Under Eagle Eyes: Lithographs, Drawings and Photographs from the Prussian Expedition to Japan, 1860-61. Edited by Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler, with contributions by Nakai Akio, Peter Pantzer, Veit Hammer, Timon Screech, Sebastian Dobson & Sven Saaler.

In the roll call of Western nations that participated in the “re-opening” of Japan in the last years of the Shogunate, the Kingdom of Prussia has long been marginalised. The Prussian Expedition to Japan of 1860-61 still receives little scholarly attention outside Germany and Japan, and even among German and Japanese scholars investigation into Count Friedrich zu Eulenburg’s mission has focused almost entirely on the diplomatic negotiations which eventually led to the signing of a Prussian-Japanese treaty in Edo in 1861, an event currently being celebrated in its 150th anniversary year as the beginning of German-Japanese relations.

However, as contemporaries observed, this was no ordinary expedition. Eulenburg’s civilian staff consisted not only of four diplomats, but also of four scientists, two artists and one photographer, all of whom made use of an unexpected five-month stay in Edo to examine and record a country still little-known in Europe. This book seeks to reconstruct the scientific and artistic legacies of Eulenburg’s expedition, much of which either languished in obscurity or was even believed to have been lost. In particular, the iconography of the Prussian Expedition, consisting of photographs, lithographs and work in more traditional media, is presented here for the first time.

The book will be launched on 1 December 2011 at Daiwa Foundation Japan House, 6:00 – 7:00pm, followed by a drinks reception to 8:00pm. See: http://www.dajf.org.uk/event/under-eagle-eyes-lithographs-drawings-and-photographs-from-the-prussian-expedition-to-japan-1860-61

Dr J H Robbins writes...Readers may be interested to know that a Victorian Scrap Album has been identified as belonging to Major-General Richard Clement Moody RE (previously Colonel) who had a significant role in British Columbia in the years 1858-1863. Bought in the 1970s in Dorchester, England, this has just been identified as belonging to Col Richard Clement Moody RE. The Royal Engineers are widely recognised as being amongst the pioneers of photography 

Background:

In around 1859, Col. R.C. Moody, commander of the Columbia detachment of the Royal Engineers based at New Westminster, had his portrait taken with an unidentified Aboriginal. The photographer was probably Lt. Arthur Reid Lempriere RE, who was in charge of photography for the detachment. This image and two others including a portrait of the same Aboriginal that appear to have been taken at the same time; form part of a large number of photographs, many captioned in pencil as well as others from British Columbia and a pencil drawing of Moody's house dated 1863 and signed by Henry Pering Pellew Crease.There are also pictures of houses lived in or visited by the Moody family in England, a Grand Tour of Loire Valley châteaux, Brittany Costumes, Brussels and Bologna. It seems probable that Moody took at least some of the photographs himself, although others like the two hand coloured prints entitled Japanese Dancing Girls, and a Japanese Priest as well as those from France and Italy have been purchased or collected. A photograph (circa 1859) of the people involved in the Boundary Commission survey to establish the 49th parallel has the name of Colonel Moody on the reverse.

Two pictures from the album and some more information can be seen at https://sites.google.com/site/moodyalbum/ 

The pictures here are: top: a portrait of an unknown First Nations man.; below: Portraits, Moody is on left in photo, his companion is believed to be Captain Luard RE. 

Greater China Photographic Society aims to unite the efforts of cultural enthusiasts, scholars, photographers and photographic followers of the art of photography, for all people of the world who love Chinese Culture. Our mission is to promote the photographic arts, Chinese culture and charity for the benefit of Society and the World. Our vision is to create unlimited new vistas.

This new appointment of Chief Executive Office Worldwide of the Greater China Photographic Society (GCPS) is located in Hong Kong and is available immediately.

1. The post is for a creative person well acquainted with the photographic arts who could promote opportunities between the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States and, with or without support, with China (Mainland and Taiwan). They would be well acquainted with the photographic venues of the world including museums and galleries. He/she must be willing to travel, especially throughout China. Additionally, the person would be expected to design and run photographic courses/workshops/, photographic events and.

2. The successful candidate will be from a photographic or similar media background with appropriate academic qualifications and distinctions. He/she will demonstrate exceptional management and communication skills. The fluency of English to a good standard is required plus Mandarin and /or Cantonese would be an advantage.

 The First Contract will be of 6-12 months duration, offering a salary of HK$30,000- (approximately sterling pound 2,400- or USD3,900-)/month plus quarter allowance of HK10,000- (Pound 8,000- or USD 1,300-). For information, if the applicant have no other Hong Kong income, Annual Salary Tax is about HK$33,000- for single and HK$15,000- for married. The GCPS would pay one round trip air ticket between UK, USA or Europe Airport and Hong Kong.

