John Vickers was a theatre photographer of note from the 1930s onwards. A comprehensive archive of documents following Vickers’ career throughout the 1940s and 1950s compliments the London Old Vic collection which is also held at the University of Bristol. Included in the collection are glass plate negatives, prints, framed items,correspondence and ephemera.

John Vickers began his career by working as assistant to photographer Angus McBean in the 1930s, himself a famous name in the world of theatrical photography. From 1939 until the time of his death, he ran his own studio. After the war Vickers made a name for himself and became well known as a theatre photographer. He worked for many London theatres including, most famously the Old Vic. 

He photographed over 1,000 productions and his portraits of actors (such as Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier), writers and musicians gained him a high reputation.

Throughout his photography the influence of Angus McBean can easily be seen, especially in some of his early, more surrealist work.

The legacy of John Vickers can be seen to continue with the photography of Mario Testino, who was his assistant in the 1970s until his death.

What the collection holds

In photographic terms the archive comprises c. 8,000 prints, 20,000 glass plate negatives, 20,000 roll film negatives, and 1,800 colour slides. In addition there are 25 boxes of manuscript material, including articles, teaching manuals, monographs, correspondence (business and personal), journals, card indexes, business papers, covering the whole working life of Vickers. There is also a library of photographic and theatre related material.

The online catalogue for this collection can be viewed here: JV - The John Vickers Archive.

Shirley Baker started to photograph the streets of Manchester and Salford in the early 1960s when homes were being demolished and communities were being uprooted. 'Whole streets were disappearing and I hoped to capture some trace of everyday life of the people who lived there. I was particularly interested in the more mundane, even trivial, aspects of life that were not being recorded by anyone else.'

Shirley’s powerful images, sparked by her curiosity, recorded people and communities involved in fundamental change. People’s homes were demolished as part of a huge ‘slum’ clearance programme, however Shirley was able to capture some of the street life as it had been for generations before the change. The areas have been redeveloped to form a new and totally different environment. As Shirley once said, 'I hope by bridging time through the magic of photography, a connection has been made with a past that should not be forgotten'.

Shirley Baker
Without a Trace: Manchester and Salford in the 1960s
The History Press, September 2018
£20, hard cased
buy here: https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/publication/without-a-trace/9780750988988/

The Centre for Image Research and Diffusion (CRDI) of Girona City Council has created a new web resource focused on the studio portrait. It is a comparative view of this photographic practice with a selection of 10 images for each decade.

See the website here: https://www.girona.cat/sgdap/retrats/cat/index_eng.php

The first exhibition dedicated to leading dog photographer Thomas Fall opens at the Kennel Club Art Gallery on 12 September. The collection, which is the largest historical dog photography archive in the world, will be on display for dog lovers and art enthusiasts alike.

The exhibition, ‘Promoting the Pedigree through Photography: Thomas Fall’, runs from 12 September 2018 to 29 March 2019 in partnership with the Mary Evans Picture Library. It will chart the visual progression of British pedigree dogs through the Thomas Fall rare photographic records. The exhibition will include two personal photographic items (circa 1890) by Thomas Fall loaned by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection.  

Thomas Fall is a name which was and still is synonymous with the highest quality pedigree and champion dog photographs for over a century and comprises important dog photographs from 1875 through to 1990. He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society and exhibition showcases photographic works and archive collectables from all four ‘Thomas Falls’: the original Thomas Fall (b1833-1900) and those who bought and continued the collection after him: Edward Hitchings Parker, Barbara Burrows and Mary Evans Picture Library.

Amongst the rare items on display from the collection will be trademark stamps and handwritten photographic notes relating to commercial products and books, antique cameras, photographs and contextual information regarding the Thomas Fall business enterprise are featured.

The displays are accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition catalogue (available for purchase), which includes further images and information on the history and progression of the Thomas Fall business over the last century. 

The Kennel Club Art Gallery, based in Mayfair, is open to all and free to visit by appointment. Visiting hours are Monday to Friday 9.30am-4.30pm. To book an appointment please contact the Kennel Club Art Gallery on 020 7518 1064 or email artgallery@thekennelclub.org.uk

Images: © Thomas Fall / Mary Evans Picture Library 

Now home to financial heavyweights and epic skyscapers, the Isle of Dogs was once the beating heart of industrial East London. In the early ’80s Mike Seaborne began documenting the area’s social fabric, taking his camera around the streets and inside remaining working factories and businesses.

