Michael Pritchard's Blog – July 2012 Archive (19)

Americas through a lens are images from The National Archive's Colonial Office's Photographic Collection and include some of the earliest known photographic depictions of Canada dating back…

Halfway to Paradise will explore the exceptional work of Harry Hammond, the music photographer who documented the emergence of Rock ‘n’ Roll music in post-war Britain. From Roy Orbison and Ella Fitzgerald to Cliff Richard and Shirley Bassey, the display will feature more than 60 portraits, behind the scenes and performance shots of leading musicians in the 1950s and…

De Montfort University is pleased to announce the availability of one Wilson Fellowship for its MA in Photographic History and Practice. The Fellowship offers £5,000 toward the defrayal of tuition and other costs related to the MA, and is open to all students UK, EU and International.

To apply for the Wilson Fellowship, please submit your CV and a piece of recent…

Mark Haworth-Booth, the former curator of photography at the V&A Museum was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Arts on 19 July. The award was made in recognition of his scholarship in photography over a sustained period. 

See: http://newsevents.arts.ac.uk/lcc/ and …

One of modern photography’s great names - largely unknown by the wider public - will be giving a public lecture on behalf of The Royal Photographic Society in September. The Royal Photographic Society in partnership with the National Media Museum, will present Steve Sasson: Disruptive Innovation: The Story of the First Digital Camera at London’s Science Museum…

In conjunction with an exhibition at the British Library on Collecting the Olympic Games Bob Wilcock is giving a talk on 1908 Marathon, the greatest race of the twentieth century, with an overview of the London 1908 games. It is illustrated with press cuttings, postcards, and private photos. Many of the images have rarely been seen since they were first…

This Thursday sees the closing party for the 2012 London Festival of Photography. As part of the event there will be a fundraising auction of prints from some very well known names. The money raised will be used to support the 2013 festival. Details of the event can be found here: …

Hands On Pictures has recently updated its list of 2012 workshops. Of particular interest is the 21 and 22 September workshop on the development of photography from Niepce's first ideas to the daguerreotype process. This will be a practical demonstration workshop leading on to a hands-on workshop. It will be given by David Burder who is one of the world's leading…

Timeline of Historical Film Colors is a database  compiled by Barbara Flueckiger, professor of film studies at the University of Zurich, in partnership with the Institute for the Performing Arts and Film, Zurich…

This exhibition using the juxtaposition of 140 old and new photographs of the Great Wall shows an authentic portrayal of one of the great wonders of the world. Using images taken by archaeologists, geographers, travellers and enthusiasts over the last 140 years - both Chinese and from the West - it shows the wall and watch towers then and now allowing the viewer to grasp the…

The Science Museum Group Annual Report and Accounts 2011−2012 has been published. Of particular interest to BPH readers will be the sections dealing with the National Media Museum. Some of the highlight facts are: 

• Another significant collaboration within the Group during the year has been the ongoing development of Media Space. This gallery,…

The National Media Museum is seeking internal applicants for the postion of Senior Marketing Executive. The post holder will make a significant contribution to the realisation of our ambition of becoming the best Museum Group in the world. They will work with the Communications Manager to develop strategy which has innovation and visitor insight right at its heart. They will…

This project is a collaboration between scholars at the University of Bristol, University of Lincoln, the Institut d'Asie Orientale and …

The BBC website carries news of a rising interest in China's photographic heritage. The article begins:  China's photographic record begins only in the 1970s because nearly all earlier pictures were destroyed. The ones that survived are mostly outside China, and a major effort is now under way to bring them together online, says Mary Ward-Lowery.

Twelve years ago a…

Sotheby's is to offer an autograph letter from William Henry Fox Talbot, signed, in French to Antonion Bertolini, referring  to  the  latter's  Flora  Italica  and  discussing  some  specimens  he  has  collected. The letter will be sold on 10 July 2012 in London and is estimated at £4000-6000. The full catalogue entry can be found here: …

London's excellent and little known Cinema Museum is holding a special evening event on 12 July celebrating the Hollywood movie still. Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe… It is through the eye of the stills camera that we experience and recall some of the cinema’s most memorable events and faces.…

A PhD thesis examining the growth of British photographic manufacturing and retailing between 1839 and 1914 has won the Association of Business Historian's 2012 Coleman Prize for the best PhD in business history. Named in honour of the British Business Historian Donald Coleman, the prize is awarded annually to recognise excellence in new research in the field and is open internationally.

Michael Pritchard's PhD thesis was undertaken at De Montfort University between 2007 and 2010…

As in past years BPH is able to report the latest Association of Leading Visitor Attractions visitor numbers survey (see: http://www.alva.org.uk/details.cfm?p=423&year=2011). The National Media Museum, Bradford, saw visitors of 446,668 a fall of 7.6% compared to 2010.

In summary recent visitor…

Olympics Through Media traces the evolution of the modern Olympics through the development of photography and motion pictures from the eighteenth century to today has opened in Doha. The exhibition, organised to coincide with the 30th Olympiad in London, and is a collaboration between the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum and the Qatar Museums Authority’s Media…