london (6)
Featured in the Pre-Raphaelite Society Review, Summer 2024 issue is my research into a photograph of Jane Morris by Herbert Watkins I rediscovered in the St Bride Library. It was mistaken for another, well known version. Together with another renctly digitised version these three different versions are now published together for the first time. They are from the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the William Morris Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.The museums involved mention different dates (1858- 1860) and I have joined this community hoping to learn more about the details of this photography session (and any other photograph made of Jane Burden Morris).
At the Photography show in Birmingham earlier this year a roll of film was left in the donations box of the Disabled Photographers' Society. When developed and scanned it was found to be shot at the 1948 Olympic games in London. They are seeking clues as to the photographer and as many of the subjects as they can. They look as if they were taken from the trackside, so access was granted to areas probably not available to the general public.
The world is full of 35mm format cameras, both film and digital, with interchangeable lenses, but few people know that this practice commenced in Britain in the late 1920s before Leitz started its own range of interchangeable lens cameras with the I Model C, which was introduced in 1930. This involved conversions to the hitherto single lens Leica I Model A, introduced in 1925, to allow the fitting of some British made lenses, such as those made by Ross and Dallmeyer, both of whom had been optical giants in the British market since the mid 19th Century. German made Meyer lenses were also fitted to Leicas in London by A.O. Roth who was an importer for the brand. Some of the innovations created in Briatin fed into the later models introduced by Leica and others and, in one case, the feature still exists on all interchangeable lens cameras to this day.
My Video on YouTube was made for the Photographic Collectors Club of Great Britain (PCCGB) and also gives the 'before' and 'after' sitaution as regards changing lenses without the use of a lens board.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOqNGCAIOsU&t=71s
Some photos (courtesy of Wetzlar Camera Auctions) from my video featuring a Dallmeyer Dallon Tele- Anastigmatic 4 inch lens on a Leica I Model A from 1929 are below. This conversion was done by Sinclair who had a shop at 9 &10 Charing Cross which became 3 Whitehall around 1930. The shop did not move, but the address changed
I have discovered yet another 19thC photographer in my family, this time on my Father's side and operating from the Old Kent Road area. I have found one of two examples of his CDV's but would welcome any further information?
Regards, Peter
Hemera, a London based curatorial collective specialising in photography, has just launched the London Photography Diary, a website dedicated to listing photography exhibitions, events, and conferences in London: www.london-photography-diary.com. The website also features photography related videos, reviews, and an image sharing portal. Please check it out and join our mailing list to receive our weekly newsletters. The two curators who are editing the site are Sarah Allens and Rachael Graves.
