Life was very hard for working-class people during the 19th century. This exhibition reveals how little indiscretions often led to harsh punishments if you were caught – even on the streets of a country town like Barnstaple. A rare photograph album containing the images of local Victorian men, women and children, was discovered by the local historian and author Dr Sadru Bhanji in 2009, all of whom were named. Dr Bhanji’s research revealed that all of the individuals had had their images taken at the Barnstaple jail, with each person having been arrested and imprisoned for committing crimes; including theft, fraud and embezzlement. The majority of these crimes were committed on Barnstaple’s streets, in its pubs, shops and markets.

The hidden stories from the album have now come to light thanks to Dr Bhanji’s research, and this exhibition draws on their once-forgotten stories to explore Barnstaple’s Victorian underclass. Dr Sadru Bhanji said ‘The exhibition owes much to the chance acquisition of an album of Victorian photographs which transpired to be of some of the inmates of Barnstaple Prison during the decade beginning 1867. As all but a handful of the 98 people depicted were named, curiosity was aroused. A fruitful exploration of contemporary sources then followed and made it possible to provide accounts of the subjects’ backgrounds and criminal lives and bring back into awareness forgotten members of one of Victorian Barnstaple’s underclasses.’

Dr Todd Gray, a historian of Devon, commented ‘This is an amazing discovery. It is the earliest collection of photos of members of North Devon’s working class. Each girl, boy, woman and man was photographed to provide a record in case they re-offended and a century and a half later they allow us today to gaze at their faces and begin to understand their lives. North Devon’s past has just become a little bit more accessible. I commend the museum for highlighting such a challenging collection with its exhibition. Another great contribution from the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon!’

Barnstaple Prisoners: unveiling Barnstaple’s Victorian underclass 1867- 1877
Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
2 December 2023  -  17 February 2024
https://barnstaplemuseum.org.uk/whatson/prisoners/

The annual Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards celebrate excellence in photography and moving image publishing. They recognise individuals who have made an outstanding or original contribution to the literature, art or practice of photography or the moving image. Two winning titles are selected: one in the field of photography and one in the field of the moving image. The author/s or editor/s of each winning book receive a £5,000 cash prize, Submissions are sought for the 2024 awards in the two categories. Books must be published between 1 January and 31 December 2023 and =must be published, distributed or available to buy (including online) in the UK. 

Details: https://kraszna-krausz.org.uk/book-awards/

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has just published monthly and annual visitor numbers for its sponsored museums. Of particular interest are those of the Naational Science+Media Museum, previously the National Media Museum. The data has been graphed below include an adjustment for financial to calendar year. Note that the impact of the pendemic necessiated the closure of the museum, and the museum closed its doors in the summer, although the cinema was open for a period. 

Graph by Michael Pritchard, data transcribed from financial to calendar year
See the full data set here: Museums and galleries monthly visits 

Peter Stubbs who has died aged 78 years joined the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) in 1993. He was awarded the first ever Fellowship for a website in 2005 in the Research category. The site was a monumental achievement exploring the history of the Edinburgh Photographic Society (EPS) and its members from its foundation in 1861 to 1999. The website showed that good research did not always need to be presented in book form. Peter continued to expand the scope of the website until recently. As a member of the EPS for over thirty years he became the memory of the Society through his diligent research into its formation and its progress from its inception. 

Peter also produced a fascinating record of the nineteenth century photographic businesses in the city, particularly in Princes Street, of which there were a large number.  He formed the view that Robert Louis Stevenson was aware of the Edinburgh studio scene when he wrote his novel Jekyll and Hyde 

Edinburgh was very much the focus of Peter’s photographic interests and over the years he created an archive of industry in the city.  His major contribution to photography in the city is contained in the website  edinphoto.org.uk.  It is a huge combination of photographs of people, places and activities in the city both historic and recent. This shows how the city has developed over an extended period, including what has physically changed and what has remained the same. The website remains live and a valuable resource although some links are now broken.

Peter was an actuary by profession, which probably explains his capacity to organise such an extensive project. He has left an important legacy for the city, for Edinburgh Photographic Society and for photographic historians more generally.

