Senior Photography Conservator, International Media Museum, Qatar Museums Authority, Doha, Qatar. The IMM possesses one of the most outstanding and valuable photographic collections in the region and one that ranks with major collections through the world. The photographs are of exceptional quality and span from the 19th century to present. The collection includes photographs from early daguerreotypes through albums and photography - illustrated books to contemporary colour photographs and photographic advertising poster. Also IMM possesses a collection of films and photographic and film technology as well as a significant rare book collection.

The IMM is seeking a suitably qualified and experienced candidate to work full-time in collaboration with the Head Photography Conservator on the long term preservation and restoration planning of the collections.

Job Responsibilities

In conjunction with the head conservator, identifies problems and suggests appropriate approach based on established treatment standards. Proposes and carries out treatments and repairs to photography materials with minimal supervision and in accordance with accepted standards for conservation practice. Designs and makes complex, custom-fit enclosures for fragile materials bearing in mind the unique needs of those formats and their chemical interactions with the materials available for construction. Selects and uses appropriate specialized tools and equipment for the treatment task; this includes but is not limited to matt cutter machine, ultrasonic welder, suction table; may also perform maintenance on this equipment.

Examines materials through a set of visual techniques and as appropriate, using specialized equipment such as stereoscopes and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Assists in the preparation of photography materials for exhibition. Assists with disaster recovery operations, following standard recovery procedures.

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor Degree in Photograph or Paper Conservation from a recognized art conservation training program or equivalent and 5 years of related work experience in the examination and treatment of photographic works.

Required Skills and Abilities

Well developed practical skills are essential and the ability to carry out complex treatments with limited supervision. A broad knowledge of materials and methods used in the photographic technology is essential, as well as communication and organization skills. Computer skills including experience in word processing and databases is essential.

Enquiries related to this positionshould be directed to: Maria Matta, Head Photography Conservator, International Media Museum (IMM), Qatar Museums Authority, Doha, Qatar. Tel: +974 44525881 or email: mmatta@qma.org.qa

Please note that the required languages used in Doha are in English or Arabic.

Bob Lansdale and Louise Freyburger are trying to research this image. They writes...We know the name of Regiment – the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot, stationed in London, Ontario, CANADA at the time of the Fenian Raids (1866-1870). The tintype was found in a letter in a staircase when they demolished an old barracks. It made the newspapers when found in 1947. The mystery is why it was never mailed.  The letter was from “No 354 John Banks C Company 53rd Regt” addressed to his "sister" “Mrs [Charles] Rayner/Pantile House/Barling near Rochford/Essex/England,” dated August 24, 1867. 

We wonder if there are duplicates of this image which can offer further information. Can anyone add to our information about the Regiment and the people?  If so, I would be delighted to hear from you regarding my research of this lost tintype that the soldier's sister never got to see.  Its for an article in Photographica Canadiana, the journal of the Photograhic Historical Society of Canada (PHSC).

With just under one month to go before the London Festival of Photography opens the programme is now available. In addition a wonderful range of exhibitions there are two events of particular note. On 21 June John Falconer, Lead Curator at the British Library will be talking on Henry Fox Talbot (see: http://www.lfph.org/diary/henry-fox-talbot-intimate-talk-by-john-falconer) and on 24 June 'Professor' Mervyn Heard will be demonstrating the magic lantern (see: http://www.lfph.org/diary/the-secret-life-of-the-magic-lantern-the-exotic-the-erotic-and-the-bizarre) As both events are likely to be popular BPH readers are advised to book early. 

Full details of the Festival can be found here: http://www.lfph.org 

Middlesex University is seeking a Professor or Reader in the Practice or History and Theory of Photography. Our vision for the future is clear: to be internationally outstanding in teaching, research and knowledge transfer. We are proud of our research achievements and are looking for over 50 Professors and Readers, alongside Senior Lecturers and Lecturers to further strengthen research across the University.

To be appointed, you will need to be an outstanding researcher for your stage of career, ambitious for yourself, enthusiastic about collaboration, keen to ensure that your research makes an impact beyond academia, and committed to helping us achieve our vision. In addition to welcoming applications from outstanding individual researchers, we would also welcome approaches from established research teams.

The advertised post is full time unless otherwise stated.

