Leicester's De Montfort University's Photographic History Research Centre annual conference for 2020 titled Camera Education: Photographic Histories of Visual Literacy, Schooling, and the Imagination will take place on 15-16 June 2020. Due to COVID-19 it will be run online and can be booked through the link here at a cost of £20.
Read more about the programme and speakers here: https://photographichistory.wordpress.com/annual-conference-2020/
Chiswick Auction's Fine Photographica sale will go ahead online on 29 April. The auctions includes a number of British photographers from Robert Howlett's portrait of I K Brunel (lot 105) to work from George Rodger, Richard Sadler, Fay Godwin, John Swannell, T R Williams (lot 111), Francis Bedford and others. Of particular note is a group of ten stereo-daguerreotypes by Schneider & Sohn (lot 114).
The photographic equipment section includes a small selection of Leica and other cameras.
The catalogue is available to review and download here: https://www.chiswickauctions.co.uk/auction/details/29%20April%202020%20A-Fine-Photographica?au=518
The only known wartime film footage of a secret site connected to Bletchley Park has been discovered. The 11-minute silent film, believed to be a compilation of footage recorded between 1939-1945, shows members of MI6 Section VIII at Whaddon Hall, Buckinghamshire. During World War Two, this was a most secret site where Ultra intelligence produced by the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park would be sent, and then passed on to Allied commanders in the field.
Dr David Kenyon, Research Historian at Bletchley Park highlights the rarity of this find: “No other film footage of a site intimately connected with Bletchley Park exists. We don’t know who filmed it and the footage doesn’t gives away any state secrets or any clues about the work the people in it are doing. If it fell into the wrong hands, it would have given little away, but for us today, it is an astonishing discovery and important record of one of the most secret and valuable aspects of Bletchley Park’s work.”.
The reel of wartime footage, preserved in its original canister, has been donated to Bletchley Park by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
The film, shot mostly in black and white with some colour footage, shows men and women off duty at Whaddon Hall and at Whaddon Chase, where some staff were billeted. There is also footage of the Whaddon hunt, a football game, and a cricket match in beautiful summer sunshine. Identified figures in the film include Brigadier Richard Gambier-Parry, Head of SIS Section VIII, based at Whaddon Hall 1939-1945, as well as Bob Hornby, first Engineer, in charge of workshops and Ewart Holden, Stores officer. Several figures in the film have not been identified and Bletchley Park Trust is appealing for anyone who recognises someone in the film to get in touch via enquiries@bletchleypark.org.uk
Peronel Craddock, Head of Collections and Exhibitions at Bletchley Park said: “The Whaddon Hall film is a really significant addition to our collection. Not only does it show us the place and the people in wartime but it’s the first piece of film footage we’re aware of that shows any of the activity associated with Bletchley Park at all. We’re delighted it has been donated to Bletchley Park Trust where it can be cared for and help tell the story of the huge team effort that underpinned Bletchley Park’s successes during World War Two.”
An edit of the silent film and a supporting documentary is available to view online on the Bletchley Park website and YouTube channel. Watch the original footage: https://youtu.be/bvVaFE5O3eY
See the Bletchley Park website here: https://bletchleypark.org.uk/
COVID-19 has meant that the new print issue of The Classic will not be made available at its usual distribution points in selected galleries and institutions as they are currently all closed. The publisher, Michael Diemar, has decided to make the latest issue available as a pdf from its website.
Issue 3 includes:
Download The Classic here: https://theclassicphotomag.com/
Matthew Broadhead, a descendent of the Victorian Leicester photographer F. W. Broadhead (1846-1925) has made over 250 photographs from his third great grandfather's studio available online for the first time.
The photographs can be seen here: www.flickr.com/photos/fwbroadhead
Matthew can be reached at his website: www.matthewbroadhead.com or by email: info@matthewbroadhead.com
The James Hyman Gallery has launched a special fundraising sale in support of the NHS. James and Claire Hyman' collection of British photography is one of the UK's most important private collections and Claire works as surgeon within the National Health Service.
The Gallery has put together a selection of works by some of the major photographers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, at reduced prices, and will donate all profits to the National Health Service.
Browse the sale here.
Image:
Bill Brandt
Oakworth Moor, Yorkshire
Vintage Gelatin Silver Print, 1944
James Hyman notes:
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Hans P Kraus Jr, the New York based dealer and galler, had been looking forward to welcoming Paris Photo to New York, in partnership with AIPAD, for the first time. In light of the postponed event it is presenting it first E-list, a selection of images by British artists to entice, to inspire or merely to distract. They vary in subject matter and introduce the viewer to some of the photographic processes, invented nearly two centuries ago: salt print, cyanotype, albumen, carbon, and photogravure. The magic of the negative is represented in their paper, mica and glass forms. There is a fine stereoscopic diapositive on glass of the moon—someplace we might all rather be just now.
