Kingston Museum has launched a website devoted to the life and achievements of Eadweard Muybridge, along with the opportunity to search the collections of Muybridge's material that it holds. In 1904, Muybridge bequeathed an extensive collection of his life’s work to Kingston Museum making it the largest and most significant Muybridge collection in the world. The website was project managed by Kingston Museum curator Seoyoung Kim.
See: https://muybridgeinkingston.co.uk/
A collection of extraordinary 19th-century portraits that radically shifts our understanding of the presence and identities of the Black subject in Victorian Britain. These striking studio portraits, curated and brought together following ten years of research championed by Autograph, constitute the most comprehensive collection of 19th-century photography depicting the Black subject in the Victorian era, including some of the earliest known images of Black people photographed in Britain.
The historically marginalized lives of both ordinary and prominent Black figures of African, Afro-Caribbean, South Asian and mixed heritage are seen through a prism of curatorial advocacy and experimental scholarly assemblage. Black Chronicles features high quality reproductions of plate negatives, cartes de visite and cabinet cards, many of which were buried deep in various private and public archives including the Hulton Archive’s remarkable London Stereoscopic Company collection, unseen for decades. These photographs are linked with imperial and colonial narratives through newly commissioned essays and rare lecture transcripts, in-conversation and text interventions by Caroline Bressey, Henry Louis Gates Jr, Paul Gilroy, Stuart Hall, M. Neelika Jayawardane, Lola Jaye, René Mussai and Val Wilmer, and an afterword by Mark Sealy.
Built upon groundbreaking, in-depth new research, Black Chronicles opens up photographic archives to expand and enrich photography’s complex cultural histories and subjectivities, offering an essential insight into the visual politics of race, representation and difference in the Victorian era by addressing this crucial missing chapter.
Introduction and texts by Renée Musai, Foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Text by Paul Gilroy, Text by Stuart Hall, Text by Caroline Bressey, Text by Lola Jaye, Text by M. Neelika Jayawardane, Afterword by Mark Sealy, Text by Val Wilmer
Black Chronicles. Photography, Race and Difference in Victorian Britain
Reneé Mussai (editor)
Thames & Hudson
Hardcovers, 304 pages
ISBN:9780500026618
Read more here
We are delighted to advertise a job opportunity at the museum. There is a vacancy for the post of Curatorial Assistant, a position funded by our award from Research England's Higher Education Museums, Galleries, and Collections Fund. The role will help extend our services to external researchers, as well as assist with general duties in the museum. You can find the advert and application for the post of Curatorial Assistant at Grade D here.The deadline for applications is 27th May.
This is a rare opportunity to join the team at the UK's leading cinema museum, based at the University of Exeter. We look forward to hearing from you!
See: https://www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/news/job-opportunity-at-the-bill-douglas-cinema-museum/
The programme has been published and registration open for the Photographic History Research Centere's annual conference, which is themed Photography, Value, History.
What is the history of photography’s value a history of? Is it a labour and economic history? An institutional history of museum cataloguing systems and art market pressure? A history of the values promoted by photography as a cultural and social activity? A history of photographic conventions, trends and fashions? Recent publications like issue 8 of Photographica in 2024 and the PHRC conference of 2023 “Photography in its Environment”, showed the increasing volume of work dealing in one way or another with photography and value.
In this PHRC 2025 conference speakers shall use the ambiguity of the term “value” as a starting point to reflect on the intertwined political, social, economic, scientific and historical factors that have shaped the value(s) of photography. They will use of diverse methodological perspectives to critically analyse what has made photography valuable to a variety of stakeholders.
Papers will focus on topics related, but not limited to themes like:
As in recent previous years, the conference is offered in person and online, allowing speakers and delegates to participate remotely or on site.
Details here: https://photographichistory.wordpress.com/annual-conference-2025/
A groundbreaking new tour tracing the footsteps of legendary 19th-century photographer John Thomson is set to launch this season. This unique journey offers photography enthusiasts, history buffs, and cultural explorers the chance to experience the people, landscapes, and traditions of China as Thomson did during his pioneering travels in the 1860s.
