Blogs

Marking the culmination of a £6.8 million transformation, the National Science and Media Museum’s Sound and Vision galleries – spanning two floors – showcase world class collections of photography, film, television, animation, video game and sound technologies. Following on from the museum’s 18-month closure and partial reopening in January 2025, the Sound and Vision galleries will welcome their first visitors on 10 July. 

Thanks to a transformational gift from The National Lottery Heritage Fund – made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the new galleries feature over 500 exhibits, a new art commission and a range of multi-media content. Designed by award-winning AOC architecture, the galleries mark the completion of the Sound and Vision project and they explore globally significant stories of technological innovation and social change.

The displays have been created in collaboration with key audiences and community groups, ensuring that they resonate with a range of visitors. 

In the first section, ‘Innovation’, visitors encounter some of the earliest examples of photographic, film and sound technologies and Europe’s first IMAX projector, first installed in the museum in 1983, providing a gateway into the evolution of visual technologies.  From William Henry Fox Talbot’s earliest photographic negatives to Louis Le Prince’s single lens cine camera – a world first which captured moving film footage in Leeds – visitors can explore the origins of media technologies.  Other highlights include the camera used by Herbert Ponting to document Scott’s Antarctic Expedition in 1910 and John Logie Baird’s groundbreaking ‘television apparatus’ from 1926. These pioneers found new ways to explore and share our world through the media technologies they developed, just as creators and inventors continue to do so today. 

The ‘Identities’ section explores the countless ways that media technologies help us express who we are. Tracing the development of photography from early portrait studios to the first popular cameras and the ongoing development of digital imagery, photographic technologies have given millions of people the opportunity to capture their lives. This gallery also tells the story of home-made gadgets and communities that bring people together through tech.  In Gig Zone, visitors can explore the ways in which media technologies have enhanced our shared experience of live music, showcasing a mixing desk used by The Prodigy and the iconic Marshall amplifier stack. 

As well as telling our own stories, sound and vision technologies enable us to create rich, imagined worlds. The ‘Storytelling’ section of the galleries takes visitors on a journey through visual effects workshops, the sound worlds of Doctor Who via the Radiophonic Workshop, and the meticulous, technical work of some of the world’s leading animation studios. Iconic horror film props are brought to life in an evocative display featuring Dracula’s fangs as worn by Christopher Lee and a model of the eponymous Alien head and torso from the 1979 film. 

Stories can be entertaining, but media technologies have also been used to trick and manipulate and the displays challenge visitors to think about what they can and can’t trust as they navigate them. At the intersection of entertainment and manipulation, the museum’s prized Cottingley Fairies cameras and photographs take centre stage in a special interactive installation. 

Today’s museum visitors are used to sound and vision technologies being ever-present and the ‘Everywhere’ section asks how we got here and how media technologies have changed society. At the heart of the gallery is a newly commissioned artwork supported by Art Fund, ‘Circus’ by Nayan Kulkarni. In this playful experience, visitors move around a room of ‘digital mirrors’ - momentarily becoming part of the museum’s displays, highlighting our role in modern media technologies as both subject and creator. ‘Circus’ sees a double height space opened up between the galleries on levels 3 and 5 and by linking the two floors vertically through this central installation, Kulkarni’s work invites visitors to experience the gallery as one connected, dynamic space. 

Visual media have been used across the world to share stories with and for communities – be it through travelling magic lantern displays in the 18th century right up to the present day with community shadow puppet shows. Radio has been a popular tool for the dissemination of national messages as well as amongst grassroots communities and this section of the galleries explores the rich tradition of commentary by the people for the people, with an authentic – and interactive – recreation of Bradford Community Broadcasting’s radio studio.  

The Sound and Vision galleries have been shaped by the voices of people from Bradford and beyond. Through extensive collaboration, local communities have helped to influence not only which stories are told in the new galleries, but how. The museum’s Youth Forum and Access Panel played a key role in shaping the space, offering fresh perspectives and encouraging the museum to think differently about how to present star objects and stories from their collections to make them accessible and engaging to all.  