These photographs, taken between 1982 and 1987, show the island on the cusp of huge development. We see first sightings of the Docklands Light Railway construction from Tower Gateway to Island Gardens, workers in (now demolished) factories on their tea breaks, children paddling in the Thames. Seaborne captured the spirit of a close-knit community, one that soon changed forever when the big money moved in.

Mike Seaborne has been photographing London since 1979. He was Senior Curator of Photographs at the Museum of London until 2011 and now focuses on personal photographic projects.

Hoxton Mini Press is a small but award-winning independent publisher making beautiful, collectable photography books about London and beyond.

The Isle of Dogs: Before the big money
By Mike Seaborne, with an introduction by Ken Worpole
Published 11 October 2018 by
Hoxton Mini Press, £17.95
Book 2 in the series ‘Vintage Britain’,
Hardback, 162mm x 202mm, 192pp
ISBN: 978-1-910566-39-8

To buy a copy click here: https://www.hoxtonminipress.com/collections/books/products/the-isle-of-dogs

A new website explores the history of Polyfoto which began as a chain of high street photography studios in the United Kingdom and is best known for its sheets of multiple-pose images. The website has put out a call for people's own Polyfoto images. 

See: http://www.polyfoto.co.uk/

Rose Teanby's excellent research work looking at early British women photographers continues to grow.  The most recent post is on Lady Emily Payne-Gallwey (sic) who joined the Photographic Society in 1853, it's inaugural year. The other photographers so far in the series are: Mary Ann Boulton, Elizabeth Stockdale WIlkinson, Jessie Mann, Elizabeth Vignoles, Caroline Taylor, Jane Nina Wigley, Catherine Verschoyle, Frances Monteith, 

Rose will be a speaker at the Anna Atkins conference at the New York Public Library in October.

See more here: https://roseteanbyphotography.co.uk/early-women-photographers/

Image: D O Hill and RObert Admason, ‘Unknown Woman 15’, 1843-7, probably photographer Jessie Mann. 
Scottish National Portrait Gallery (PGP HA 2442)

The recent departure of Michael Terwey as Head of Collections and Exhibitions at the National Science and Media Museum has provided an opportunity for the museum to re-thionk itts senior management, with a new role, Head Curator, recently advertised.

Across Science Museum Group, our curatorial team are committed to inspiring futures by sustaining and growing our world-class collection and delivering a creative and bold programme of outputs including exhibitions, galleries, events and online narratives.

To truly lead our curatorial department, build our research profile, develop our collections and deliver content for an ambitious ‘masterplan’, we are looking for a Head Curator to join us at the National Science and Media Museum (NSMM), in Bradford, on a permanent basis.

In this role, you will champion your team to realise our ambitions to collect more contemporary materials, developing and maintaining our collections and creating innovative ways to engage our visitors. You will also be a senior leader at NSMM, communicating our vision to stakeholders, promoting a culture of high performance and encouraging collaborative practice, as well as raising our museums profile and expanding our networks.

Joining us, you will use your significant experience of curating collections and communicating stories in unique ways. Having experience of team leadership and skills at strategically managing budgets you will be passionate about working collaboratively, bringing a well-established network to advocate for best practice and sharing knowledge to develop our collections.

You will be offered excellent benefits including 27 days annual leave in addition to 8 bank holidays, the ability to join our pension scheme, BUPA medical and dental healthcare and an interest free loan offer whilst developing your career in a world class museum group.

For further information please see the SMG website here.

Back in May the NLS / NGS advertised for a curator (see BPH here) for the newly acquired £1 million Mackinnon Collection. The newly appointed curator is Blake Milteer who has most recently been photography collections curator at the National Library of Scotland. Before that he had a number of curatorial and teaching posts in the United States. 

The latest issue of the National Library of Scotland's Discover magazine (Summer 2018)  includes a feature on the Mackinnon Collection (see BPH here). The Collection provides a visual record of how Scotland has changes physically, socially and economically since the 1840s. 

Discover is free from venues in Scotland or can be downloaded here.