His enthusiasm for photographic history did not extend to using old fashioned plate cameras. Once on a cold spring day on Rannoch Moor, as a fellow member was demonstrating the use of his newly acquired half-plate camera and taking forever to do so, he observed that he never wanted to use a camera like that.  Indeed, as a member of the hillwalking group ‘All Year Ramblers’, he recorded their walks with his iPad. 

Douglas J May FRPS,
and additions from Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS

See: http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/ for earlier versions (which retain some of the now broken links see: https://web.archive.org/web/20230000000000*/http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/)

Image: peter_edinphoto / Instagram

This project uses the work of Daisy Edis (1888-1964) and the J.R. Edis Studio to interrogate histories of photography in Durham, a cathedral, university, and mining town in Northeast England. Working in partnership with Beamish, a ‘living museum’ of working-class history, the project centres photography as a site of identity formation for photographers, subjects, and viewers alike – and as crucial to both past and present notions of ‘history’ itself. It draws on archives related to the Edis Studio at Beamish and Durham University, as well as considering the studio’s afterlife as a working reconstruction in the 1900 Town at Beamish, a popular attraction where visitors can don Edwardian-style costumes and pose for portraits that evoke the era.

A Woman’s Work bridges historical research and contemporary heritage practice to examine the role played by the Edis Studio in Durham’s ‘town and gown’ community over its 70-year history. Given the centrality of empire to Durham’s knowledge and industrial economies, how might visually ‘banal’ photographs, which were the studio’s core business (such as college portraits and cathedral views), be understood within the imperial context? How typical or atypical was Daisy Edis’s own career, as a woman photographer and studio owner? What opportunities for public engagement does the Edis archive at Beamish present, in line with the museum’s goal of reflecting the diversity of working-class life in Northeast England? And how might insights from this project inform the wider museum sector’s approach to historic photograph collections?

This project will run as a collaboration between Durham University’s History Department and Beamish Museum. It will offer a unique opportunity for the PhD student to learn how museums develop interpretation and engagement activities, and to gain direct experience of research impact and knowledge transfer.

The supervisors for the project are Prof. Christina Riggs and Prof. Julie-Marie Strange at Durham University and Rosie Nichols and Dan Hudachek at Beamish Museum.

Questions about the project can be directed to Professor Christina Riggs at christina.j.riggs@durham.ac.uk.

Learn more about the project

 Main image: The Studio at 52 Saddler Street, Durham City in the 1920s. Photo: Gilesgate Archives.

The Centre for British Photography is to move from its premises in London’s Jermyn Street as it transitions to the next phase of its development inclduing securing a sustainable financial model. In a letter to supporters, founding director James Hyman set out the CBP’s achievements and looked forward to an earlier than anticipated building move in early 2024. The Centre’s landlords have chosen to take back the premises in January rather than later in the year.

Since the CBP opened in January it has attracted over 70,000 visitors (of which 30,000 came in the first three months), staged eighteen exhibitions, shown more than eight British-based photographers, held an Open Call for work that attracted over 1000 submissions and hosted events and screenings, and worked with 117 prebooked educational and other groups.

Hyman said that the Centre’s first ‘proof of concept’ phase had demonstrated the quality of what could be delivered and shown that there was an audience for photography. Phase two he tagged as ‘permanence’ which he defined as securing the additional funding to secure a permanent home for the Centre. At its launch in January 2023 Hyman was clear that he and his partner Claire would fund the Centre for two years, after which it would need public or other sources of funding to secure its future.

The Centre was launched in February 2020, originally as the Hyman Foundation, with a mission ‘to support all kinds of photographic practices in Britain and to provide platforms for these contributions that are educational, inclusive and inspiring for the benefit of all audiences’. It opened a permanent 8000 square foot space in January 2023.  At the core of the Centre’s research hub is the Hyman’s 3000+ strong collection of photography which the Centre holds and manages under an annual loan agreement. Although the Centre has started to develop its own sources of funding it is underpinned by loans from the Hymans of £97,370, plus £244,860 received for resale of donated goods valued at £244,860 from James Hyman.

Securing funding will be key to delivering Phase 2 and securing the achievements of the Centre’s first year.

See: https://britishphotography.org/

https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5160653/charity-overview

Chris writes...The book I am currently preparing is the first of a new genre for me. Previously I have written on sport but this is a popular culture illustrated magazine called Lilliput (vol 1 (1937) vol 47 (1960). For the photographers section I have it in three parts. First are the Agencies and the people behind them; then photographers by first name and surname; then surname only.