Partners such as Allstar and BCB Radio have brought vital local perspectives to the galleries, reflecting the creativity and diversity of Bradford’s cultural scene whilst creating narratives that are relatable to people both from the district and those visiting. Individual contributors such as Paul Seal, a disabled gamer who developed a gaming setup that enabled him to continue to play through adapted technology, also shared personal insights that bring depth and authenticity to the galleries, highlighting how innovation in media technology can empower individuals. Collaboration with the Marshall Factory, a renowned name in sound technology, further added industry insight and national perspective to the galleries. Together, these contributions have helped make the galleries more inclusive, and representative of both local communities and wider society. 

Marking a new era and launching during a momentous year for Bradford, these object rich and interactive gallery spaces confirm the museum’s position as a national museum rooted in its community. As well as spotlighting hundreds of previously unseen exhibits, visitors who know the venue well will sense echoes of the museum’s past, with a Dalek greeting them on Level 5, a delightful new exhibit on loan from Aardman animation studios and charming film footage of the magic flying carpet, captured by the legendary Bradford Movie Makers. 

The Sound and Vision Project is generously supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to money raised by National Lottery players (Lead Supporter), Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture (Major Supporter), City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (Associate Funder), DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund (Associate Funder), Art Fund, David Family Foundation, Sovereign Health Care, Spectacle Makers Charity and Shenward LLP.

Jo Quinton-Tulloch, Director of the National Science and Media Museum commented: “We are thrilled to be launching our new permanent Sound and Vision galleries this summer. They have been a true labour of love and collaboration, and they showcase our incredible collections in new and innovative ways. Our collections and the rich narratives they tell touch upon all our lives, from the first photographic negative and film footage to the advent of radio and television, and the power of sound technologies to bring us together. Our Sound and Vision galleries showcase how everyday objects have the power to be extraordinary.  

We have worked closely with a huge range of people to develop the galleries, ensuring these spaces work for everyone and that our visitors feel represented in the stories we tell. Consultation with our local communities has been central in the development of Sound and Vision and it feels especially significant to launch the galleries during Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture. We hope the galleries will be a key focal point in our city’s momentous year and for a long time to come.  And we are incredibly grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the support of National Lottery players for making Sound and Vision possible. We can’t wait to welcome visitors to explore our new galleries soon.” 

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund added: “We're incredibly excited that the Sound and Vision galleries at the National Science and Media Museum are going to open soon! Showcasing iconic objects that tell the story behind the photographic, film and sound technologies, that have played such a big role in our lives. In 1995, the museum was one of the first transformational projects in Yorkshire that received National Lottery funding from the Heritage Fund, and after 30 years we're proud to have supported the museum with another transformational grant for these fantastic new galleries." 

The V&A is pleased to announce a new doctoral placement opportunity for the 2025–2026 academic year. As part of our commitment to supporting early-career researchers, the V&A offers a range of doctoral placements designed in collaboration with museum staff. These placements give PhD students the opportunity to contribute to live research projects while gaining practical experience with collections, cataloguing, and exhibition planning.

This placement will support the research and cataloguing of works by 19th-century British photographer Roger Fenton in preparation for a forthcoming touring exhibition and publication. The V&A holds a significant number of Fenton’s photographs, including more than 650 prints in the RPS collection, along with additional works acquired by the South Kensington Museum.

The placement researcher will conduct a comprehensive survey of Fenton’s photographs, contribute to improving catalogue records, and identify previously overlooked aspects of his career. Their work will provide essential research to inform curatorial interpretation and exhibition development.