The Scottish Society for the History of Photography has been delivering a remarkable series of events, lectures, articles and scholarly texts on the world of historic and contemporary photography since 1986.

This issue of Studies in Photography contributes to the continuing debates around photography and performance in their expanded fields and presents a number of case studies in a diverse and international range of work. This includes Greek funerary practices, Scottish Victorian portraiture, Belgian surrealist work, and the performative image surgery of the French artist ORLAN.

Contents include:

• Photography and Performance
• Photopoetry
• ORLAN 
• Paul Nougé
• Writer’s Choice - Janice Galloway

The Summer 2018 edition is now out. Of particular note is Sara Stevenson's article on Marcus Sparling and Fenton. 

Copies can be purchased here 

A recently issued catalogue from the booksellers Quaritch Victorian Work and Leisure includes a number of unusual photographs, stereocards and items of magic lantern interest. 

Click here to download: 

Victorian%20Pasttime.pdf. 

Drawing on the BBC's rich archive, this documentary reveals the working practices, lives and opinions of some of the greatest photographers of the last 60 years. From Norman Parkinson to David Bailey, Eve Arnold to Jane Bown, Henri Cartier-Bresson to Martin Parr, for decades the BBC has drawn our attention to the creators of what has become the most ubiquitous contemporary art form.

Pioneering BBC programmes like Arena, Monitor and Omnibus have given unique insights into the careers of photography's leading practitioners. Through a selection of fascinating clips, this programme brings into focus the key genres - fashion, portraiture, documentary and landscape - and the characters behind the camera who have helped defined them.

BBC4: On Camera: Photographers at the BBC
Wednesday, 29 August 2018 at 2300, and then on the BBC iPlayer

Organised by Dr Stephen Putnam Hughes and Emily Stevenson, SOAS Anthropology Department, with support from the Economic and Social Research Council and the SOAS South Asia Institute, this one-day conference looks at the role of the postcard in representing peoples and places. Of particular note is the presentation by Professor Elizabeth Edwards, 'Little marks of ownership: museum postcards 1913-1939'. 

See the full programme and book here.

As part of a series of Twilight Talks at Bath's world-renowned fashion  museum Keith Lodwick, Curator of Theatre and Screen Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum, will share a treasure trove of 3D stereoscopic slides from the Vivien Leigh Archive.

Thursday, 13 September 2018 at 1815
£10 adults / £8 students
Fashion Museum, Bath

See more and book here

Tate's growing collection of Paper and Photographic artworks presents unique challenges for conservation and preservation, requiring innovative solutions.

You will lead the development of the team, supporting research and enhancing practice in standards of care. You will formulate a preservation strategy for the historic, modern and contemporary art works in our care and further the national and international profile of the team.

Our Conservation department brings excellence to the care of all Tate’s collections. As a member of the Conservation Management Team, you will work with the Head of Conservation in the strategic planning and leadership of the department. You will co-ordinate the delivery of Tate’s public programme and be responsible for the operational planning, management and development of a team of specialists.

Read more and apply by 21 September here.

The New York Public Library which holds a copy at Anna Atkins' British Algae is hold an an exhibition devoted to her from 19 October 2018-17 February 2019.  Anna Atkins (1799–1871) came of age in Victorian England, a fertile environment for learning and discovery. Guided by her father, a prominent scientist, Atkins was inspired to take up photography, and in 1843 began making cyanotypes—a photographic process invented just the year before—in an effort to visualize and distribute information about her collection of seaweeds. With great daring, creativity, and technical skill, she produced Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, the first book to be illustrated with photographs, and the first substantial application of photography to science. Ethereal, deeply hued, and astonishingly detailed, the resulting images led her and her friend Anne Dixon to expand their visual inquiry to flowering plants, feathers, and other subjects. This exhibition draws upon more than a decade of careful research and sets Atkins and her much-admired work in context, shedding new light on her productions and showcasing the distinctive beauty of the cyanotype process, which is still used by artists today.

Details of a symposium devoted to Atkins and her work will be announced shortly.

A companion exhibition looks at how Atkins's legacy lives on through the works of artists today in Anna Atkins Refracted: Contemporary Works, on view September 28, 2018–January 6, 2019

Read more here: https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/blue-prints-pioneering-photographs-anna-atkins 

Image: Anna Atkins, "Halyseris polypodioides" from Part XII of Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, ca. 1849, cyanotype.