Having recorded the agencies and photographers who contributed he has a list of names, usually surnames, that he is seeking further details, forenames and any biographical information. The third list - mainly showing surnames - and volume number - is below. If you can help please comment below.  

Bearnes' Antiquarian Book sale on 5 December includes early photographs from Mark Batt Tanner, made from c1851 in Egypt and India. The album titled 'The Ramblings and Adventures of an Indian Officer' includes 50 albumen photographs. 

Bearnes, Hampton & Littlerwood
Antiquarian Book Sale
5 December 2023 at 1000
See: https://auctions.bhandl.co.uk/auctions/8742/bearne10138/lot-details/0e71393b-1bc4-4909-bc11-b0ba016152c1

Gwyn Nicholls, who has died aged 84 years, was a knowledgeable collector and historian of the stereoscope and stereo photography, who assembled a significant world-class collection of viewers and stereo images.

Gwyn was born on 21 May 1939 and after graduating from the Royal College of Art he worked for the Greater London Council until it was closed by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1986. After this he remained with the residual body helping to transfer and dispose of its assets.

Gwyn’s collecting interest began with early photographic postcards, but it was from 1987 that he began to actively collect stereoscopes, stereographs in all their forms: on card, metal and glass, along with associated books and ephemera relating to the subject. His job was increasingly flexible and allowed for travel in London and beyond which provided an opportunity to visit auctions, antique fairs, and general and specialist photographica dealers. Much of this was accomplished by trawling catalogues and auction notices in the Antiques Trade Gazette in a pre-online world.

He quickly built up a detailed knowledge of nineteenth century stereography, not simply as a collector but through a deeper understanding of their history and evolution which he did through looking at patents and other sources, and by researching the photographers and publishers behind the many series of cards and unique stereo-daguerreotypes that he collected.

It was 1987 as a new specialist at Christie’s in South Kensington that I first met Gwyn. He was friendly and approachable and always willing to share his knowledge and insights into new consignments. In return he would have a preview of some of the large lots of stereocards that were offered at that time, where he would diligently look at the back and front of each for anything new, sometimes asking for a photocopy, and often bidding at the subsequent auction.

Gwyn was also a regular attendee at the photograph fairs at the Bonnington and other venues, selling duplicates and checking out other dealers’ stock. His table was never easy to pass quickly, for both its content and for a long chat about the market and new finds. He was there as much for the friendships and social side as for the business side, although he was astute at that, too. He also took an interest in making sure particular stereographs went to the ‘right’ home.

Paul Burford commented: "I spent many hours with Gwyn traveling to view and attend auctions, doing photographic fairs and even flying up to Edinburgh to have a look at the Howarth Loomes collection at the National Museums Scotland as well as spending many hours at his home discussing the various viewers and stereoscopic photographers of the nineteenth century, his knowledge and company will be greatly missed".

Gwyn formed one of the pre-eminent stereo collections with a focus on pre-1880s period, selecting the rare, the interesting and significant, and adding to its breadth, selling duplicates and upgrading. His collection was not simply large and comprehensive, but it was also one of the best in terms of the condition and quality of what was in it. Gwyn’s collection was not hidden away:  he enjoyed showing it to other collectors and those with an interest, to share knowledge and discuss stereo history. Such visits were not brief – there was always so much to see and Gwyn’s enthusiasm and knowledge, took time to share.

Gwyn’s health started to deteriorate around six years ago and he eventually stopped attending fairs and was less able to add to his collection. He remained in contact with many of those collectors and enthusiasts who had become friends.

He died on 12 November 2023. His wife Sylvia predeceased him, and he leaves behind a daughter and son.

With special thanks to Paul Burford and Paula Fleming for their insights and photographs, and Denis Pellerin. 