School of Art and Design 

With roots in the Hornsey College of Art, we have been enriching the creative, cultural and intellectual life of London and beyond for over 130 years. The School has thriving teaching and research and strong industry links in animation, fine art, fashion, graphic design, illustration, interior architecture and photography.

Our vision is to develop world-class research and teaching, underpinned by enviable links with the creative industries. The School is based in our £80m Grove building, providing unmatched facilities for art and design education and research. 

For an informal discussion please contact Dr Maggie Butt, Deputy Dean M.Butt@mdx.ac.uk 

Professor or Reader, in the Practice or History and Theory of Photography - A&D_7

Further information

An application form, job description and directions on how to apply for these posts are available by clicking 'Apply Online' here: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AEJ755/professor-or-reader-in-the-practice-or-history-and-theory-of-photography-aandd_7/.

A major photographic collection assembled by Eric and Louise Franck has been promised as a donation to Tate it was announced yesterday. The outstanding collection of photographs of London include iconic works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and Irving Penn. A selection from the collection, by photographers for whom London was a foreign city, will be exhibited in Another London opening at Tate Britain on 27 July 2012. 

Created over twenty years, The Eric and Louise Franck London Collection comprises in the region of 1400 photographs by 120 photographers and spans the period from the 1880s to the 2000s. The collection is unified by its subject matter: the photographs document the lives and communities of a single city, London. The estimated value of the gift to Tate is over £1million and comprises more than two thirds of the entire collection – the largest gift of photography ever made to Tate. The remaining work in the collection will be acquired on a purchase basis.

The Eric and Louise Franck London Collection will more than double Tate’s holdings of photography and will form a significant basis on which to build. This donation from Eric and Louise Franck follows recent gifts of a group of photographs by Don McCullin and a major vintage print of London by Henri Cartier-Bresson as well as contemporary film works by Tacita Dean and Jaki Irvine gifted to Tate in 2007. 

Highlights of the collection include Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Waiting in Trafalgar Square for the Coronation Parade of King George VI 1937, Bruce Davidson’s Girl with Kitten 1962, Elliot Erwitt’s Bus Stop, London 1962, Robert Frank’s London (Child Running from Hearse) 1951 and Irving Penn’s Charwomen, London 1950.   The majority of the works in the collection are from the 20th-century and include those by some of the century’s finest photographers such as Ellen Auerbach, Eve Arnold, Ian Berry, Dorothy Bohm, Bill Brandt, Horacio Coppola, Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, Martine Franck, Robert Frank, Stephen Gill, Karen Knorr, Marketa Luskacova, Roger Mayne,Irving Penn, Chris Steele Perkins, Marc Riboud, George Rodger and Chris Shaw.

The collection also contains work by lesser known but historically significant figures from places as diverse as East and West Europe, the Soviet Union, The United States, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean.

As well as being a unique document of London and its communities, this collection demonstrates the technical skill, sensitivity and originality of photographers in the face of a subject as overwhelming, diverse and complex as London. It also provides an important survey of photographic processes like cyanotypes, albumen prints, silver gelatin prints and colour prints.

Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate said “In recent years, photography has become central to Tate’s activity in relation to exhibitions and the development of Tate’s Collection. The acquisition of The Eric and Louise Franck London Collection significantly enhances our holdings of photography in important areas both in terms of particular photographers and iconic works. We are incredibly grateful to Eric and Louise Franck who have been extremely generous in promising this gift and others before it.”

Simon Baker, Curator, Photography and International Art said “This collection is completely unique, with both an intense focus on London as a subject and great diversity in the range of backgrounds and approaches of the photographers included. It will fundamentally transform Tate’s holdings of photographs, and make a major contribution to our photography acquisitions strategy, adding at a stroke substantial bodies of work by some of the twentieth century’s most important photographers.“

Eric Franck said “Louise and I have a long association with Tate, and we are delighted to be able to make such a significant impact to Tate’s permanent photography collection with this promised gift. It is thanks to Louise that this collection exists as it was following her initial suggestion that we began to collect works depicting London.”

The Tate appointed its first photography curator, Simon Baker, in 2009, and formed a Photography Acquisitions Committee in 2010.

