- Daniel Louis Mundy was born 4 August 1826 in Devizes, Wiltshire. He came to Australia in 1863 and the following year took over Meluish's studio in Dunedin, New Zealand. From 1869 he devoted himself to landscape photography and this occupied him for the remainder of his life. In 1873 he toured a lantern slide show "Maori Land or Through New Zealand with a Camera" in Australia and submitted a series of views for exhibition in Vienna.
- In 1874 he returned to England where he presented his lantern show, including a five month residence at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London as well as exhibiting photographs before the Photographic Society of GB. He presented his show before Queen Victoria and also the Emperor of Austria who in 1875 awarded Mundy the Imperial Gold Medal of Arts and Sciences. Mundy returned to New Zealand in 1876 where he was sole licensee of the Autotype Company of London, setting up a gallery in Christchurch. In 1879 he was in Sydney touring a lantern show and troupe of twenty five Maoris that he also took to country centres. Mundy died in Melbourne on 30 November 1881.
- I am very interested in Mundy on several fronts, firstly his NZ landscape photography, then his cdv work including his partnership with Braham La'Mert (who also worked in Australia) and his lantern show work in NZ, Australia and overseas. His brother William was a photographer and lanternist in Australia as well.
- Tony Rackstraw has put together some very useful information in his blog on Canterbury, NZ photographers:
- http://canterburyphotography.blogspot.com.au/2008/09/d-l-mundy.html
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The closure of the era of chemical imaging coincided with the turn of the 21st century: now is the perfect time to review what photography has been, consider what it is now, and contemplate what it will become. With contributions from 20 collectors and scholars, the collections in this book range from 1840–1940, including camera obscuras and cyanotypes to autochromes, stereoscopes, daguerreotypes.
Also included are American tintypes and ambrotypes, the miniature and intricate stanhopes, magic lanterns and other optical toys, megalethoscopes, and zoetropes, and many more. Each collector has written a meticulous study to introduce their photographic passion, and with over 500 images (most never before published) of cameras and photographs alike, the truly marvelous nature of the camera and the miraculous technologies that enabled them are revealed. The transcendence and “wonder of wonders!” that is ever present within photography can still be honestly and freshly felt today. This book is ideal for those who wish to study, and experience, the everlasting marvel of camera magic.
You can pick up a copy from Amazon using the link on the right.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has scanned more than one hundred Pictorialist photography exhibition catalogues, most of them donated to the Museum by Alfred Stieglitz in 1922 and many of them not found elsewhere. These fully searchable scans provide a valuable new research tool for people studying turn-of-the-century photographic history.
The full story, including links, can be found here: http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2013/pictorialist-photography-exhibition-catalogues.
or go straight to the catalogues here: http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p15324coll19
On Tuesday, 2 July at 10.30am the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee will examine the future of the Science Museum Group.
Witness(es): Edward Vaizey MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries; Ian Blatchford, Director, Science Museum Group; Tony Reeves, Chief Executive, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Kersten England, Chief Executive, City of York Council and Vicky Rosin, Deputy Chief Executive, Manchester City Council
Location: Room 15, Palace of Westminster
No, not the HRH type, but the Victorian ones. And it's not Queen Victoria either. It involves May, and will be held in November ....
Confused? Here goes ..... rock group Queen legend, Brian May, will be showing an exhibition of his Victorian 'stereographic' photography in November.
And what about the phone booth? Well, the exhibition will be held in what is the world's smallest art gallery (see: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/worlds-smallest-gallery-to), an iconic BT red phone box, bought for £1 and dubbed 'Gallery on the Green'. Since 2009, the gallery curator, Roger Taylor, has held up to 10 exhibitions in Settle, North Yorkshire.
You can read the rest of the story here.
This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced development professional to make a significant contribution to one of the most visited museums in the North of England.
Located in the heart of Bradford – the world’s first UNESCO City of Film – The National Media Museum is home to 3.5m objects that make up the national collections of photography, cinematography and television, including the Royal Photographic Society and the BBC Heritage Collections. Through its stunning galleries, cinemas and vibrant public programme the museum aims to inspire people to learn about, engage with and create media. In 2012/13 The National Media Museum welcomed 500,000 visitors, including cinema audiences and school groups.
The National Media Museum celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2013 and is planning for two significant festivals – the 20th anniversary editions of both the Bradford Animations Festival in November 2013 and the Bradford International Film Festival in spring 2014. This new role will have responsibility for developing existing relationships, and identifying and securing new income to support the Museum’s public programme across income streams, including trusts/foundations, corporate sponsors and major donors. The Senior Development Executive will be the most senior fundraiser at the National Media Museum, frequently deputising for the Head of Development for MOSI/National Media Museum.