Dr Michael Pritchard
1 December 2023

Images:

Top:: © Paul Burford, Gwyn with a Hurst and Wood stereoscope and part oif his collection behind collection, 2011.
Middle: © Jenny or Ray Norman, Gwyn Nicholls, with Paula Fleming in the background, 12 March 2008.
Lower: © Denis Pellerin, Gwyn Nicholls 

The Brotherhood of the Linked Ring is the subject of some new work and research by Dick Weindling which he has made freely available. Dick notes:  that Margaret Harker produced the most detailed study in her book The Linked Ring (1979). Using a study of the Link’s records she identified a total of 115 members who are listed in the appendix of the book. I have researched the addresses, and used a variety of other sources to show short biographies of the photographers in the following table, which also gives their dates as Link members.

The work can be seen here: https://historyofcamden.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-linked-ring-of-photographers.html

First large-scale retrospective devoted to the artist in Paris, the exhibition brings together some one hundred photographs, from her early experiments to her historical and literary compositions, as well as her figurative allegories and an impressive gallery of portraits of her contemporaries.

Few 19th century photographers have attracted as much attention as Julia Margaret Cameron. Her approach, highly personal yet strongly criticized at the time, from her photographic technique to her out-of-focus images with various mistakes, emerged as the hallmark of a visionary style, incorporating imperfections and accidents in an innovative fashion. Her timeless and original body of work, created within just over a decade, between 1864 and 1875, represents one of the most beautiful illustrations of the epic energy that characterized the beginnings of photography.

The University of Westminster (a member of the Techne consortium) and the Science Museum Group (SMG) are delighted to announce a call for applicants for a fully funded collaborative doctorial studentship from September 2024, under the AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Award scheme funded by Techne.

This PhD will be the first to focus on the user experience of combining photography and train technologies in Britain between the 1880s-1930s by bringing the photography and transport collections of the SMG’s National Science and Media Museum in Bradford (NSMM) and National Railway Museum (NRM) in York into conversation with one other. 

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to be embedded with the SMG and access the same levels of training, support, and expertise as members of staff, thus developing core heritage skills alongside academic capabilities. The project will be supervised by Dr Sara Dominici (Senior Lecturer in Photography Studies and Visual Culture), Professor Pippa Catterrall (Professor of History and Policy) and Dr Alison Hesse (Lecturer in Museum and Gallery Studies) at Westminster, and, at the SMG, by Dr Oliver Betts (Head of Research) at the NRM in York and Dr Ruth Quinn (Curator of Photography and Photography Technology) at the NSMM in Bradford. 

This inter-museum approach supports the SMG’s ambitious programme to understand and reimagine its collections by allowing for a relatable, human story to be told about how cameras and trains shaped people’s leisure experiences. Its collections-based approach expands the potential for public outputs, and the major redesign work of the NRM’s Vision2025 and of the NSMM’s photography displays offers a great opportunity to research and present these collections’ stories to the public through new displays, talks, and online content.

Context

The PhD will investigate how the interaction of camera technologies and rail travel influenced people’s leisure practices and, consequently, their understanding and use of the British countryside and its heritage between the 1880s and 1930s.

From the early 1880s, a growing number of middle-class photographers used cameras in their leisure time. By the 1900s, cameras had become almost ubiquitous amongst tourists (Dominici 2018), a class whose profile broadened significantly during the interwar years (Walton 2002). Despite the competition from road transport in the 1920s and 1930s, the train remained central to tourists’ experiences.

Fundamentally, the railway did not simply facilitate their movements but, as Schivelbusch (1977) demonstrated, it fostered a sense of detachment from one’s surroundings. Because photography was central to the lives of this growing number of tourists, it follows that camera practices also intersected with how people conceptualised their experiences.

However, while studies of photography and technologies of mobility, including railways, abound (Lyden 2003, Nead 2007, Solnit 2003), they have largely focused on famous photographers’ attempts at capturing movement, or on the visual language triggered by different forms of transport, overlooking the role of popular, yet predominant, photographic practices in shaping transport users’ engagement with their world.

