photography.

There is much more besides. Dating from the late 1850s, Unknown Laboureris a remarkable, iconic portrait of working man, his patched clothing in tatters. As Sexton says, photography is not just a way of illustrating historical texts – it "has a voice in its own right".