The Royal Photographic Society has a long and distinguished history back to 1853. For much of its existence it has been the place where matters affecting photography’s technical development and its position as an artistic medium were debated and reported on. Its publications and membership are a key resource for anyone researching British photographic history.i

The Society has recently published a blog designed to help those researching its history, members and exhibitions. See more here: http://www.rps.org/blogs/2018/august/researching-the-society

To truly lead our curatorial department, build our research profile, develop our collections and deliver content for an ambitious 'masterplan', we are looking for a Head Curator to join us at the National Science and Media Museum (NSMM), in Bradford, on a permanent basis.

In this role, you will champion your team to realise our ambitions to collect more contemporary materials, developing and maintaining our collections and creating innovative ways to engage our visitors. You will also be a senior leader at NSMM, communicating our vision to stakeholders, promoting a culture of high performance and encouraging collaborative practice, as well as raising our museums profile and expanding our networks. 

Joining us, you will use your significant experience of curating collections and communicating stories in unique ways. Having experience of team leadership and skills at strategically managing budgets you will be passionate about working collaboratively, bringing a well-established network to advocate for best practice and sharing knowledge to develop our collections.

You will be offered excellent benefits including 27 days annual leave in addition to 8 bank holidays, the ability to join our pension scheme, BUPA medical and dental healthcare and an interest free loan offer whilst developing your career in a world class museum group.

Click here to view the Vacancy Information Pack which provides you with details of the role and supporting statement questions.

More here too.

This is not simply another colloquium about African photography within the field of visual studies. It is concerned with the question of how histories are written or assembled, and the materials that are drawn upon to narrate or analyse the past of the African continent, and the relationships between them. The field of African history is usually dominated by texts and oral-based accounts. When we ask what images (particularly photographs) do to the constitution of pastness and how it is narrated, this opens another kind of discussion. Fundamentally this is about the way photographs sit in uneasy and ambiguous relation to other materials generated in the past. They organise time and space differently. 'Photographs change everything’ (Edwards). What analytical opportunities do these insights open to us?

One part of this thinking concerns the disruptions of photographs when brought into conversation with other historical materials. There is a discursive association of history with what is visible, and what is usually taken into account archivally, which photographs are not. Does this mean that photographs constitute a kind of historical unconscious, at the edge of history? 

A further part of our thinking is stimulated by the way photographs themselves work ‘at the edge of sight’, which goes beyond normative ways of seeing of, or through, photographs. Our keynote lecture will be presented by Shawn Michelle Smith of the Chicago Art Institute, author of On the Edge of Sight and co-editor of Photography and the Optical Unconscious. 

Papers are not geographically confined to the African continent. We invite papers that address the more general methodological and theoretical challenges of working with photographs in relation to other archives and media. Abstracts should be sent to visualhistoryuwc@gmail.com. Full papers for pre-circulation will be requested several weeks in advance of the workshop. 

The workshop is organized by the National Research Foundation (NRF) SARChI Chair in Visual History and Theory, Centre for Humanities Research, University of the Western Cape. All workshop accommodation and meals will be covered. A limited amount of funding is available for travel costs.  

Deadline for abstracts: 31 July 2018

Contact: Patricia Hayes, visualhistoryuwc@gmail.com

On the Edge of History: Photographs and African Archives 

International Workshop on Visual History & Theory

Cape Town

27-28 September, 2018

The University of St Andrews Library, Special Collections Division will be hosting a conference on Stereo Photography from 18-19 October, 2018 in conjunction with the St Andrews Photography Festival 2018: (Stereo)Views of Scotland.

The topics are broad reaching and will cover both the historic as well as the contemporary; from the rivalry between Sir David Brewster and Charles Wheatstone to how we have used, understood and interacted with 3D photography over the past two centuries.

This two day conference is an opportunity for researchers, historians, photographers, collectors, curators, collections staff and photo-enthusiasts alike to come together, in the home of Scottish Photography and picturesque town of St Andrews to gain a better understanding of the birth, development and evolving media that is stereoscopy.

All 3D presentations throughout the conference are delivered with the generous support of the London Stereoscopic Company.

For registration and to see the full programme click here: http://ow.ly/oI7m30l6KX9