Details: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/studentships/techne-collaborative-doctoral-award-cda-studentship-photography-by-train

Bonhams is offering an important album of photographs of India, Nepal, and British Isles, compiled by Capt. Eugene Clutterbuck Impey and consisting of 94 abumen prints, dating from c1860-65 albumen prints, and with an estimate of £15,000-25,000. The catalogue footnote says: 

PRIZE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION ALBUM, INCLUDING IMAGES OF INDIA BY EUGENE CLUTTERBUCK IMPEY, IMPORTANT EARLY VIEWS OF NEPAL BY CLARENCE C. TAYLOR, AND FINE LANDSCAPES AND STILL-LIFES BY 1860S PHOTOGRAPHERS, many associated with the Amateur Photographic Association. Founded in May 1861, each year members supplied the Association with negatives for printing in exchange for prints from other members. "Prize Albums" such at this belonging to Impey appear to have been awarded to winners in annual competitions, then the contents added by the owner. In this case Impey has included many fine amateur photographers (some based, as himself, in Asia) with fine examples of Indian views by Bourne, Shepherd and other noted professional photographers.

Details here

Recently sold at auction was the Frank Strike Collection of Cornish shipwreck photographs. Described as an important collection of 'Magic Lantern' slides, annotated, catalogued, well preserved and boxed, together with a magic lantern projector made by JH Steward (Optician) of 406, Strand and 457 West Strand London.

Grouped into categories; Shipwrecks: 221 slides, Life saving inventions: 24 slides, Porthleven: 68 slides, Breage: 9 slides, freedom of Helston: 12 slides. Multiple historical images, the majority taken by by the Gibson family of photographers and Alfred Hawke of Helston.

Shipwreck subjects include: Alexander Yeats 1896, Andola 1895, Bay of Panama 1891, early shipwreck diving on the Anson, Cromdale 1913, Cviet 1884, Glenbervie 1902, Jeune Hortense 1888, Lady of the Isles, Lamorna 1904, Marie Celine 1901, Minnehaha 1873, Mohegan 1898, Queen Margaret 1913, Seuvic 1907, Tripolitania, 1912, Barque William 1865 and multiple others.

This exceptional collection was put together by the noteable local historian Frank Strike, and used by him for many years to give illustrated lectures.

Frank Strike was born in 1895 and started out as a shipwright, later becoming a builder and undertaker. In 1929 he joined the coastguard, to which he dedicated forty years of his life. He held the Coastguard long service medal for 35 years as Number One in the Life-saving Team, during which time he was responsible for aiming and firing the rocket that carried the rope to the shipwreck. He started his slide collection in 1947 and went on to combine it with his passion for local history, particularly the history of Porthleven, by giving regular lectures with the slides. He gave lectures as often as once or twice a week.

Frank died in 1967 and his collection has been carefully preserved by his family.

Sold for £15,000 at Lays Auctioneers on 16 November 2023
See the lot description here

We invite international submissions for essays and notes to be included in this forthcoming book to be published by MuseumsEtc in July 2024 in conjunction with a major Edith Tudor-Hart retrospective exhibition in Salzburg.

Both communist and jewish, Austrian photographer Edith Tudor-Hart (née Suschitzky) fled to Britain in 1933. By the time of her death in 1973, her photography had almost disappeared
from view before being featured in the magazine Camerawork in 1980 and more recently in the exhibition and book Edith Tudor-Hart: In the Shadow of Tyranny. Her work is known for its focus on class relations, the “combative” socialist perspective which informed it, and its clarity of vision and composition. As her oeuvre is increasingly researched, reconstructed and reassessed, it has become a source of inspiration for those interested in exploring a realist tradition in photography.

Edith Tudor-Hart in Britain will be the first book to focus in depth on her British work. Drawing on her archive at Fotohof, Salzburg, and other collections throughout Europe, it will feature some 100 largely unpublished images, and will break new ground in examining the physicality of those historic prints which have survived, and in creating historically-informed prints from the surviving negatives.

SUBMISSIONS
Proposals are invited for (longer) Essays and (briefer) Notes from museum, gallery and heritage professionals, academics, photographers and researchers. We aim to prioritise the socialist perspective in Tudor-Hart’s work and to avoid viewing it from a nostalgic perspective. The book will focus entirely on her work as a photographer and not on her undercover work, although intelligence records may be of interest in so far as they illuminate her photographic work.

Essays
Aspects of interest include - but are not limited to - the following:
• Changes in the work over time
• Child education
• Class relations
• Disability
• People at their work
• Photographic work in books, periodicals and advertising
• Political perspectives
• Portraits and self-portraits
• Resistance and action
• Street photography
• The built environment
• The émigré perspective
• The representation of women
• Writings on photography

Notes
The book will feature a number of brief (probably illustrated) “in-focus” contributions. More informal in form where appropriate, these may examine detailed aspects of her work, or individual images. Aspects of interest might include - but are not limited to - the following:
• Captions and titles
• Composition
• Cropping
• Lighting
• Printing - historic and modern
• The analysis of individual images
• The analysis of one or more negatives
All authors will have access to the wide range of images being used in the book, for illustration purposes.