Possible outcomes; 

• Survey of Roger Fenton’s works in the V&A collection and the RPS
  archives
• Enhanced catalogue entries and updates to Explore the Collection
  (ETC) records
• Scoping report identifying previously overlooked aspects of
  Fenton’s career
• Research support for curators, assisting in the development of an
  object list and key themes for an exhibition and publication

Surveying and Cataloguing Roger Fenton’s Photography Collection
V&A Museum, PhD placement, unpaid
Interviews: 19 June
Closes: 30 May 2025
Possible start dates: w/c 29 September 2025 – 29 October 2025
Details: https://vam.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/3840794?cid=3279

British photography is one of the features of Dominic Winter’s auction on Wednesday 21 May. In a private collection of 65 lots are familiar names such as George Davison, Francis Frith, Lady Hawarden, John Dillwyn Llewelyn, Hugh Owen, Robert Macpherson, James Robertson and John Thomson, alongside less familiar names working in various processes from the 1840s onwards. One still familiar view to many, shows the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, from Observatory Hill, with the Thames seen behind. This mammoth plate albumen print (lot 165: £200-300) is firmly attributed to Roger Fenton, and believed to be one of about 50 London views taken by him.

Among the other notable items are Henry Albert Frith’s ‘The Last of the Native Race of Tasmania’, 1864 (lot 20: £700-1,000), Frank Hurley’s ‘Endurance Steaming through Loose Pack Ice, Weddell Sea’, December 1914, signed and inscribed by expedition biologist Dr Robert Selbie Clark (lot 75: £2,000-3,000), Sebastiao Salgado’s ‘Mali’, 1985 in a portrait format (lot 104: £2,500-3,500), plus good material on China and Seychelles, good daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, albums and loose images.

Perhaps the most interesting photograph in the sale is a Japanese view taken by amateur photographer and British consul, Abel Gower (lot 22: £500-800). Taken from the mainland it shows a view from the hillside over rooftops and across the harbour to Dejima, the artificial island used as a Dutch trading post, which was at that time the only Japanese territory open to Westerners. The 15 x 20 cm photograph is dated on the mount ‘June 1859’, and taken just before the port of Nagasaki was opened to foreign trade on 4 July 1859.

Due to Japan’s isolationism during the Edo period, any photographs of the country pre-1860 are exceedingly scarce. This is one of the earliest known surviving photographs of Japan, and quite possibly the oldest surviving salt print. Until now only one other photograph by Abel Gower was known and, amazingly, that is the same image as this one, albeit a large-format albumen print. Taken from the same glass negative, is it possible that this salt print pre-dates the albumen print? Most of the information about Abel Gower, and an image of the albumen print, can be found in Terry Bennett’s pioneering work on the subject, Photography in Japan 1853-1912.

This photograph was only recently discovered at the back of an album of Japanese Sketches by and relating to Sir Rutherford Alcock, the first diplomatic representative to live in Japan (lot 257: £2,000-3,000). The album and photograph, along with various family photograph cased images and manuscript ephemera, (also in the sale), all having come down through the Alcock/Lowder families by direct descent.

The second half of the 480-lot sale comprises postcards, posters, autographs, documents and related paper ephemera.

Digital catalogues in various formats are available on the website www.dominicwinter.co.uk.

Public viewing daily on Monday/Tuesday 19/20 May, 9.30-5.30, and day of sale from 9am; all other times by appointment.

For further information and enquiries please contact Chris Albury chris@dominicwinter.co.uk | 01285 860006

Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Mallard House, Broadway Lane, South Cerney, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5UQ

The Photographic Materials Group is looking for four additional committee members to join our existing team with the purpose of expanding the group's scope and contribution to the field of photographic conservation. Specifically, we are looking for applications for the roles of Social Media Coordinator, Events Assistant, Administrative Assistant, and Treasurer to help us run annual events, advocate for the field, and grow our online presence.

If you have any questions you would like to discuss before applying, do not hesitate to reach out to the group’s Chair, Marta Garcia Celma: martagcelma@gmail.com. 

To apply, please send your expression of interest (max 300 words) and specify the role you would like to apply for to phmgicon@gmail.com. The deadline for applications is open until Sunday 25 May 2025.

Visit the Icon PhMG group updates page to find out more.

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.

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: 

• Photographic values and ethics 
• The markets of photography  
• Labour and/or economic histories of photography 
• The value of photography as heritage 
• Value systems in photography collections 
• Photography’s influence on social values 

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/

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 50^th 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