Eric Franck has been a key figure on the international art scene for many years. Since 1994, he has owned Eric Franck Fine Art, dealing predominantly in 20th-century photography and photographic literature. He owned Galerie Eric Franck, a contemporary art gallery in Geneva from 1982 to 1994 and co-founded Galerie Franck & Schulte in Berlin in 1990. Franck is also an award-winning film and theatre producer. His production credits include Palermo oder Wolfsburg (Dir. Werner Schroeter, 1980) which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1980. Franck’s sister, photographer Martine Franck was married to Henri Cartier-Bresson and Eric Franck is an advisor to the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation in Paris. Louise Baring (Franck) is a journalist and has written two photography books: Martine Franck (published in 2007) and Norman Parkinson (published in 2009). Louise Baring is working on a new book to be published in 2013 on the Dutch photographer Emmy Andriesse.

Charlotte Cotton, the former Director of the National Media Museum's Media Space in London who was to have been the keynote speaker at the Association for Photography in Higher Education 2012 conference and AGM has pulled out of the event. The APHE is currently seeking a replacement. 

The APHE event is titled: Photographic Futures: Visual Literacy for the Creative Industries and will be held at the University of Derby from 11-13 July. 

Details: http://www.aphe.ac.uk/

At the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards last night the publisher Dewi Lewis was honoured for his outstanding contribution to publishing. Gerry Badger (see right)made the presentation to Lewis who paid tribute to his business partner and wife Carole. Elsewhere Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Photographs, Weston Naef and Christine Hult-Lewis (Getty Publications) won the prize for the best photography book. 

The ceremony was part of the Sony World Photography Awards held at a black tie event in London. During the main Awards photographer William Klein was presented with an outstanding achievement award. 

For more information see: http://www.kraszna-krausz.org.uk/ and http://www.worldphoto.org/

Photoworks is recruiting for a full-time fixed-term role to work closely with the Director and Programme Team to develop and deliver the Brighton Photo Biennial in October 2012. The successful applicant will play an integral role in the development of a programme of activities to encourage participation and engagement. Application deadline: 21 May 2012.

Context: Following a recent successful bid to Arts Council England (ACE), Photoworks has merged with Brighton Photo Biennial, a move which recognises both organisations' proven track records in promoting and celebrating excellence in photography.

The merger of Photoworks and BPB presents a unique opportunity to position the new organisation strategically in a global market with key areas of development identified as unique artistic vision, innovative content, digital strategy, audience development and expansion, commercial growth and diversification of funding streams to reduce future dependency on government funding.

We embrace all kinds of photography. Commissioning is at the heart of the organisation. Collaborating with a broad range of photographers, artists and partners, we produce the Brighton Photo Biennial, commission artists and photographers, publish a biannual magazine and books and have a strong educational and participation agenda. The organisation encourages debate, inspires new thinking about photographic and visual culture and reaches out to the widest possible audience locally, nationally and internationally.

Job Title: Programme & Participation Co-ordinator

Reporting to: Director

Responsible for:  Interns and Volunteers

Purpose of the Post: The Programme & Participation Co-ordinator will work closely with the Director and Programme Team to develop and deliver the Brighton Photo Biennial in October 2012. They will play an integral role in the development of a programme of activities to encourage participation and engagement. 

Main Responsibilities: 

Working with the Director and Programme Team to develop and deliver an integrated participation programme for the Brighton Photo Biennial.

Research and develop fundraising opportunities for all projects.

Manage project budgets, ensuring they come in within the available resources.

Develop working relationships with selected schools, FE and HE institutions in the region.

Develop meaningful and strategic relationships with the wider community, identifying and targeting key groups.

Deliver a programme of talks and conferences throughout the Biennial.

Support the Programme Team in the delivery of the Brighton Photo Biennial exhibitions, events and projects.

Assist the Programme Team in the delivery of our magazine Photoworks.

Ensure the strategy for developing audiences for all participation projects is implemented and monitored.

To be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of all projects and write the required reports to funders and partners.

Recruit and manage all volunteers for the Biennial.

Represent the organisation at external meetings and events where appropriate.

Assist other staff in the efficient day-to-day running of the organisation.

Person Specification:

Significant experience of directly managing participation and education projects.

Understanding and engagement with current themes, trends and issues in contemporary art and education.

Strong understanding of partnership and multi-agency working.

Demonstrable experience of initiating and managing collaborations with a diverse stable of partners.

Excellent project management and research skills.