The John Thomson in China – A Photographic History tour takes travelers from the bustling streets of Guangzhou (Canton) to the imperial grandeur of Beijing (Peking), stopping along China’s historic coast to capture both timeless and modern scenes. Known for his remarkable documentation of the Far East, Thomson was one of the first Western photographers to record the diverse cultures of Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China. His work laid the foundations of travel photography and social reportage, revolutionising the way people understood life across the world.
A Journey Through History and Photography
Led by Deborah Ireland, an esteemed photographic historian and authority on Thomson’s work, the tour offers an immersive, educational experience. Ireland, who has lectured extensively on Thomson and written on the travels of the famous explorer Isabella Bird, will provide in-depth commentary and insights throughout the journey. Participants will visit many of the same sites Thomson documented, with opportunities to compare his 19th-century photographs to the scenes as they exist today.
The tour will engage with local historical societies to give travelers a richer understanding of China’s society, architecture, and everyday life during the late Qing Dynasty — the time Thomson conducted his work. In Beijing and Shanghai, guests will have the opportunity to explore traditional districts, some of which Thomson photographed, and discover the blend of history and modernity that characterises these vibrant cities.
What to Expect on the Tour:
Guided tours through Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, revisiting iconic locations Thomson photographed in the 1860s.
Jon Baines, company founder and tour creator, commented: “John Thomson could be considered the godfather of travel photography. His work opened a window to a part of the world that was then largely unknown to Western audiences. He didn’t just capture the landscapes and architecture; he documented the spirit of the people — from emperors to everyday citizens. This tour is an extraordinary opportunity to walk in his footsteps, understand his vision, and see how much has changed — or remained the same — since the 19th century." He added, “Thomson taught photography at the Royal Geographical Society, of which he became a Life Fellow, and his work has stood the test of time.”
This tour is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for anyone interested in the convergence of history, culture, and photography. It promises not just an exploration of China’s visual history, but a deep dive into the evolving narrative of how photography has shaped our understanding of different cultures over time.
Tour Dates: 11 – 26 October 2025
For more information, please visit: www.jonbainestours.com/china
About John Thomson
John Thomson (1837–1921) was a Scottish photographer, geographer, and traveler who was among the first to photograph the Far East. His work documenting the diverse cultures of Asia and the streets of London made him a trailblazer in both travel photography and social reportage, helping to lay the foundations of modern photojournalism.
About Deborah Ireland
Deborah Ireland is an accomplished photographic historian who has lectured widely on the work of John Thomson and the travels of Isabella Bird. She is known for her deep knowledge of 19th-century photography and her ability to bring history to life for modern audiences.
The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation is seeking donations of Focal Press books or the two magazines published by Focal, the publishing imprint specialising in photographic and film processes and techniques. Books with illustrative covers and dust wrappers would be welcome in particular. In addition, any catalogues or other Focal Press printed materials from the period 1938 to 1978 would also be of interest. Focal Press was founded in 1938 by Andor Kraszna-Krausz, who established the charitable foundation which bears his name upon his death in 1989. More information about the Foundation and its activities can be found here.
For further details about how to donate, please email: info@kraszna-krausz.org.uk
Andor Kraszna-Krausz (1904-1989)
Andor Kraszna-Krausz (KK) was born in Hungary. After studying photography and cinematography in Munich he moved to Berlin where he secured a job with the publisher Wilhelm Knapp. He edited the technical journal Die Filmtechnik and, from 1931, the Filmbücher für alle series of books. KK moved to Britain in 1937 and established Focal Press the following year. His significant contribution to photographic publishing was recognised towards the end of his life. His archive was left to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford.