 For further information regarding this post contact The President.  Applications in confidence should be sent by email to adm@gcpshk.com or by letter to Suite 5401, Central Plaza, No. 18 Harbour Road, Hong Kong and consist in the form of a full curriculum vitae, supporting letter and names of two referees. The closing date for applications is 20 January 2012

James Garfinkle advises...After 31 years of being the custodian of Mathew Brady's Studio Wet-Plate Camera, I have decided to let another person or institution have the pleasure of owning 'the most iconic piece of photographic Americana.' The camera was used to take portraits of Lincoln and other notables in the Civil War period.

Its provenance is unmatched: Meserve / Kunhardt collection, then at auction at Christie's in 1980, to me.  Two owners in about 100 years.  The serial number on lens matches that in Brady's bankruptcy filing, included with the lot. The camera has a reserve of $25,000. 

It was most recently displayed at the 'Lincoln in New York' exhibition at the New-York Historical Society.

The sale is Wednesday, November 30th in Dallas. James Garfinkel can be reached at: jamesgarfinkel@gmail.com. The sale is part of a Heritage Auctions Americana sale. More details here: http://historical.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=6066&lotNo=38365

St Andrews University is advertising two jobs for a Photographic Golf Collection Project Curator and a Photographic Golf Collection Digitisation Officer. The role requirements are: 

Photographic Golf Collection Project Curator - JC1049

Department of Special Collections, University Library, £24,370 - £29,099 per annum, Start: February 2012, Fixed term 4 years, Hours of work - 36.25 per week

We are seeking an individual to fulfil the role of Photographic Golf Collection Project Curator in support of the digitising, cataloguing and exhibition of an extensive golf photography collection over the period of four years from February 2012 to December 2015.   

Within a dynamic department during a time of exciting change, you will work under the direction of the Photographic Archivist. You will be responsible for the systematic cataloguing, intellectual arrangement, interpretation and exhibition of over 200,000 images on the subject of golf. This collection is the work of Lawrence Levy.  In direct support of the promotional and fundraising ambitions of the University, you will curate a series of high-calibre photographic exhibitions which represent the collection’s unique documentation of golf’s history from 1978 to 1994. As part of an externally funded project, you will directly contribute to the creation of access and awareness to an unsurpassed collection of great scale and cultural significance whose character is tied to St Andrews’ place in the world as the home of golf.   

For further details about the project and post please contact Marc Boulay, the Photographic Archivist for the Department of Special Collections via email at mdab@st-andrews.ac.uk or by telephone at 44 (0)1334 462326.

Photographic Golf Collection Digitisation Officer - SB1059

University Library, Department of Special Collections, £17,179 - £19,822 per annum, Start: January 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter, Fixed Term: 4 years

The University of St Andrews Library Department of Special Collections is seeking 1 full-time or 2 part-time (one full-time equivalent) staff to fulfill the role of Photographic Golf Collection Digitisation Officer in support of the digitising, archiving, and physical preservation of an extensive golf photography collection over the period of four years from January 2012 to December 2015. 

Within a dynamic department during a time of exciting change, the post-holder(s) will work under the direction of the Photographic Archivist. They will be responsible for the systematic preventive conservation, digitisation, physical arrangement, and electronic record creation of over 200,000 images on the subject of golf. As part of an externally-funded project, the post-holder(s) will directly contribute to the creation of access and awareness to an unsurpassed collection of great scale and cultural significance whose character is tied to St Andrews’ place in the world as the home of golf. 

For further details about the project and post please contact Marc Boulay, the Photographic Archivist for the Department of Special Collections via email at mdab@st-andrews.ac.uk or by telephone at 44 (0)1334 462326.    

Ref No: SB1059
Closing Date: 8 December 2011

Fuller details are here: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/login.aspx?enc=vDVLPY6BrOnmx9szwB5icMU/Bp97ap1BlI/jb0LhRYVeoh/cn5bYgvW+9EbbSw7a

Auction house Christie's has set a new world record price of $4,338,500 (£2.7 million) for a photograph in an auction in New York. Andreas Gursky's Rhein II was sold on 8 November. The price overtakes the previous record for a Cindy Sherman 1981 print.

The Christie's catalogue entry can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/d7ugw9l

Photograph © Andreas Gursky, Rhein II, 1991. 