Strong knowledge of contemporary visual arts and photography.

Ability to communicate effectively and passionately the vision of the organisation to partners, funders, the visual arts sector and the wider community.

Excellent negotiating skills with the ability to establish partnership opportunities and relationships.

Understanding of finances, especially preparing and keeping within budgets.

A proven commitment to equality of opportunity.

Terms & Conditions:

35 hours a week, fixed-term 7 month contract 

£25,000 pro rata per annum

How to apply: 

Click for more information: http://tinyurl.com/cfegtvh

The deadline for applications is Monday 21 May 2012

Rarely seen documents chronicling the life and reign of Queen Victoria have been made public on a new website marking this year's Diamond Jubilee. The Royal Family released its archive of letters, journals, painting and photographs for the launch.

The website has nine sections tracing the life of Victoria as a princess to her own Jubilee celebrations in 1897. The site also gives details of the young Princess Victoria's studies and timetable of lessons. Many documents have been available to academics but not the public. Britain's longest reigning monarch had nine children with Prince Albert but never recovered from his death in 1861 from typhoid and wore black in mourning for the rest of her life.

Her withdrawal from public life made her unpopular, but during the late 1870s and 1880s she gradually returned to public view.

The website is divided into nine sections: The Young Princess; Becoming Queen; Love and Marriage; Family life; Home and Empire; Victorian Invention and Improvement; Queen Victoria's Household; Diamond Jubilee Day, and Jubilee Celebrations.

Of particular note to BPH readers are the number of original photographs shown and two sections: Photography equipment purchased by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 1848 and Daguerreotype of Queen Victoria and the Princess Royal, c.1845 which explore Victoria and Albert's involvement in photography.

The website can be found here: http://www.queen-victorias-scrapbook.org/index.html

Professor Elizabeth Edwards, the Director of De Montfort University's Photographic History Research Centre, is giving her Professorial Lecture on Thursday 24 May 2012. The lecture is titled 'Aimless Meandering and Structured Seeing: Photographers, Places and the Feel of History’ and will take place in the Hugh Aston Building, Magazine Square, De Montfort University, Leicester. The lecture will start at 6.00pm and following the lecture, there will be a drinks reception with the opportunity to buy Professor Edwards’ new book The Camera as Historian: Amateur Photographers and Historical Imagination, 1885-1918 which is formally published on 25 May.

In the lecture, Professor Edwards will look at the relationship between popular photographic practices and the historical past in late nineteenth century England. She will show how photography was used to express a series of moral values  around a sense of the past. But this historical environment was expressed not through a disembodied gaze, but through the embodied practices of photography, mediated through  movement, light, space and above all historical imagination on the ground.

The event will also celebrate the first anniversary of the PHRC. See: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/research-faculties-and-institutes/art-design-humanities/phrc/photographic-history-research-centre-phrc.aspx
 
Anyone interested in attending should call (0116) 257 7452 or email eventsoffice@dmu.ac.uk, by 22 May 2012 highlighting any access requirements that you might have. More information about university and PHRC events can be found at http://www.dmu.ac.uk/events. 

A profile portrait of the wife of Charles Dickens, Catherine (1815-1879), by John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1810-1901), is to be sold at Bonhams, Knightsbridge, as part of the Photographs Sale on 17th May. The only daguerreotype portrait of Catherine known to exist, it has been estimated at £8,000 – 12,000.

The portrait first came to light in 1996, discovered in an antique camera shop in Canterbury. Initially believed to be an image of Charles Dickens's sister, leading scholars soon identified the sitter as the writer's wife, Catherine (née Hogarth).

The earliest date for the portrait can be given as 1852 from the patent date 'Reg July 20 1852' on the catch of the morocco-bound case. Indeed surviving letters of Charles Dickens reveal that he sat for Mayall in 1852 and a daguerreotype portrait of the novelist, dated 1853-55, was sold at auction in London in 2001. It is possible that the couple visited Mayall's studio together during this period and that the two portraits were intended as a pair.

This daguerreotype was discovered with two ivory passes for the 1870 Italian Opera inside its case, which will be offered here alongside the photograph. One is inscribed 'Miss Dickens', suggesting that the daguerreotype might once have belonged to the couple's eldest daughter Mary, known as Mamie. In 1870 Dickens rented a house in Hyde Park Gardens, in part so that Mamie could experience the delights of the London Season.