Focal Press
Andor Kraszna-Krausz established Focal Press in 1938 producing practical guides to cameras and techniques for photography and moving image. Initially aimed at amateurs, Focal Press expanded its scope to cater to professionals and to include areas of focus such as audio recording, television and video. Focal Press commissioned knowledgeable authors and experienced editors and utilised KK’s own extensive publishing experience. By the time KK retired in 1978 over 1200 titles had been produced selling over fifty million books, in multiple languages. Focal Press continues today as part of Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation and Book Prize
In 1985 Andor Kraszna-Krausz set up the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation with the intention of providing an annual award for the best books on photography and the moving image, and grants to support research projects. The first Awards were held the same year.
Endowed after his death, the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards continue to celebrate excellence in photography and moving image publishing. Awards are made annually with a £10,000 prize divided between the two categories.
With thanks.
I am currently writing the Eastham brothers’ life story for inclusion in the PCCGB’s book to commemorate their 50th Anniversary. Over the years I have assembled a collection of their cartes de visite, and those of their brother Enos (1826 – 1886).
I need help trying to ascertain whether they actually purchased a daguerreotype licence in late 1845 or early 1846 presumably from Beard’s licensee for Lancashire, John Johnson.
On 25 August 1845 Messrs. Holt and Eastham, ostensibly “from Paris”, announced that they were taking “DAGUERREOTYPE LIKENESSES …. in 5 seconds, at very reasonable charges, from 9 till four each day”. As the first photographers to visit Preston, their first fortnight was “extensively patronised”.
However, Robert Holt and Silas Eastham’s partnership was short lived, being dissolved on 9 September. Likely threatened with legal action by Johnson, Silas’ subsequent advertisements dropped the Royal coat of arms and any reference to Daguerreotypes, thenceforth simply headed “PHOTO-EFFIGY”.
Historically the earliest photographs of Preston have been attributed to Silas, however I believe that John deserves more credit. The fact that advertisements after October 1845 simply refer to “Mr. Eastham” does not help!
The only reference I have come across to their having been a licence is in Table 1 (p385) of a paper “Beard Patentee: Daguerreotype Property and Authorship" by Steve Edwards published in the Oxford Art Journal, 2013. It was not mentioned in Robert Fisher’s piece in the Daguerreian Annual, 1992.
I would be grateful to anyone who can point me in the direction of, or provide me with, any relevant papers or publications so as to enable me to investigate this further. Thank you!
The Directory of Travelling Photographers. Part 1: 1841-1881 and the new Part 2: 1882-1921 are now both available online via the Romany and Traveller Family History Society (RTFHS) website. The website has just been updated with part 2. Additional records have been found for the earlier period, and for post -921. It is hoped to incorporate these into one consolidated volume later in the year in both chronological and alphabetical formats.
The Directory is the result of research by Chy Hersey, a RTFHS member, who found that travelling photographers were little known or acknowledged. Several hundred individuals have been uncovered to date, coming from a variety of backgrounds. Some of these had Romany, showfolk or similar associations, but many did not. Some even became nationally recognised or claimed to have important and even royal patronage.
In due course even more travelling photographers will be included when the two volumes are consolidated and an A-Z listing is compiled. If you know of a travelling photographer who should be included – and especially any photographs of or by travelling photographers – please let the RTFHS know. Email: editor@rtfhs.org.uk
As before, the primary aims are to create greater awareness of the role of travelling photographers within the wider community, and to assist with correlation of photographs to photographers. The extent of finds means that the Directory cannot provide full biographical details but it is hoped to provide some exemplar stories in due course. Both parts have short introductions with notes on search methods and related resources, followed by listings in chronological order. Brief details are given, usually of first reference, together with source of information. Entries can also be searched for surnames, locations, etc. The lists include some related details which place the lives of travelling photographers in context, such as their family links, area and methods of travel, perils and misfortunes.
See: https://rtfhs.org.uk/new-the-directory-of-travelling-photographers-part-2-1882-1921/
The receipients of the Archives Revealed Scoping Grant programme for 2025-26 managed by The National Archives have been announced. Inevitably photography is integral to many of the recipients' collections. The programme is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation and The National Archives.