You’ll have a keen interest in and enthusiasm for the work of the Science Museum Group, particularly film, photography and television, and a good working knowledge of the UK funding landscape. You are an excellent writer and presenter, experienced at making persuasive cases for support both written and verbally. Critical to success in this role are your outstanding relationship building skills that enable you to quickly gain the respect of others – internally and externally. You are very driven, enjoy creative thinking and like to innovate and push boundaries.
SMG Job Description
1) Job Details
Job Title: Senior Development Executive
Department: Development
Location: National Media Museum and Museum of Science and Industry
Reports to: Head of Development MOSI/NMEM
Contract: Fixed term for 12 months
Type of role: Part time 28 hours per week
Salary: £22,400 (FTE £28K)
2) Purpose of the Job
This is a senior fundraising role with wide-ranging responsibilities. The successful candidate will
develop and deliver a strategy to secure fundraised income from businesses, trusts/foundations,
individuals and public bodies to meet funding targets for the National Media Museum’s cultural
programme, including the Bradford International Film Festival, Bradford Animation Festival and
temporary exhibitions.
3) Key Deliverables/Accountabilities
- An appropriate revenue fundraising strategy is devised and implemented
- Provides leadership and day-to-day supervision of the NMEM Development Executive, and
represents the Head of Development/Development department at internal and external
meetings as required, exercising influence and collaborating at a senior level - Provide information to and liaise with Head of the National Media Museum as the key dayto-
day Development Department representative on site - Effective account management of a portfolio of a minimum of 30 funding partners, ensuring
that relationships with existing supporters across income streams are maintained and
developed, and commitments to funder/sponsor are met - New prospects are identified and cultivated through advocacy, communication and events; a
continuous supply of new funders are identified and cultivated with appropriate products
available to ensure they become supporters - Compile, write and deliver high quality corporate sponsorship proposals and fundraising bids
for the Museum’s cultural programme, in collaboration with appropriate colleagues within
the organisation - Thorough, accurate and up-to-date records on Raiser’s Edge of all funding partners,
prospects and opportunities are maintained - Establish and maintain effective and fruitful working relationships with colleagues
throughout the organisation as appropriate to overall area of activity as well as individual
tasks - The funding targets set for each financial year are met and projects reliant on external
investment are funded and delivered - Take care of your personal health and safety and that of others and report any health and
safety concerns. Ensure proactive compliance with Science Museum Group H&S Policies,
including risk assessments and implementing safe systems of work
4) Working Relationships and Contacts
- External funders, sponsors and donors (existing and potential) – influencing, negotiating and
providing a high standard of customer service - Head of Development NMEM/MOSI and Director of Development SMG
- Development team at the NMEM and wider SMG Development colleagues - exchanging
information, knowledge and practice - Project Teams for assigned projects, particularly the Film Festival/Film team, exhibitions and
collections – negotiating, influencing and exchanging information - Marketing and Communications team NMEM – in relation to sponsor benefits, PR, branding and
visibility - Head of the National Media Museum and NMEM Senior Management Team – liaising and
reporting - Senior NMSI and NMEM staff, attending meetings and events with prospects – co-ordinating
roles and providing briefings and support as necessary - SMG finance team – to monitor and carry out appropriate finance administration relating
- SMG staff in other functions - for advice, information exchange and efficient working
- Prospective supporters for Museum cultural projects - engagement and to arrange meetings and
presentations - Peers at other cultural institutions and staff at organisations relevant to work, e.g. Arts &
Business, Chamber of Commerce, other networking groups
5) Line Management and Budget Responsibility
Directly line manages: n/a
Indirectly line manages: Development Executive NMEM (part-time role)
Contractors/freelancers: As required (e.g. events production, designers etc)
Budget Holder of £ n/a
6) Candidate Profile
Experience
- A consistent track record of securing high value (5 and 6 figure) investment in the cultural or
similar sector, with a proven track record across all income streams - Experience of working at a senior level; close working with Senior Management Team
NMEM, Directors, Trustees Advisory Board, Trustees and business leaders - Experience of influencing internal teams particularly in developing projects, projecting a
sense of confidence and knowledge of subject matter - Experience in managing or supervising more junior members of a team (either directly or
indirectly) - Demonstrable experience of influencing and negotiation techniques
- Experience of preparing and delivering high quality corporate sponsorship proposals/sales
pitches and fundraising bids/applications (e.g. Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council, public
