The copyright position in the UK of pre-1989 photographs is not as clear-cut as it should be. A work only qualifies for revived copyright protection if it was still in protection somewhere in the EEA on 1 July 1995. A definitive answer to this question would have to consider the copyright protection available for photographs in all the EEA countries.
However, at least on the face of it the answer to your question looks fairly simple. If the photographer died before 1925, the photograph should by now be in the public domain. It is not entirely clear-cut, but that seems to be the position. However, as far as the RPS archives are concerned, possession is nine tenths of the law -- whether a work is protected by copyright or not, if the owner of the original will not permit it to be reproduced, that is the end of the story. Of course, if the RPS does not have the only copy, this is a different matter.
This should not be taken as legal advice, etc.
Peter Groves
Davis & Co (Solicitors) Limited
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