Ten per cent of the revenue from these sales will be donated to NYC Health + Hospitals in support of our healthcare workers as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic.
See the list here.
Image:
Anna ATKINS (English, 1799-1871)
"Pteris Sagittaria", circa 1851-1854
Cyanotype photogram
25.9 x 20.2 cm
Handwritten title within the plate. Watermark "J Whatman Turkey Mill 1851"
St Andrews University Special Collections has spent some time recently working on replacing its ageing photographic collections site. The new and improved site is now available and aims to improve the discoverability, usability and shareability of its internationally important collection of photographs in all formats and of all ages. There are now over 300,000 high resolution images available online.
A blog post discussion the new content and functionality is here: https://standrewsrarebooks.wordpress.com/author/standrewsrarebooks/
The collection can be seen here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/special-collections/photographs/.
Applications are invited for an AHRC-funded PhD at Cardiff University. Titled: Diversifying and decolonising conflict photography: an exploration of how accompanying textual information can influence the reading and understanding of photographs it is offered under the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership programme. The partner institutions are Cardiff University and IWM.
The studentship will be supervised by Dr Tom Allbeson (School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University) and Helen Mavin (IWM) and co-supervised by Professor Claire Gorrara (School of Modern Languages, Cardiff University). The studentship begins on 1 October 2020 and is funded at standard AHRC rates for 45 months full time (or part-time equivalent) with the potential to be extended for a further 3 months for professional development opportunities.
Closing date for applications: 15 May 2020
Anticipated start date: 1 October 2020
Full details: https://www.iwm.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/2020-04/IWM%20Cardiff%20CDP%20Advert%20final.pdf
The Studentship
The IWM Photograph Archive is an internationally significant collection that supports understanding of the causes, course, and consequences of modern conflict from multi-national perspectives. It includes material illustrating the experiences of both civilians and military participants. Using material from across the IWM collection, this project will critically examine the language used to describe and contextualise collections. It will focus on the portrayal of diverse experiences within the context of war and conflict during the 20th century and how original captions and museum-ascribed descriptions have consciously or unconsciously supported colonial narratives and influenced audience understandings. The studentship offers flexibility, allowing the student to define the scope of the research within the broad aims of the project. Further details regarding these aims are outlined here:
https://www.iwm.org.uk/sites/default/files/files/2020-04/IWM%20Cardiff%20CDP%20Advert%20final.pdf
Funding
Subject to AHRC eligibility criteria, the scholarship covers tuition fees and a grant towards living expenses for 45 months full time or part-time equivalent, and may be extended for a further 3 months
The award pays tuition fees up to the value of the full-time home/EU UKRI rate for PhD degrees. The award pays full maintenance for UK citizens and residents only. For more information visit: https://www.ukri.org/skills/funding-for-research-training/.
How To Apply
Applicants will need to satisfy AHRC eligibility requirements. For more information visit: https://ahrc.ukri.org/funding/research/researchfundingguide/
Applicants should submit the following via email:
Complete applications should be submitted by email to the School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University (JOMECStudentsupport@cardiff.ac.uk) by 5pm on Friday 15 May 2020. All documents should be submitted in either a MS Word or PDF format.
Interviews are scheduled to be held on Friday 29 May 2020. Owing to current public health measures to tackle coronavirus, interviews will be held online.
Further Enquiries
For further enquiries, feel free to contact Dr Tom Allbeson (allbesont@cardiff.ac.uk) or Helen Mavin (hmavin@iwm.org.uk).
A new video about the Family Photo Talks workshop, organized by CRDI and driven by Susanna Muriel within the framework of the European Kaleidoscope project is now available. Family Photo Talks is a participatory workshop about collective memory, to share and disseminate the story of family photography. The workshop was organised by the Center for Image Research and Diffusion (CRDI) in Girona, in October 2019. It was part of the European Kaleidoscope project, which was focused on European photography of the 50s.
The activity was driven by Susanna Muriel, a specialist in this subject. The workshop received a very good feedback from participants. They worked on the description and conservation of photography, and mainly on the narratives, that were created from an oral history exercise. For this specific workshop we created an audiovisual in order to explain the methodology used for this activity. The audiovisual aims to provide content that anyone could consider when organizing a memories workshop using photography as a resource. It is an audiovisual that can inspire and help other institutions when organizing a workshop. For the audiovisual, we use the images recorded during the event in Girona and we mainly use the images recorded in a private house from one of the participants.