bodies and EU), both in written and verbal form - High level of customer service and experience of account managing a wide portfolio of
sponsors and partners
Skills, Knowledge and Relevant Qualifications
- Educated to at least graduate level
- Excellent oral communication skills including ability to engage with internal and external
contacts at all levels, to listen intelligently and to converse clearly and confidently by
telephone and in person - Knowledge of and experience in drafting and negotiating sponsorship contracts/funding
agreements, and of working with external legal advisers - Ability to quickly digest large amounts of complex data and convert into compelling
arguments for support for a range of audiences - Strategic and professional approach when working with internal and external stakeholders
and ability to manage expectations effectively - Ability to research prospects, utilising a variety of research tools in order to expand the
prospect pool for this sector - Knowledge and experience of digital communications and social media tools
- Competence using software including MS Office (Word, Excel & PowerPoint), Internet and
databases, preferably Raiser’s Edge or similar packages - Ability to be organised and to prioritise workload to produce quality work to tight deadlines
- Ability to work on a large number of projects and accounts simultaneously
- A flexible approach to work as some evening work may be required for special events
- Ability to demonstrate an interest in and appreciation of the activities, purpose and ethos of
SMG and the National Media Museum specifically
Behaviours
- Self-motivated, focused and proactive
- Strong leadership qualities: innovative, strategic thinker, energetic, leads by example
- Focuses on outcomes: identifies and deals with obstacles to success; takes ownership of
given tasks; takes pride in delivering work of high standards - Develops performance: reviews and learns from work done; suggests ideas and
improvements; requests feedback; accepts and acts on feedback given - Builds capability with team members through effective objective setting and
mentoring/coaching skills - Prioritising and delivering: prioritises objectives and plans work
- Teamwork and co-operation
- 'Goes the extra mile’ to ensure delivery and satisfaction
- Base decisions on evidence balanced with the need to sometimes take risks
- Constantly seeks to improve performance of self and team
7) Scope for Impact
- This is an important role making a critical contribution to the National Media Museum
business plan and cultural programme under the leadership of a new Head of Museum, as
the organisation implements a new strategic plan - As the most senior member of the development team regularly on site at the National Media
Museum, the opportunity to take direct responsibility for future fundraising success - Securing funding will contribute to the delivery of new engaging exhibitions, events and
successful festivals at the National Media Museum – enabling the museum to inspire future
generations to engage with media, technology and science - The ability to offer high profile and very visible partnership opportunities to potential
supporters, particularly through the Bradford International Film Festival and Bradford
Animation Festival - A strong contribution to achieving the fundraising targets of both the National Media
Museum and SMG - Increased and potentially repeat income for the National Media Museum through cultivation
of prospects and effective account management of existing sponsors - Significant satisfaction and measurable success in seeing projects funded and delivered to
completion - Fruitful and comprehensive relationships with colleagues throughout the organisation and
with contacts within the charitable, business and public sectors - Opportunities to develop new skills, experience and development knowledge through high
level working relationships within the Museum and externally with key stakeholders
Please note:
- This job description is not exhaustive and amendments and additions may be required in line
with future changes in policy, regulation or organisational requirements, it will be reviewed
on a regular basis. - This role is subject to a Disclosure Scotland basic criminal record check
Deadline for applications is 14 July 2013
See: https://vacancies.nmsi.ac.uk/VacancyDetails.aspx?FromSearch=True&MenuID=6Dqy3cKIDOg=&VacancyID=415
The world’s only continuous symposium on the history of photography: PhotoHistory XVI, will take place at George Eastman House in Rochester, New York on October 10-12, 2014, according to officials of The Photographic Historical Society who organize the triennial event.
PhotoHistory XVI will contain a full day of presentations on the history of photographic practice, aesthetics, collecting, technology and sociology followed by a next day of browsing at a photographic trade show which attracts dealers from North America and internationally. A call for papers will go out this fall. Still and motion photography subjects will be considered. For information contact: Jack Bloemendaal, General Chairman of PhotoHistory XVI at: tphs@rochester.rr.com.
The committee responsible for the event includes, General Chairman: Jack Bloemendaal; Program: Rolf Fricke; Finance & Registration: Marian Early; Swap Meet/Trade Show: Tim Fuss; AV Coordinator: Eugene Kowaluk; Public Relations: Sharon Bloemendaal; Web Interface, Joy Champlin and Andy Davidhazy.
The most recent PhotoHistory XV was held in October 2011 and drew about 200 visitors from the Americas, Europe, Australia and Japan.