The lot can be found here: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20154/lot/1/

Coincidentally, in the same auction, is an 1867 portrait by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) of Valentine Prinsep, with whom, it is believed, Charles Dickens's youngest daughter, Kate, had a love affair. Both Valentine, who was the son of Cameron's sister, Sarah, and Kate were artists and mixed in the same circles.

The sale also includes portraits by Cameron of Alfred Lord Tennyson (an image known as The Dirty Monk), 1865, signed by Tennyson himself (estimate £6,000 – 8,000) and an intimate portrayal of the photographer's grandson, Archibald Cameron, and her maid Mary Hillier (estimate £6,000 – 8,000).

As reported here (http://tinyurl.com/d3e4mbn) a benefit auction is being held to raise funds for the National Media Museum's Media Space. Just released are details and the first artist's concept drawing of the space located within the Science Museum, London.

In Spring 2013 the Science Museum and the National Media Museum will together open MEDIA SPACE: a bold and exciting new space in London that will present, celebrate and debate the past, present and future of media in its myriad forms.

Consisting of a breathtaking gallery surrounded by cultural spaces for display and participation, MEDIA SPACE will be a unique environment where artists and practitioners, independent thinkers, pioneers, innovators and agenda-setters will mix across the arts, sciences and creative industries.

MEDIA SPACE will be a showcase for the unrivalled National Media Collections in photography, as well as cinematography and broadcast technology, and an arena where audiences will experimentally and critically engage with how new technologies have impacted on today’s creative industries.

A new space for adult audiences at the Science Museum, MEDIA SPACE will contain:

■ A striking 640 m2 gallery space for major photography and media art exhibitions, both drawn from our own collections and international touring shows

■ A versatile studio space that will play host to screenings, conferences, live events and installations

■ A stylish contemporary destination café/bar MEDIA SPACE will:

...add to the current critical mass around photography in the capital, complementing the work of our peer institutions Tate, the V&A and The Photographers’ Gallery.

...make a profound contribution to the cultural landscape of London and the UK through its ambitious programme, creative partnerships and innovative online presence.

...increase access to the world-class National Media Collection, housed at the National Media Museum in Yorkshire.

...position the Science Museum at the forefront of creating and engaging with innovative ideas around science and new technologies in publishing, digital, broadcast, film, and lens-based media and photography.

MEDIA SPACE has already received generous support from Virgin Media, the Dana and Albert R Broccoli Foundation and a number of other donors.

BPH has just heard that Professor John Hannavy has been awarded a Harry Ransom Fellowship to undertake research studying the Thomas Keith and White photographs in the Gernsheim Collection. As part of his work Hannavy will try and determine which of the images in the Collection attributed to Keith are actually by Dr Thomas Keith.

Separately, news comes that Sara Stevenson, formerly of the Scottish National Photography Collection at the Scottish NPG and now in the Special Collections Department at the University of Glasgow, has been awarded a Getty Fellowship to spend time at the collection in Santa Monica to undertake research work. 

Google celebrates Eadweard Muybridge's 182nd birthday with an animated Google doodle which also links through to further information on this photographer:

See: www.google.co.uk and http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/apr/09/google-doodle-eadweard-muybridge?newsfeed=true

BBC antiques programme Put Your Money where Your Mouth Is discovered a Richard Ellis photograph from c1887 and, for the first time, travelled outside the UK to Malta to reunite the print with the original negative held in the Ellis archive in Valetta, Malta. The Richard Ellis archive contains over 40,000 glass plate negatives each meticulously recorded in the company day books and housed in wooden box cases. 

As Katherine Higgins - who made the discovery and a former Christie's colleague of mine notes:

on the programme you will see the discovery of the Ellis photograph and the astonishing reunification of the image with the original photographic plate from the Richard Ellis archive. What was remarkable was that of all the 40,000 plates that record an astonishing array of photographic subjects from Edward VII (as Prince of Wales with his dogs and an un-named companion to military groups etc) only a few plates have suffered with age. One of those is the glass plate of the photograph I found – so bringing the image back to the archive meant they now have a clear copy of what the plate would have looked like. There’s a moment where I appear astonished as the lovely Ian Ellis, great grandson of Richard asked me to turn around and at that point he shows me the wooden cased camera that was used to take the photograph I have brought to Malta. The programme has never been abroad before and this turned out to be an astonishing adventure in the cause of recognising a great photographer.