Of particular note is Oldham Archives which holds the Oldham Chronicle collection. The Chronicle archive is 77.3 cubic metres in size, which would fill around three quarters of a double decker bus, and consists of the firm’s own business records, photographs, negatives and glass slides dating back to the 1930s, as well as news cuttings covering key people, events, places, communities, crime and sport.
Lakeland Arts Trust, Cumbria Archive centre and Kendal Library hold the collections of Joseph Hardman, Lakeland photographer. Joseph Hardman’s photographic collection documents the changing face of the Lake District from the 1930s to the 1960s. With over 5000 glass plate negatives and 11000 photographs, the collection is an important record of how agriculture and rural traditions changed and sometimes disappeared in the mid to late 20th Century. The scoping grant will enable these organisations to work with a consultant and identify the best approach to making the collection accessible, through a unified catalogue, digitisation strategy, volunteer participation and community engagement. The consultant’s report will be a road map to sharing this important collection with a wider audience.
The Ouseburn Trust collection is a unique and wide-ranging record of the changes taking place in the area over the past few hundred years, from cradle of the industrial revolution to thriving urban village. Crucially, it tells the story of an intensive heritage-led redevelopment that took place from the 1980s that has become an important urban planning landmark and an exemplar of place-based regeneration. Ouseburn Trust will produce a scoping grant that will help them survey the organisation’s history and role in the regeneration, make the social history of the valley more accessible, and continue to collect stories sustainably. The collection consists of photographs, oral histories, and key planning documentation that help tell a story of huge change in the once predominantly working-class East End of Newcastle, but it needs help with accessibility and coherency.
Read more about these and the other recipients here. Past grant recipients are also available to view.
Image: Oldham life in the 1930s. Oldham Archives
Hill and Adamson salt print is available to purchase if anyone is in NYC or can work through the various taxes and shipping information, at Swann Auctions. Though judging by the expression on the sitters face(Professor Monro) and the book in his hand, he has already made a start on it.
Apparently from Virginia, Birt Acres appeared out of nowhere in Britain aged 35, without a trace of his former life. Yet immediately he became a prominent figure in the late Victorian photographic world. He soon teamed up with Robert Paul to make a moving picture camera and then shot the first commercial films in Britain in spring 1895, in parallel with the work of the Lumière brothers in France, before repeating this in Germany. His innovations included being the first to establish a dedicated venue for watching films, to give a Royal Command Performance of moving pictures, to create screen advertising, and to design a home movie camera.
A disdain for showbusiness led to Acres squandering the commercial opportunities he created, and initiated the erasure of his remarkable story. From early in the twentieth century, film historians have consistently underestimated and undervalued his achievements.
In this book, for the first time, we see a detailed and compelling portrait of Birt Acres, with substantial new research on his early work in moving pictures and on the careers of his associates, leading directly to new interpretations of the importance of this elusive pioneer. It draws on a wealth of fresh sources, with a massively expanded filmography supporting this re-evaluation. Written by three specialists in early film history, this volume significantly revises the received story of Birt Acres as a photographer and film-maker, at the same time casting new light on the beginnings of cinema in Britain.
Finding Birt Acres. The Rediscovery of a Film Pioneer
Deac Rossell, Barry Anthony and Peter Domankiewicz
University of Exeter Press, 2025
336 Pages, 116 Black & white illustrations
£90. Discount code for a 30 per cent discount: ACRES30
See: https://www.exeterpress.co.uk/products/finding-birt-acres
The National Portrait Gallery, which owns twelve volumes of Camile Silvy's studio daybooks, has published a blog by Paul Frecker tracing the story of the daybooks and the missing volume 11 (July 1863-June 1864). Frecker also explores the importance of the books and Silvy's negatives. He is the author of Cartomania published in 2024 by September Publishing.
