Information and discussion on all aspects of British photographic history

Michael Pritchard's Blog (1,915)

BJP ceases weekly publication

After more than 150 years the British Journal of Photography is to cease weekly publication and will return to being a monthly. Established in 1854 as a monthly, the BJ went fortnightly in 1857 and then weekly in 1864. The 3 March 2010 issue will be the first of a redsigned monthly magazine. The move leaves Amateur Photographer (established 1884) as the only weekly British photographic magazine.

Changing market conditions and the growth of the internet have…

Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on February 26, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

NMeM visitor numbers fall 18 per cent

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions has published its latest survey of UK museum and gallery visitor numbers. In 2009 the National Media Museum, Bradford, saw 613,923 visitors - a decline of 18 per cent on 2008. The 2008 figure was 745,857 which had been a 4 per cent rise on 2007. Many other museums and galleries - especially those with free admission like the NMeM - had seen a boost to their numbers with the public turning to free activities due to the recession.…

Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on February 24, 2010 at 17:30 — No Comments

John Dillwyn Llewelyn 1810-1882 bicentenary events

Richard Morris a descendent through his wife's family of John Dillwyn Llewellyn provides details of a series of events to celebrate the bicentenary of his birth in 1810.

12 January 2010 - Bicentenary of the birth of John Dillwyn Llewelyn (b. 12 Jan 1810)

5 February - Launch of the Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn Diaries online, a new resource of the Swansea University Library Historical…

Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on February 22, 2010 at 19:30 — 3 Comments

V&A Photographs department update

The latest V&A Photographs Section newsletter from Curator Ashley Givens includes details of new acquisitions, research, publication and exhibitions that the curatorial staff have been working on.

The annual re-display which opens on Friday, 14 May will present some of the new works and will focus on showcasing photographs from the Collection dating from the 1970s to today. The exhibition will be…

Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on February 21, 2010 at 17:00 — No Comments

Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage

Mention was made previously of this exhibition which is on at theMetropolitan Museum in New York. A member has posted a wonderful example of photocollage on this site here: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/unusual-family-album. There is a useful review of the show on the blog Gallery Crawl which is reproduced below. For those in the UK the catalogue is available on…

Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on February 14, 2010 at 7:41 — 1 Comment

Changes to NMeM foyer

The latest National Media Museum blog reports on the progress with the redevelopment of the museum foyer. The box office has been moved closer to Pictureville and is nearing completion and the former shop space is being turned in to a games lounge. This will have historic video games for visitors to play. The former box office space will feature a Welcome Wall - an electronic orientation and information screen. The works which are costing £400,000 are due to be complete in time for… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 28, 2010 at 7:00 — No Comments

NMeM job: Assistant Registrar

Award winning, visionary and truly unique, the National Media Museum embraces photography, film, television, radio and the web. Part of the NMSI family of museums, we aim to engage, inspire and educate through comprehensive collections, innovative education programmes and a powerful yet sensitive approach to contemporary issues.

With thousands of highly significant items encompassing television, cinematography, photography and new media, the National Media Museum’s diverse… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 27, 2010 at 7:00 — No Comments

Jesse Taylor: Exhibition ‘Campden Then and Now’

For the past year, CADHAS (Campden and District Historical & Archaeological Society) has been running an Awards for All project about Jesse Taylor, our local photographer 100 years ago, culminating in an Exhibition of his work next weekend 23/24 January.

We had a ‘eureka moment’ in our research when we found a picture of the town’s Floral Parade in 1896 by Henry Taunt, well-known Oxford photographer, with another photographer in the corner of the frame, and matched it… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 20, 2010 at 20:26 — No Comments

NMeM job: Senior Exhibitions and Partnerships Organiser

The National Media Museum presents up to six temporary exhibitions every year. We attract over 700,000 visitors and have ambitious plans to raise our profile further. We have developed a national touring and partnerships strategy that will take our exhibitions to galleries, museums and arts centres across the UK.

Your experience of managing touring exhibitions, brokering relationships and working collaboratively with external partners will be essential to the successful delivery of… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 18, 2010 at 15:13 — No Comments

Fellowship in the History of Photography

The National Gallery of Canada has put out a call for application for a twelve month fellowship in photographic history. It is open to art historians, curators, critics, independent researchers, conservators, conservation scientists and other professionals in the visual arts, museology and related disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, who have a graduate degree or equivalent publication history. It is open to international competition and applications should be postmarked no later… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 17, 2010 at 11:00 — No Comments

Exhibition: Where Three Dreams Cross: 150 Years of Photography from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

This landmark exhibition gives an inside view of how modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been shaped through the lens of their photographers.