The symposium’s venue, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, combines the world’s leading collections of photography and film housed within the stately landmark Colonial Revival mansion that was George Eastman’s home from 1905 to 1932. The Museum is a National Historic Landmark. George Eastman, the founder of Eastman Kodak Company, is hailed as the father of modern photography and the inventor of motion picture film.
The Photographic Historical Society of Rochester, NY, is the first organized society devoted to photographic history and the preservation of photo antiques. Founded in 1966, it has a membership of about 120 individuals. For more information see the Society’s web site at http://www.tphs.org
I have done a lot of work on the Burton Bros of Dunedin, New Zealand over the years with many starts and stops, and to my surprise the results of my visits to Leicester and Nottingham were relatively disappointing, regarding tracking down the lives and seminal influences (and pictures of and by) Alfred Henry Burton (1834-1914) and Walter John Burton (1836-1880). I was expecting to find more local information on the family and was saddened to hear that their negatives, including significant large format pictures of Leicester etc, had been defaced to recycle the glass during World War I. There are many other British colonial photographers I could mention but the Burton's are still a major interest. Consequently I would appreciate hearing from anybody with a shared interest in the Burton's (printers, stationers, photographers) of Leicester and the English Midlands.
Below is an item that accompanies a small set of Burton Bros NZ images on www.photoforum-nz.org for those that are interested:
Burton Bros. A Portfolio of 11 South Island, New Zealand Views from the 1870s and 1880s
The name ‘Burton Bros.’ has become synonymous with the archetypal Victorian colonial photographer in New Zealand. Like their contemporaries, who included Francis Bedford, Francis Frith, and James Valentine in Britain, William Notman in Canada, Samuel Bourne in India, William Henry Jackson in the United States, and J.W. Lindt in Australia, the Burtons headed a photographic company which ranged far and wide to gather signs of the bustling and conflicted human drama called colonisation.
These photographers, so often overlooked as individuals with their own world view, were inextricably part of the bigger picture in which forbidding, scruffy, and frequently dangerous exotic backdrops were gradually changed into scenes of familiarity for pioneering immigrants who learned to adopt their new environment with a kind of fondness mixed with awe.
The New Zealand Burton brothers were Alfred Henry Burton (1834‑1914), and Walter John Burton (1836‑1880), born in Leicester, in the English midlands. Both, along with their younger brothers Oliver and William (who stayed in England) were trained in the trades of printing, engraving, stationery, book selling, and newspaper publishing in their father, John Burton’s company.
When Alfred, at 22, first arrived in New Zealand on 29 November 1856, it was to work in the lucrative printing trade in Auckland, where for two years from 7 February 1857, he printed the first 104 issues of the Auckland Weekly Register and Commercial and Shipping Gazette, under the editorship of David Burn. He knew Auckland as well as any man by the time he moved to Melbourne, where he continued to work as a printer for liberal newspapers. He had seen something of New Zealand’s characteristic landscape and experienced aspects of its unique Maori culture. When he finally returned to Leicester around 1862 it was to join his father in the founding of John Burton & Sons, Photographers of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham, during the period when photography gained immense popularity and commercial viability, due largely to the carte‑de‑visite portrait trade.
Six years later, with a young wife and baby daughter, Alfred left the family’s Nottingham photographic studio to join Walter (who also had a young family) in partnership at Dunedin, at the beginning of 1868. As for the majority of Victorian studios of the period, the carte‑de‑visite portrait was the mainstay of Burton Bros trade, but from the start they were keen to see more of their adopted country through the lens. Few of Walter’s town and country topographic views have so far been identified, but both brothers worked outside of the studio during their partnership, which was dissolved by mutual agreement in 1876, with Alfred buying his brother’s share in the business, and taking on Thomas Mintaro Baily Muir (c.1852‑1945) as a partner.
Because Walter, who had established his own studio, committed suicide in Dunedin in 1880, and we know from Alfred’s published accounts of some of his numerous photographic trips, it is reasonable to assume that a large number of the Burton Bros photographs were actually made by him, both up to, and especially after 1876 when their partnership was dissolved, and throughout the 1880s. Walter’s work was all carried out with the wet plate collodion method, and his death in 1880 more or less coincided with the introduction of readily available dry plates in New Zealand.
After 1880, when Alfred Burton and Thomas Muir were partners, they also took on George Moodie (then in his mid‑to late teens) as a photographer. Consequently, a considerable number of ‘Burton Bros.’ photographs shall prove to have been made by George Moodie, and also Thomas Muir, as distinct from those made by Alfred H. Burton himself. To complicate the task of accurate identification and dating, the company acquired negatives from other photographers such as John McGarrigle (American Photographic Company), Frank A. Coxhead and AA Ryan, often retrospectively, over the years.