Due for release on 2 February 2012 is Professor Elizabeth Edwards' new book: The Camera as Historian: Amateur Photographers and Historical Imagination, 1885-1918 published by Duke University Press. The book's synopsis reads: 

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth, hundreds of amateur photographers took part in the photographic survey movement in England. They sought to record the material remains of the English past so that it might be preserved for future generations. In The Camera as Historian, the groundbreaking historical and visual anthropologist Elizabeth Edwards works with an archive of nearly 55,000 photographs taken by 1000 photographers, mostly unknown until now. She approaches the survey movement and its social and material practices ethnographically. Considering how the amateur photographers understood the value of their project, Edwards links the surveys to the rise of popular photography, concepts of leisure, and understandings of the local and the national. Her examination of how the photographers negotiated between scientific objectivity and aesthetic responses to the past leads her to argue that the survey movement was as concerned with the conditions of its own modernity and the creation of an archive for an anticipated future as it was nostalgic about the imagined past. Including more than 120 duotone images, The Camera as Historianoffers new perspectives on the forces that shaped Victorian and Edwardian Britain, as well as contemporary debates about cultural identity, nationality, empire, material practices, and art.

About The Author

For more information: http://www.dukeupress.edu/Catalog/ViewProduct.php?productid=17745

The Harry Ransom Center seeks a curator to provide leadership and vision for an internationally renowned photography collection with strengths in the history of photography, photojournalism, documentary photography, Texana, and literary iconography.

The Ransom Center is a special collections library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin with over 37 million literary manuscripts, one million rare books, over 5 million photographs, and 100,000 works of art.

Salary: Minimum $75,000 depending on credentials.

Responsibilities: Serve as department head and supervise Research Curator in Photography, Associate Curator of Photography, and Associate Curator of Art, in addition to several support staff; work in association with the Academic Curator of Photography. Plan and prepare major exhibitions devoted to photographic materials, placing them in the context of other Ransom Center collections. Engage with scholars and support research and instruction in the photography collections. Responsible for overall direction of acquisition in photography; build relationships with collection donors, photographers, and dealers.

Benefits: Standard state benefits package including annual vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, and health insurance options. Eligible for Optional Retirement Program (TIAA-CREF and other options). Deferred compensation and supplemental tax-sheltered annuity programs also available. Significant professional travel funding.

Required Qualifications: Master's degree in a field related to the collection. A minimum of five years experience in museums or special collections libraries. Experience curating photographic materials. At least five years supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications: Ph.D. in a field related to the collection. Ten or more years experience in museums or special collections libraries. Distinguished record of publications, preferably in the history of photography. Experience curating major exhibitions on photography, creating exhibition catalogs, and exhibition-related public programming. Knowledge of the trade in photographic materials. Extensive experience with development and donor relations. Experience with public relations and marketing of photographic collections.

Nancy Inman and Marlene Nathan Meyerson Curator of Photography
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Application procedure: Go to https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/hr/jobs/nlogon/111026010606
Applicants must complete the online job application and submit a letter of interest, a current resume, and contact information for three references to: Dr. Richard W. Oram, Associate Director & Librarian, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin, PO Box 7219, Austin, TX 78713-7219, roram@mail.utexas.edu. Review of applications begins January 23, 2012 and will continue until position is filled. Security sensitive; conviction verification. EEO/AA.

The Observer and Guardian's photography commentator Sean O'Hagan reports on a scaling back of plans for London's Photographers' Gallery and the National Media Museum's Media Space, due to the difficulty of raising funds in the current economic climate. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/nov/01/london-photographic-spaces-photographers-gallery?newsfeed=true  The Photographers' Gallery budget was scaled back from £15.5 million in 2009 to £8.7 million and Media Space has yet to secure the projected £8.7million it needs and has also changed its vision for the space.

Elsewhere in Britain the re-opening of the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool is a sign of activity outside of the capital. O'Hagan's weekend piece in the Observer (reported here: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/britain-s-leading-photography-galleries-together) was criticised in the blogosphere for its London-centric perspective, unfair perhaps when his  focus was on four London based curators and their spaces. That said, there is plenty happening outside of London that is equally worthy of celebration.     

This new V&A photography exhibition will feature over eighty photographs celebrating the diversity of photography in the UK since 1945. It is one strand supporting the V&A's major exhibition British Design 1945-2012. Island Stories will look at the narratives told through individual bodies of work by photographers held in the V&A's permanent collections. Featured photographers include Elspeth Juda and Maurice Broomfield, each of whom promoted the image of Britain 'on the up' during the immediate post-war years, photographing manufacturing and fashion industries with an artistic eye. Juda turned 100 this year and her work for Ambassador magazine is celebrated in a new V&A publication. Broomfield donated his extensive archive to the V&A shortly before his death at the age of 94 in 2010.

BPH will publish more details as they become available. 

Sean O'Hagan in The Observer newspaper interviews four of Britain's leading photography curators. Martin Barnes of the V&A, Brett Rogers of the Photographers' Gallery, Simon Baker of Tate Modern and Charlotte Cotton of Media Space [the National Media Museum] discuss the place of photography in their respective organisations and more widely. The wide-ranging interviews look at recent developments and, in the case of Media Space, looks ahead to a Spring 2013 opening.