Read the full blog here:https://www.npg.org.uk/blog/blog-container/camille-silvy-daybooks-missing-volume
Details of Paul Frecker's Cartomania are here
The National Archives, Kew, has announced a series of summer seminars. Of particular interest to photographic historians are:
Drawing on the photographic family archive of three generations of amateur photographers from Romania covering the inter-war, communist and post-communist transition period of the 1990s, Uschi Klein (Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Media, University of Brighton) explores family photographs as visual narratives that document societal, cultural and political issues in a global context from a personal perspective. She will further investigate the practices, silences and ideologies of this particular family archive and how it constructs a narrative about Romania’s historical past, thereby functioning as the foundation of historical imagination and understanding.
Uschi joins chair Giorgia Tolfo, Collections Researcher at The National Archives, to talk about image-making as a vernacular practice of resistance and survival in the context of political eras. Free. Details here
Crowdsourcing the Past: Memory Projects in South Asia with Mallika Leuzinger on 24 July 2025 from 1300-1330
Exploring her encounters with crowdsourced platforms whilst researching the development of amateur and domestic photography in the subcontinent, Mallika Leuzinger (German Historical Institute London) discusses how the platforms mobilise visual and material artefacts and a language of civic participation and range from purpose-built websites, Instagram accounts, and Facebook groups. Mallika traces the lives of these picture libraries to think through the will to ‘crowdsource’ the past in order to understand history as an everyday matter.
Mallika joins chair Philip Carter, Academic Director at the Royal Historical Society, to discuss curatorial strategies, demographic entities, funding structures, political ideologies, and concerns about data collection attached to emergent archives. Free. Details here
Paul Messier, Director of the Lens Media Lab at Yale University’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, has nnounced that the lab will cease operations from 30 June 2025 as a consequence of a lack of funding. Founded in 2015 with funding and vision from the John Pritzker Family Fund, the Lens Media Lab led a pioneering research program, integrating physics, data science, art history, and conservation science to study 20th century photographic materials. Through advanced analytical techniques, including large-scale measurement of physical and chemical properties, computer vision, and the creation of reference databases, the lab identified, classified, and contextualized thousands of photographic papers and prints. This interdisciplinary approach provided profound insights into expressive properties of paper, artistic practices, manufacturing histories, and preservation needs of photographic collections.
Reflecting on the lab’s achievements, Messier stated, “When we began our work, the idea of applying empirical measurements to establish a ground truth for interpreting creative practice was untested and novel. Through deep interdisciplinary collaboration, we opened new doors for art history and conservation.” The initial gift enabled Yale to acquire Messier’s reference collection of historic photographic papers—comprising over 7,500 examples identified by maker, brand, and date. Considered the largest of its kind globally, press accounts describe the collection as the 'genome' of black-and-white photography.
The lab also organized two major symposia at Yale. Material Immaterial: Photographs in the 21st Century(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) (2019) and Darkroom to Data(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) (2024) examined, respectively, the pivot from analog to digital photography and future research applications of the lab’s work.
In 2024, the lab launched Paperbase, an innovative online platform that integrates semantic descriptions with precise measurements of visual qualities—including reflectance, texture, and tone—to characterize the material properties of photographic papers from the 20th century. Built on over 95,000 data points and approximately 15,000 images from the LML reference collection, users praise Paperbase for its groundbreaking approach to data visualization.
An early and significant resource developed by the lab is TIPPS(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) (Tipped-In Photographic Prints), an app focused on photographic prints in international photography journals and manuals published between 1855 and 1900. Developed through a collaboration with Library of Congress researcher Adrienne Lungren and LML art historian Kappy Mintie, scholars widely cite TIPPS for its data exposing regional and international trade patterns in 19th century photography. Other notable contributions include an online compendium of manufacturer markings(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) applied to papers, and a site devoted to essays on the history of major manufacturers(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) of photographic materials.
The online resources will remain accessible on the Institute's website..
Read more about the Lab here.
With thanks to Helen Trompeteler for flagging this news.