From the days when the first Indian-run photographic studios were established in the 19th century, this exhibition tells the story of photography’s development in the subcontinent with over 400 works that have been brought together for the first time. It encompasses social realism and reportage of key political moments in the 1940s,… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 15, 2010 at 20:57 — No Comments

V&A Exhibition: Gothic Architecture and 19th-Century Photography

Drawing on the V&A's rich holdings of 19th-century photographs, this new display examines the relationship that developed between photography and architectural practice in the 19th century and explores how photography facilitated the re-discovery of an idealised past. The display also addresses the role played by photography in the recording of buildings before demolition and its use as a tool for preserving the national architectural heritage.

The display features a… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 10, 2010 at 14:30 — No Comments

NMeM revamps foyer

The Bradford Telegraph and Argus reports that improvements costing nearly £400,000 to Bradford’s National Media Museum’s foyer should be completed next month. The upgrade includes a new electronic information board, a new box office, a shop and a computer games lounge.

Colin Philpott, director of the museum, said: “We are creating a more effective flow of people. The first thing the majority of new visitors ask is where the toilets are. The new welcome board, as we’re… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on January 9, 2010 at 11:12 — No Comments

NMeM Bradford: Frederick Evans Exhibition in 2010

After showing at the Getty in Los Angeles from 2 February-6 June 6 2010A Record of Emotion: The Photographs of Frederick H. Evans will be on view at the National Media Museum in Bradford, from 24 September 2010–20 February 2011. The exhibition explores the artist’s images of medieval cathedrals in England and France, rarely seen landscapes of the English countryside, and intimate portraits of Evans’s family and friends.

Through a deep understanding of his subject and a… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on December 27, 2009 at 18:48 — No Comments

OWL Stereoscope available

The finest Stereoscope to appear in the last 120 years is the claim made for the British-made and designed Owl stereoscope. It was originally produced to accompany Brian May and Elena Vidal's book on the 1850s photographer T. R. Williams A Village Lost and Found. The Owl is now available to purchase separately and in a range of colours. It works well with traditional stereoscards.

Click here to see and read more and purchase:… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on December 20, 2009 at 6:30 — No Comments

Margaret Watkins - The Forgotten Woman

For those fortunate enough to be in Glasgow before 15th January there is a chance for a rare treat - an opportunity to see the photographs of Margaret Watkins. Born in Canada in the late 19th century Watkins was successful both commercially and artistically as well as being highly regarded by her fellow photographers in New York during the Stieglitz/Steichen era. As the images on view show she was not only a fine portraitist but had a fine eye for still life compositions, many of which pre-date… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on December 9, 2009 at 5:09 — No Comments

Facing Asia conference 2010: call for papers

This is an international two day conference on early photographers and their studio practices in Asia, and cross-cultural exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to explore the photographic portrait in the first hundred years of the medium in Asia. It intends to promote inter-regional comparative analyses between scholars working in diverse cultural and national contexts. The symposium will not only analyse photographic representations of Asian peoples for the global market, but also… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on December 2, 2009 at 8:15 — No Comments

Job: National Media Museum Development Manager

The National Media Museum in Bradford is committed to raising the national profile and enhancing public perceptions of West Yorkshire as a cultural destination and is seeking a Development Manager to support this,

The National Media Museum, part of the NMSI Museums Group, exists to promote an understanding and appreciation of photography, film, television, radio and the web. The Museum is looking for a skilled Development Manager to lead its fundraising function. The successful… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on November 12, 2009 at 6:52 — No Comments

Unique local photographic archive preserved

Campden & District Historical and Archæological Society has been award an Awards for All grant to bring to life the photographs of Jesse Taylor, the photographer in Chipping Campden from 1896 to 1938. Working in partnership with Gloucestershire Archives, CADHAS is conserving and scanning 1500, mainly half-plate, glass plates depicting of all aspects of life in the town and surrounding villages.

Jesse Taylor was a typical high street photographer taking photographs of… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on November 9, 2009 at 15:30 — No Comments

RPS Historical Group brochure

A resurgent RPS Historical Group has launched a new brochure outlining the remit of the Group and highlighting its activities and aims, as well as emphasising its close links with the RPS Collection now located at the National Media Museum in Bradford. A pdf version of the brochure can be downloaded by clicking here, and there is more on the Group at:… Continue

Added by Michael Pritchard on November 9, 2009 at 15:00 — 3 Comments