Click the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjeaBISGTJI or below
The Guardian newspaper has reported that the Getty Archive is using remote working to preserve its archival photographs. The Getty Images archive in Canning Town, east London, holds 80 million photographs and negatives, some of which are more than 100 years old and need careful preservation and protection to stop them quickly degrading.
Matthew Butson, the archive’s vice-president, said a mix of a small on-site team and the use of remote temperature and humidity controls were being used to protect the rare negatives and prints. “We’re not just a commercial archive, we’re looking after our cultural heritage,” he said. “We have remote controls to make sure the building has the correct temperature and humidity. Too much humidity is obviously bad for imagery; a lot of our negatives are glass and go back to the 19th century.”
Read the full piece here: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/apr/02/getty-uses-remote-working-effort-preserve-photo-archive
Photograph: Rob Western
This new book uses archival material donated to the British Trust for Ornithology in 2011 and seeks to document and contextualise the life and work of Emma Louisa Turner (1867-1940). ELT, as she was known, was inspired to move on from pictorial photography to taking up serious bird photography by a chance meeting with Richard Kearton.in 1900. She became of the leading natural history writers of her day, illustrating her prose with her photographs, which like that of the Kearton brothers was rooted in her field craft and an intimate knowledge of her subjects. Much of her work was undertaken in Norfolk. She quickly became an accomplished photographer, too, joining the Royal Photographic Society in 1901. She regularly exhibited, and received recognition for her bird photography, in its annual exhibition.
Parry and Greenwood's biography describes ELT's family background but rightly focuses on her writings, photography and the influence that she had on the public through her books and lectures and her activity for specialist audiences and ornithology more widely. In particular, she was involved in the setting up of the British Trust for Ornithology. After hger death, the BTO and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) were recipients of her photographic plates and slides, although these are now missing and being looked for.
Well researched and written this book draws long overdue attention to this important figure of natural history photography. Highly recommended.
Emma Turner. A life looking at birds
James Parry and Jeremy Greenwood. Foreword by Patrick Barkham
Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. 2020
ISBN 938-1-9162537-1-1
88 pages, illustrated, softcovers
Available from: the Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists’ Society website at http://norfolknaturalists.org.uk/wp/shop/ at £8 plus postage.
Alan Griffiths the founder of the photo-history resource Luminous Lint writes: While we all go through the turmoil of COVID-19 we each have to do what we can. It is important for all students to have access to high quality materials on photohistory as universities, schools and libraries around the world close down so I've opened up Luminous-Lint.
You can login to www.luminous-lint.com for free with the email address spring@lumlint.com and the password "spring" all in lowercase. You can login here.
This will be available until 18 April 2020 and then I will take another look at the situation.
I would ask the following of you:
1. If you see any errors or have something to add let me know. I'm always at alan@luminous-lint.com
2. Subscribe if you can afford it as it allows me to provide services to those who can't.
Other than that - have an interesting time exploring and I wish you, your family and friends all the best,
The British photography world continues to react to the government's latest announcements and advice concerning the coronavirus. Venues are closing and events are being cancelled or postponed. Some of the actions taken by the main photography venues along with upcoming events are noted below. Please comment with details of others.
Events
Symposia, exhibitions (see also venues below) and lectures
Venues
Photographs are found in museums, libraries and archives all over the world and their care can present special challenges. This course is aimed at those responsible for their care. You will learn how to identify the common photographic processes, recognise potential conservation problems and solutions and prioritise care accordingly. The environmental, storage and wider preservation requirements of photographs will be covered, including how these might relate to digitisation projects. Examples of the common processes will be shown and discussed as part of the course. Samples of storage materials and enclosures will be given to participants. Handouts will be included.
The course is led by Susie Clark ACR ICON, an accredited and experienced photographic conservator. Susie has given many courses in a variety of regional and national institutions in many countries and is used to providing practical help and advice.
Courses are £147 each and take place at British Library.
Enquiries +44 (0)1243 818300
A ‘collaborative space for the public to explore, engage and have conversations with museum staff’, the new Ideas Hub will house a series of objects representing all areas of the Museum’s collections. Once visitors have interacted with these exhibits, they will be encouraged to offer feedback on their preferred ways of learning about such items’ stories – both in terms of medium and tone.