London's Photographers' Gallery is seeking a curator and an assistant curator. The Curator role involves curating, exhibition planning & delivery, and liaising with the wider Gallery team on budgeting, fundraising & development, press and communications, exhibition installation and events. As Assistant Curator you will support the work of the exhibitions team by providing key administrative support, as well as researching and delivering exhibitions at The Photographers' Gallery.
Details here: https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/about-us/job-vacancies-tpg
Displayed in the ‘Burra’ room at Rye Art Gallery, as a part of Terry Hulf’s Retrospective: Notes from a Landscape, we are delighted to present 30 monochrome portraits of artists, which have additional impact for us at Rye Art Gallery. Terry’s relationship with this ‘colony’ of artists that work here on the Sussex and Kent borders stretches back a long way. He captures them here at different moments both in the present and in time past. It is a history of connections with artists that chimes closely with the history of the gallery too. This year we celebrate 60 years of showing contemporary artworks from these artists in the gallery and developing our own permanent collection, which in turn tells an important story of art in Sussex and beyond.
Many of the artists that feature here have now passed on, or as my mother would say (DAP) meaning ‘dead at present’. They are however, not forgotten for with an artist comes not only a legacy of a life but also of their artworks that remains with us always. Terry’s approach to these portraits seems little different to his approach to his landscape work. There is the same simplicity and a gentle respect for the sitter that emanates throughout all these portraits. Terry chooses the setting and light but otherwise his intrusion is minimal, over and above that special moment when the breath is exhaled and the shutter is released.
Looking closer at these portraits we can see they have stories to tell of themselves, a visual representation of the human condition. For example, the photograph of Fred Cuming RA (1931-2022) taken in his studio in1985. Our much admired and beloved narrative landscape painter is surrounded by all the material attributes that go with his profession, unfinished canvasses in various stages of completion, tubes of oil paints oozing onto palettes, alongside many used paint brushes which are strewn about. In the foreground the painter sits leaning forward and so there he is, in all probability the greatest ‘colourist’ that this country has ever produced.
He sits with trademark cigarette in hand, at the very height of his powers, fixing the viewer with a tantalising gaze, as if about to ask a question, or even reveal the secret to his artistry. Equally, for those of us who were lucky to have known Fred, the photo for me evokes a memory of a joke and the way in which the serious twinkle in his eyes would soon be followed by shoulder shaking, mischievous laughter that was loud enough to carry right across from Camber to the marshes of Dungeness.
Dr. Julian Day
Curator, Rye Art Gallery
Artists Portraits by Terry Hul
Notes from a Landscape with Terry Hulf opens on May 10th at Rye Art Gallery
Rye Art Gallery
Saturday 10 May - Sunday 29 June 2025
Further details: ryeartgallery@gmail.com
Image: Fred Cuming RA, 1985 portrait, Selenium toned, gelatin silver print by Terry Hulf
This new book investigates the effects of mobility and place on a range of photographic archives and explores their potential for cross-disciplinary dialogue. It explores photographic images used in the study of art, as well as the implications of placing European images of non-European cultures in an archive, album, library, or museum. It also addresses questions of digital space, which renders images more visually accessible, but further complicates issues relating to location. The contributors consider these issues through case studies based on a variety of archives, institutions, and disciplines. Just as photographs are conceived as unstable objects, so conventional borders between disciplines and locations are challenged and opened up with chapters drawing on a range of disciplinary theories and practices.
The focus of the individual chapters is global, as seen in contributions not only on Euro-American topics, but also on Orientalizing approaches to photographing the Ancient Near East, photographic archives of Bedouin subjects, and digital photographic archives in an Iranian context.
This book will be of interest to scholars of art history, visual and cultural studies, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as those working on the history and theory of photography, and histories and theories of the archive.
Photo Archives and the Place of Photography
Geraldine A. Johnson, Deborah Schultz (editors)
£116, ebook £31.99, 246 pages 62 B/W illustrations
Routledge, 2025
Details here
LOOK OUT FOR A 20% DISCOUNT CODE WITH NEXT WEEK'S WEEKLY UPDATE - SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THIS
As part of the project “GENIAC: Generative Artificial Intelligence for Archival Images of the Colonial Period,” we are organising a one-day international workshop at Imperial War Museums, London, on Tuesday 13th May, from approximately 9:15 to 16:00.
