Striking images: the 20th century, as told by Guardian photographers – in pictures

From the Irish civil war to anti-apartheid protests, a new exhibition delves into the legendary Guardian picture library

It was in 1905 that the Manchester Guardian published its first ever photograph, of the Angel Stone in Manchester Cathedral. Three years later, the paper hired its first staff photographer, Walter Doughty. In many ways the story of photography at the Guardian mirrors the story of the 20th century itself. And it's a story that's currently being told in a new exhibition, The Picture Library, at the Photographers' Gallery, London, opening this week.