Editor
Shirley Read is a curator, writer and tutor in photography who, while an Editor at Camerawork, published the first-ever overview of Edith Tudor-Hart’s work. She has interviewed for the British Library’s Oral History of British Photography archive for 30 years and is the author of Photographers and Research (Routledge) and Exhibiting Photography (Focal Press). She holds a degree in History from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London, and an MA in Photography: History and Culture from the University of the Arts, London.

Submitting your proposal
You can propose either an Essay or a Note. Proposals for ESSAYS should be a maximum of 500 words in length. Proposals for NOTES should be a maximum of 200 words. Both should be accompanied by a biography of 100-300 words. All submissions should be in Microsoft Word format.

ESSAYS will be 2000-3000 words in length; NOTES will be 400-600 words. The inclusion of images is encouraged. Please prepare your proposal with these parameters in mind. The work should not have been published elsewhere. All contributions must be submitted in English - translation services will not be provided. Authors will receive a copy of the final publication and a 10% discount on further copies.

The deadline for proposals is 18 December 2023. Please email your proposal to ETHproposals@museumsetc.com. Any queries in advance of submission should be sent to
ETHqueries@museumsetc.com.

Key dates
PROPOSALS DUE: 18 December 2023
CONTRIBUTORS NOTIFIED: 21 December 2023
COMPLETED PAPERS DUE: 29 February 2024

Download the call ETH CFP.pdf

Photofusion are delighted to announce the appointment of a new Director to lead the UK based photography organisations at an exciting time in its development Jenni Grainger will be the new Director of Photofusion, starting in January 2024.  Joining Photofusion from a background of senior leadership in arts organisations, Jenni brings with her vast experience of leading and programming nationally and internationally significant activity with inclusion, access and creativity at its core.

Jenni says “I am delighted to announce that I will be joining Photofusion, as Director in January 2024, and look forward to driving the strategy and creative ambitions of this long-established photographic institution into 2024 and beyond. Photofusion is an important centre of photographic education and creative vision and I am keen to discover what more we can do to deepen and widen engagement in photography within the local community and far beyond. I also look forward to championing Photofusion as a vibrant and accessible new community space as it moves into its new home on Beehive Place, Brixton. I particularly look forward to continuing Photofusion’s strong relationships, locally and beyond, with stakeholders, artists, partners and its members, to champion the delivery of high-quality exhibitions and socially engaged projects."

Kim Shaw has recently stepped down as Director of Photofusion after 8 years. During that time, she steered the organisation through a period of huge change, achieving Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status in collaboration with 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, and winning the bid for Photofusion’s new home on Beehive Place. Her vision and determination have been incredible, and we are going to miss her enthusiasm and on-going support of Photofusion members in particular.

For 30 years, Photofusion has championed, supported and celebrated photography and photographers. well known for the darkrooms, gallery space, digital printing facilities, and education programme, Photofusion has also worked collaboratively with young people, emerging photographers and makers as part of its growing community. Photofusion was established in 1990. Among the founding members were a group of female photographers who were concerned about the way women were portrayed in the media. They formed a cooperative to document real women doing real things: doctors, nurses, teachers, mothers. Representation, inclusion and diversity have always been at the heart of Photofusion. Many important images have been made and shown at Photofusion. Supporting some of the UKs most well-known and established photographers at early stages of their careers, Photofusion looks forward to doing more to develop the artform and ensure its accessibility for everyone.

See: https://www.photofusion.org/

The landmark Africa Fashion exhibition at the V&A highlights opportunities for original research into interconnections between African dress, adornment, colonialism, decolonisation and diaspora. Subjects embodied in African portrait photography located in national museum, private and family archives. The project will analyse; sitter, attire, styling, and setting as a conduit into understanding an archive of pictures social, cultural and political meanings. The scope of this approach is explicit in the oeuvre of photographers Seydou Keita – Bamako and James Barnor – Accra/London. 