“Ideas Hub will see us using our temporary gallery in a very different way to usual, alongside objects we’ll have staff from teams across the museum on gallery throughout the week, a collaboratively programmed workshops space and more opportunities than ever to feedback and start a conversation with the museum,” explained Alice Parsons, the Museum’s interpretation manager, “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to hear from and talk with our visitors about our collections, our exhibitions and our place in the city of Bradford. I hope people will join us in this exciting process and have their say,”
The Hub will be open between 26 March-10 June and is designed to shape the institution’s programming and interpretation in the coming months and years.
https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/ideas-hub-join-conversation
An exhibition on Scotland’s coasts featuring photographs and illustrations from Historic Environment Scotland's (HES) archives will go on display at the Shetland Museum and Archives until 17 May as part of the Year of Coasts and Waters.
The exhibition explores the Viking era, fishing and oil industries, 19th century seaside holiday makers, coastal castles, industrial heritage and lighthouses. The archives span pre-historic times to the modern day and gives visitors an insight into how important the coast has been to life in Scotland.
The exhibition features architect's drawings, Edwardian holiday snaps and unique images taken by HES's survey photographers.
The exhibition will open on Saturday 29 February at the Shetland Museum and Archives, running until Sunday 17 May and is free to enter.
Scotland's Coasts will tour the following sites throughout 2020 and 2021:
More information on HES’ Year of Coasts and Waters activity
In time for International Women's Day today - 8 March - Historic England has recognised the contribution of women photographers represented in the Historic England photography archive. Photographs include the earliest from 1864 by Miss E Scott (shown here) to the more recent architectural work of Margaret Harker.
The current issue of Source magazine (no. 100 / Winter 2019/20) reports on the most recent photography acquisitions and existing photography collections of the Arts Councils of Ireland, England and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Arts Council stopped collecting in 1996.
A tables summarises the top twenty photographers with the most held prints which is headed by John Benton-Harris (80), Chris Killip (62) and Keith Arnatt (57).
The full article can be be read in Source magazine. See: www.source.ie
Details of ACE acquisitions for 2018-19 can be seen here: https://www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk/new-work/new-acquisitions and the full collection can be browsed here: https://www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk/collection
The Arts Council Northern Ireland collection can be viewed here: http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/artwork/imu/
The Arts Council of Ireland collection can be seen here: http://artscouncil.emuseum.com/
Image:
One of the earliest travel photographers in Asia, John Thomson (1837-1921), who travelled extensively across China, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, in the 1860s and early 1870s, is to be honoured with a commemorative plaque in the city of his birth.
Heritage Environment Scotland (HES) is to install a bronze heritage plaque to John Thomson, at his childhood home, 6 Brighton Street, Edinburgh. The Thomson family moved to live in a flat in this tenement building in 1841, when John was four years of age. John Thomson lived there until he left for Singapore in 1861. It is fitting that John Thomson is to be commemorated in this way in his home city at last – and a welcome accolade, celebrating the capital’s significant contribution to Scottish photographic history. The plaque has been supported by the house's current occupants and Edinburgh City Council which gave permission for its installation.
Thomson photographed the people, landscapes and monuments across a large part of south east Asia, resulting in an important series of books describing the places he visited and his own experiences.
Historic Environment Scotland described John Thomson as a towering figure in 19th century photograph, acclaimed for his photography in China. Betty Yao MBE commented: “John Thomson’s photographs provide a rich and lasting visual record of the Far East. They are loved, admired and appreciated by people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds.”
Terry Bennett commented: “John Thomson was a master of the art. The photos he took in the Far East set standards of excellence against which other practitioners are judged. He is particularly revered in China, where he is considered to be China’s most important nineteenth-century Western photographer. When he returned to the UK in 1872, after a ten-year tour of the East, his fame earned him the moniker of ‘China Thomson’.”
Deborah Ireland commented: “It is very fitting that the house where John Thomson lived in Edinburgh, whilst studying at the Watt Institute and School of Arts, is to be marked. He gained a life diploma there in 1858 which enabled him to attend Chemistry classes (today this institute is part of the Heriot-Watt University) and it was the knowledge he gained during this period which propelled him forth into the world to become the leading travel photographer of the Victorian age.”
Thomson was born in Edinburgh in 1837 and died in London in 1921. He is widely acclaimed as one of the best photographers of China of the period. On his return to London in 1872 he ran a successful portrait studio, gaining the royal warrant in 1881. He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society from 1879. Thomson also acted as the principal photography teacher for the Royal Geographical Society, training a new generation of travellers and explorers in photography. He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society from 1879.
His most important publications were Illustrations of China and Its People (1873/4) and Street Life in London (with Adolphe Smith, 1877). John Thomson retired in 1910 and spent most of time in Edinburgh where he continued to write about photography. He died in London in 1921 and his grave was recently restored,
It is hoped that a formal unveiling will be held later this year.