The article can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/oct/30/v-a-photographs-gallery-tate?newsfeed=true    

Following from the stunning Reports by the Juries (1852) sold at Bonhams in June this year (see: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/reports-by-the-juries-brings) another Commissioners' set in being offered by  the same auction house on 22 November 2011. This new set was presented to Philip Pusey. Pusey was a politician and agriculturalist and served as a juror for the class of Agricultural and Horticultural Implements. Details of the lot which is estimated at £80,000-100,000 can be found here: http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/WService=wslive_pub/pubweb/publicSite.r?screen=LotDetailsNoFlash&iSaleNo=18992&iSaleItemNo=5157017

The V&A Photography Gallery opened this evening. The display and room was every bit as good as the exclusive BPH photographs showed (see:http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-the-new-v-a-photography-gallery-opening-tuesday-25th-oc. Shown here is the V&A Director opening the gallery with Curators Martin Barnes and Marta Weiss to his side. 

The gallery opens to the public Tuesday morning. Make a date and visit - you won't be disappointed.

The Projection Box was set up by Mo Heard and Stephen Herbert in 1994, to publish books about pre-cinema and early film, and we gradually included further subjects such as fairgrounds and photography.  The Projection Box has been slumbering for a while as we pursued other projects, but is now awake again with new publications and fresh editions of old favourites that have long been out of print.

To celebrate the 2012 Charles Dickens Bicentenary, this month sees publication of The Dickens Daguerreotype Portraits by Stephen Herbert - a new colour monograph. The Kinora, moving pictures for the home 1896-1914 by Barry Anthony returns in a new edition, combined with an original Kinora catalogue reprint. The True History of The Ghost by Professor Pepper, has also been republished.

Other new titles are in the works, so be sure to check the website every month. Some of our new books are being made available by the wonders of Print-on-Demand, made possible by Blurb.com - and may be ordered direct from the printer. Details on our website: http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~s-herbert/ProjectionBox.htm

The National Media Museum is about to make several important additions to its Collection and  will be rearranging Insight: Collections & Research Centre to make space for them. As a result, access to the Museum’s collections will be disrupted. Insight will be closed to researchers from Monday 27 October 2011, and there will be no tours from 14 November onwards. Insight will reopen on 16 January 2012.  Requests for information and future access can be lodged via email: research@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk.

BPH has secured photographs of the new V&A Photography Gallery which opens to the public on Tuesday, 25 October 2011. A private view takes place on Monday evening. The Gallery has been installed in a former textile room and the building has been returned to its nineteenth century glory - with wall paintings uncovered and restored.

Installation images of the V&A’s Photographs Gallery © Peter Kelleher, V&A Images.

Charlotte Cotton is creative director of Media Space (a partnership between the National Media Museum and the Science Museum). Previously, she was curator of photographs at the V&A, head of programming at The Photographers’ Gallery, and head of the Wallis Annenburg Department of Photography at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She is the author ofThe Photograph as Contemporary Art and founder of Words Without Pictures.

She will be talking as part of the ICA's Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2011: In the Presence. Join curators, artists, critics and other cultural practitioners on a tour through work in the exhibition, each tour offers a unique perspective on emergent art practice and the state of cultural production in the UK today.

See: http://www.ica.org.uk/?lid=30943 to book.

The archive of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain which contains  photographs and documents has been lodged with Birmingham Central Library and David Moore is working with the staff there to catalogue it. The PAGB archive has recently been joined by the donation by the Surrey Photographic Association of the collections of the defunct Central Association of Photographic Societies which includes the F J Mortimer Collection of prints. This will now form part of the PAGB Archive although it will be catalogued separately. Mortimer's personal archive is in private hands. 

Once the catalogue has been prepared the PAGB will establish procedures for accessing and adding to the Archive.

The Royal Photographic Society reports that John Chittock OBE FRPS has died.  John was a long-standing member of The Society joining in 1955 and gaining his Associateship in 1961 and Fellowship in 1966, remaining a member until his death. 

Born on 29 May 1928, John Dudley Chittock's career started as an editor at Focal Press, the leading imprint on books devoted to photography, film and television. Subsequently he became a producer, writer and director of sponsored documentary films with over 30 productions to his credit. His work as industrial columnist on the Financial Times from 1963 to 1987 gradually took over.

With his late wife Joy he founded the international trade publication Screen Digest which he edited from 1971 to 1996. John's association with Focal Pressled to him later to become the founding trustee of the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation.

Joy Chittock died in 2001 and John is survived by his second wife Margaret.

A funeral Service and burial at St Mary’s Church Cavendish, Suffolk, CO10 8BP will take place on Friday 21st October 2011 at 1pm. All welcome afterwards at The George, donations in lieu of flowers gladly received by St Nicholas Hospice, BSE, IP33 2QY.

More biographical information is available: http://homepages.which.net/~john.chittock/biog.htm