The programme airs on BBC2 at 5.15pm on 12 April 2012. There will be more on the BBC website closer to transmission: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01g9hls

Images: Katherine with Ian Ellis – custodian of the Richard Ellis archive and great grandson of the Victorian photographer. Below: Richard’s camera, which he used to take all his portrait photographs

The technological upheaval in photography has not only called into question the definition of photography, but also fundamentally altered the profession of photographer and the use of the medium. 

The complete digitalization of the medium, its production and distribution of images, has shaken - at least in the perception of the broad public - a fundamental understanding of photography as authentic. It has clearly transformed traditional documentary and photojournalism working methods and forced their “migration” into an artistic context. 

On the other hand, new actors are entering into play; activists and “citizens’ journalists”, who comment on events with their digital photos and videos on their blogs.

The Museum Folkwang and the Wüstenrot Stiftung are together organizing a symposium in order to discuss, for the first time, the future prospects of photography in a transnational perspective. The questions about the future of photography, which will be produced almost exclusively digitally, is therefore also directed at the curators of existing collections which value not only artistically motivated photographs. Which photos from the area of applied photography are left from the digital production process? What does it mean to collect photographic originals – the original file, the total of its publication, a large framed print? Is our cultural infrastructure prepared for this change, or will applied photographic practice – which, looking back to the 20th century, has always inspired artistic production – no longer help to define the collective pictorial memory?

For more information and to register see: http://www.museum-folkwang.de/en/exhibitions/future-exhibitions/der-mensch-und-seine-objekte/symposium.html

Speakers
- Rahaab Allana, Alkazi Collection, New Delhi
- Charlotte Cotton, National Media Museum, Bradford
- Heba Farid, Kairo/Cairo
- Katharina Garbers-von Boehm, CMS Hasche Sigle, Berlin
- Maryam Jafri, New York/Copenhagen
- Aglaia Konrad, Brüssel
- Adrian Sauer, Leipzig
- Clare Strand, London
- Guy Tillim, Johannesburg
- Artur Walther, The Walther Collection, Neu-Ulm/New York

Terms
April 27, 2012, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m
April 28, 2012, 10 a.m. – 3.30 p.m. 

Please find detailled information on the programme here.

Admission free. 
Registration required  before April 20th, 2012.
Please contact: photography@museum-folkwang.essen.de. 
The conference languages will be English and German.

Kindly supported by Wüstenrot Stiftung. 

Christie's is offering in an auction of Travel, Science and Natural History on 25 April 2012 a camera obscura 'associated with' Nevil Story-Maskelyne, an early photographer who was close to Henry Fox Talbot and his circle.  The catalogue text reads: 

A CAMERA OBSCURA ASSOCIATED WITH NEVIL STORY-MASKELYNE, 
Jones, mid 19th century 
reflex model, the mahogany body of dovetail construction, with hinged lid, lens in wooden mount and 'push-pull' focusing front section, signed JONES Artist LONDON ; BY HIS MAJESTY'S SPECIAL APPOINTMENT No. 4, Wells Street Oxford Street. 12½in. (32cm.) long 

Provenance:

Nevil Story Maskelyne (1823-1911).

Thence by descent. 

Notes:

Nevil Story-Maskelyne (1823-1911) left law for the Natural Sciences in 1847, and was soon lecturing on mineralogy, a field he would come to lead. His research ran from the petrology of Stonehenge to developing the collection of minerals and meteorites at the British Museum into the 'largest and best arranged series ... in existence' (ODNB online). He and his wife Thereza May Llewelyn were both involved in the pioneering of photography. He was close friends of William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-77) -- whose own camera obscura is held at the Science Museum London. 

There is more on Story-Maskelyne here: Lassam, Robert E, 1980, ‘Nevil Story-Maskelyne, 1823-1911‘, History of Photography, vol.4, no.2, pp.85-93. As Luminous-Lint notes: He was a part of the social circle surrounding Henry Fox Talbot who gave him permission to learn the calotype process and he was taught by Talbot's operator Nicolaas Henneman. 