The project may create, identify an original, or re-evaluate an existing African portrait photography archive; either in Africa or elsewhere. The analysis will seek to understand the collections agency in colonial, decolonising or diaspora contexts. A paradigm shift in the conceptualisation, articulation, interpretation and classification of African portrait photography is expected to elucidate race, discrimination, freedom struggles and gender narratives.  

Theoretical and methodological approaches will draw on a combination of subject disciplines which may include African studies; visual research methods from anthropology, photography, fashion and dress; theoretical perspectives from colonial, decolonisation research studies; taxonomy and ontology. Research as creative practice will be intrinsic leading to exhibition and publication expectations. 

Falmouth University
Project lead: Dr Simon A Clarke
No start or closing date specified
Details: https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/research/phd-mphil/doctoral-project-briefs/african-portrait-photography-archives#details

Various news outlets reported recently that Brian Edwards, a visiting research fellow with the regional history centre at the University of the West of England had identified the image of a Wiltshire thatcher, as seen on the cover of Led Zeppelin IV.

Edwards said he came across the image in a photograph album during continuing research extending from an exhibition he curated with Wiltshire Museum in 2021. It is understood that the Led Zeppelin lead singer, Robert Plant, discovered a framed, coloured photograph of the original image of the Wiltshire thatcher in an antique shop near guitarist Jimmy Page’s house in Pangbourne, Berkshire.

The original image was discovered in a Victorian photograph album titled: “Reminiscences of a visit to Shaftesbury. Whitsuntide 1892. A present to Auntie from Ernest.” It contained more than 100 architectural views and street scenes together with a few portraits of rural workers from Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset.

Beneath the stooped man’s image, the photographer wrote: “A Wiltshire thatcher.” Further research suggests the thatcher is Lot Long (sometimes Longyear), who was born in Mere in 1823 and died in 1893. At the time the photograph was taken, Long was a widower living in a small cottage in Shaftesbury Road, Mere. A part-signature matching the writing in the album suggests the photographer is Ernest Howard Farmer (1856-1944), the first head of the school of photography at the then newly renamed Regent Street Polytechnic, now part of the University of Westminster.

Farmer’s photograph is now in Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, and an exhibition featuring the image, along with others taken in the west of England during the Victorian era, is scheduled to be held at the museum in spring 2024.

See:https://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?exhibition=wiltshire-thatcher-a-photographic-journey-through-victorian-wessex

https://www.uwe.ac.uk/news/unidentified-figure-on-cover-of-iconic-album-revealed

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-have-finally-identified-the-mystery-man-on-a-led-zeppelin-album-cover-180983225/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/08/led-zeppelin-iv-cover-photo-revealed-victorian-wiltshire-thatcher and

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-67336495

The next few weeks see several auctions of photography and cameras: 

• Chiswick Auctions - 9th & 20th Century Photographs - 30 November 2023. Chiswick has an evening preview on 28 November from 1800-2000. RSVP to: photographica@chiswickauctions.co.uk. Catalogue here
• Dominic WInter Auctions - Photographs, Autographs & Historic Documents - 22 November 2023. Catalogue here
• Flints Auctions - Fine Photographica - 21 November 2023. Catalogue here

Four Corners latest exhibition tells the fascinating story of the Half Moon touring shows. In 1976, photographers at East London’s Half Moon Gallery developed an innovative approach to exhibiting. With little money, a leaky roof and a DIY attitude, they arranged their work on card panels and ran them through a laminator, creating unpretentious exhibitions-in-a-box that travelled the country via British Rail.

Bypassing elitist arts institutions, the exhibitions toured to alternative venues from community centres to left-wing bookshops, student unions, churches, a prison and even a laundrette. By 1984, over fifty shows had reached people across the UK, playing a pivotal role in how documentary photography was viewed and used. 

Documenting working lives and rural traditions, shedding light on international conflicts and injustices closer to home, the Half Moon touring shows introduced powerful imagery by an emerging generation of socially engaged photographers that still resonates today. 

Photography on the Move: The Half Moon Touring Shows 1976 - 1984
24 November 2023 - 27 January 2024
London: Four Corners
https://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk/whats-on/photography-on-the-move-the-half-moon-touring-shows-1976-1984