This not-to-be missed event brings together leading professionals from the GLAM sector, AI researchers, historians and digital humanists to explore the ethical and technical challenges of applying AI to colonial-era photographic archives. Colonial historical records are often very sensitive, for example when they show violence and humiliation of colonised populations. Even when collections have been digitised, they are not always easily discoverable, for instance in the case of missing or problematic metadata containing racist or outdated language. Making archival records more accessible, in a responsible way, is a key priority.
The GENIAC project, funded by the British Academy, will harness AI to enable responsible access to colonial images from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Co-designed with source communities from formerly colonised countries, the project will lead to a series of outputs—such as datasets and AI-powered tools, including a chat box that will allow users to ask questions using natural language.
Our speakers include representatives from prominent cultural institutions such as the Imperial War Museums, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Musée de l’Armée (France), Royal Museum for Central Africa (Belgium), The National Archives UK, ECPAD, and the Digital Benin project. We will also welcome academic contributors from top universities and research groups across the UK and Europe, including King’s College London, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Oxford, KU Leuven, University of Amsterdam, and CNRS/INHA (France).
A collaborative session will focus on preparing a Horizon Europe collaborative proposal (2 to 3 million euros) for a future project on ethical access to colonial archival images.
To express your interest in participating, please email the following to L.zhao6@lboro.ac.uk and l.jaillant@lboro.ac.uk by 29th April 2025:
We hope you can join us for what promises to be a rich and timely conversation.
Professor Lise Jaillant, GENIAC PI
Dr Lingjia Zhao, GENIAC research associate
While working as Beaford’s Photographer-in-Residence, renowned documentary photographer James Ravilious invited members of the public to share their historic photographs of rural North Devon. Ravilious re-photographed these for inclusion in the Beaford Photographic Archive and returned the originals to their owner. The resultant collection of around 9000 images became known informally as the ‘Old Archive’.
The Cataloguer will play a pivotal role in unlocking the full potential of the Beaford Old Archive collection by leading a cataloguing programme, which will bring continuity to this vast record of rural lives in North Devon. Working to high standards and clear targets, they’ll create a robust, industry-standard catalogue that will support more intuitive image searches and lay the foundation to improve and expand the current Beaford Archive website. This vital work will also connect the collection to broader archival and academic networks, vastly expanding its reach and impact.
Beaford Archive: The Lost Decades is a 2-year project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Project Cataloguer for Beaford Archive: The Lost Decades
Location: Hybrid role including some on location work in Barnstaple, Exeter (Devon Heritage Centre) in North Devon communities and home working.
Salary: £33,000-£35,000
Status: Part time 0.5FTE (22.5 hours per week) fixed term appointment for 15 months
Annual Leave: 25 days per annum plus bank holidays pro rata
Closes: 19 May 2025
For further details on how to apply and to download a copy of the job description, please see: www.beaford.org/workwithus
Shifting Perspectives will explore how photography has shaped and recorded the urban architectural heritage of Scotland. By examining Scottish photography from the 1840s to the present day, architectural styles, photographic records, and the influence of new technologies, the conference will provide a comprehensive look at how cities and towns have been represented and perceived through the lens. Academics, students, architects, photographers, and cultural historians will gather to discuss how photography influences not only the perception of Scotland’s built environment but also the way our modern towns and cities are planned and designed.
The programme is now available and booking is now open.
Shifting Perspectives: Scotland's Urban Architecture Through the Lens
20 May 2025
The Engine Shed, Forthside Way Stirling FK8 1QZ
Bookings can be made at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shifting-perspectives-scotlands-urban-architecture-through-the-lens-tickets-1268472006919?aff=oddtdtcreator
Supported by Historic Environment Scotland, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and Scottish Council on Archives