Click here for more information: http://tinyurl.com/cszlhxq

Amateur Photographer magazine reports that more than half of the £4 million needed for the Media Space gallery at London's Science Museum will have to come from private sources. More importantly the project has been underwritten to full cost of £4 million by the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) suggesting that if private funding is not forthcoming NMSI will pay for it anyway. 

Responding to a freedom of information request, the National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI) told AP: 'It is anticipated that over 50% of the project cost will come from private sources, such as corporate sponsorship and donations from individuals.  However, fundraising will continue through the life of the project and beyond to cover the associated costs.' 

'The project team are working with the full £4m budget,' stated the NMSI, adding that it has so far spent '£620,000' on the development. 

Media Space is due to open in Spring 2013. 

For the full report see: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Most_of_Science_Museum_gallery_requires_private_funding_news_312057.html

The Guardian newspaper reports... When Aaron Guy peered into a forgotten box in an ancient Newcastlebuilding, he could not have guessed the treasures contained inside. The curious photo archivist had stumbled upon a remarkable set of original early glass negatives, detailing everyday street scenes of 19th-century Newcastle.

Meat markets, fairs, rag sellers, small corner shops and larger than life street characters are among the subjects which feature in the high-quality, 300-image collection.

Guy, who works at the city's Mining Institute, was helping to shift old furniture for the Society of Antiquaries when his attention was diverted to the box.

"The society were moving to a smaller building and were passing some of their belongings to other organisations," he said. "I was just being nosy really, peering into boxes, when I happened to spot that one contained some really old glass negatives. I thought they seemed interesting so we asked for permission to bring the plate boxes back to our office to have a proper look."

The work seems to date back at least to 1880 and the cohesion of the images suggests at least a third of them may have been created by a single photographer. His deliberate documentation of working-class life was unusual for the period, perhaps more in tune with the celebrated street photographers who followed in his footsteps almost a century later, in the 1960s and 70s.

The most arresting images are from the Newcastle streets, but the collection also contains work from other parts of the north-east, most recognisably Tynemouth and Lindisfarne.

For more see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/29/19th-century-newcastle-photographic-plates

and http://www.mininginstitute.org.uk/

A PhD research studentship covering stipend and tuition fee costs is offered within the Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) in the Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities. Under the interdisciplinary research strand “Practising Photography in the Sciences”, PhD proposals are sought that explore the reciprocal relationship between photography, science, and the arts and humanities.

PHRC undertakes innovative research on photography and its practices from the early nineteenth century to the present day, and over a wide range of social and cultural manifestations. Applications that explore aspects of the interconnected sets of social and cultural processes, networks of photographic knowledge, science and technology, aesthetic, evidential and informational values and institutional practices are particularly welcome. Proposals might consider, for instance, the role of photographers in science, the development of specialized photographic methods, or photographic materials for particular scientific activity. They might consider the emerging methodological research questions in this area, they might address the epistemologies surrounding photography in sciences and in the humanities, or they might consider photography in popular science.   “Practising Photography in the Sciences” is a key research cluster in PHRC and the studentship reflects its international reputation in this field.

Supervision will be available from Professor Elizabeth Edwards and Dr Kelley Wilder who have active research interests in the history of visualization in both the physical and biological sciences. PHRC is a dynamic and growing research community. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the development of this community.

Candidates might come from a range of possible disciplines:  history of science, science, art history, science and technology studies, visual anthropology, and visual culture studies.

For a more detailed description of the PHRC please visit our web site or contact Professor Edwards (eedwards@dmu.ac.uk) or Dr Wilder (kwilder@dmu.ac.uk) who will be happy to discuss the studentship further.

This research opportunity builds on our excellent past achievements and looking forward to REF2014 and beyond. It will develop the university’s research capacity into new and evolving areas of study, enhancing DMU’s national and international research partnerships.

Applications are invited from UK or EU students with a good first degree (First, 2:1 or equivalent) in a relevant subject.  Doctoral scholarships are available for up to three years full-time study starting October 2012 and provide a bursary of £13,770pa in addition to university tuition fees.

To receive an application pack, please contact the Graduate School Office via email at researchstudents@dmu.ac.uk.  Completed applications should be returned together with a full CV and two supporting references.

Please quote ref:  DMU Research Scholarships 2012

STARTING OCTOBER 2012

CLOSING DATE:  April 27^th 2012