The original Burton Bros. topographical catalogues, and many thousands of their negatives, which are held by Te Papa Tingira The Museum of New Zealand, Wellington, hold much of the evidence needed to work out exactly which photographer made a particular image. So too does the writing and ongoing research of Ronald Team, Hardwickii Knight, William Main, myself, and others, in this fascinating and frequently frustrating investigation.
Thomas Muir and George Moodie officially took over Burton Bros when Alfred retired in 1898. They continued to reissue popular Burton images as prints and postcards, but under their name - an understandable but confusing practice for researchers today. Basically, examination of the negatives and catalogues indicates that the majority of early Burton Bros photographs, from BB1 to around BB1100 were made by the wet plate collodion process, which required the use of a travelling darkroom for instant processing after exposure. The remaining 5,000 or so whole‑plate (6 x 8 inch / 16.5 x 21.6 cm) Burton Bros. negatives were made on commercial dry plates. From 1868 to around 1890 the company mostly made albumen prints (distinguished by warm tones and very thin paper), whereas Muir & Moodie’s output from the late 1890s was predominantly in gelatin silver prints. Thus Burton photographs reprinted by Muir & Moodie are quite different from the early Burton prints.
As the following notes on specific images show, not all of the photographs with the ‘Burton Bros.’ signature in this exhibition were made by Alfred H. Burton, the chief photographer of Burton Bros., Dunedin. Part of the joy of discovery, and indeed the pleasure of owning fine photographs, comes from progressively learning to discern the subtle nuances of content, form, tone, texture and documentation that make up the personal signature, or style, of each photographer. The differences may seem barely perceptible, but they are there. With art, as with affairs of the heart and mind, one must follow one’s intuition when it comes to enjoyment and deeper understanding.
John B. Turner, 24 February 2001. This background note was written to accompany ten Burton Bros., and one Muir & Moodie photograph, chosen by Dr Paul McNamara for the exhibition ‘Nicholas Twist / Burton Brothers’ at the McNamara Gallery Photography, 190 Wicksteed Street, Wanganui, New Zealand. The exhibition opened on Friday 1 March 2002 and ran for one month.
Notes on the Photographs:
The details in parenthesis (...) are transcribed from the original Burton Bros studio catalogue held by Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand, Wellington. They contain insights into the way the company identified particular pictures. While I have not retained the abbreviations and typographical style of their captioned prints and negatives, which are self‑evident, I have retained their catalogue spellings and abbreviations, and added exact or approximate dates when known.
- JBT
- Burton Bros. 517: Rere Lake. (‘Rere Lake Greenstones reflexion’) c.1875.
- Burton Bros 1931 Glen Dhu, Lake Wanaka. (‘Glen Dhu, Lake Wanaka Aspiring centre: flax L: reflexions’) 1883.
- Burton Bros. 3075. ‘Muir & Moodie, late Burton Bros. Dunedin, N.Z.’: Hall’s Arm. (‘Hall’s Arm near Mouth looking up: framed ferns below. Sounds Jan: 85') Printed some time after 1898 by Muir & Moodie, this photograph was made in January 1885, most likely by Alfred H. Burton himself.
- Burton Bros. 4431: Mt. Earnslaw from Pigeon Island, Lake Wakatipu. (‘Mt. Earnslaw from Pigeon I. small cabbage trees frot.[front?]’ From the Lake Wakatipu series, 1886.
- Burton Bros. 4488: Pembroke Peak from Head of Milford Sound (‘Pembroke Peak from head of sou’ [sound]. March 1887. [It is interesting that the catalogue entry does not identify the man with the camera case in the photograph, but it appears to be Fred Muir, rather than Harold Burton (1869‑1901, Alfred’s only son, who lost an arm due to a gunshot wound in 1890, and died from complications after a fall from his horse in 1901. See Hardwicke Knight, Burton Brothers Photographers (1980), pp. 43, for caption to illustration of BB4787, 1888, for which JM Forrester identifies FMB Muir and Harold Burton.]
- Burton Bros. 4728: Mitre Peak, Milford Sound. (‘Sounds trip Jan.’88.... Milford: Mitre Peak Heavy tree over branch across’.) January 1888.
- Burton Bros. 5325: Bowen Falls, 340 ft., Milford Sound is actually a Burton Bros. albumen print from a Hart Campbell & Co. wet plate negative. This photograph is from one of over 100 Hart Campbell negatives purchased by Burton Bros. and subsequently published as their own - a fairly common practice in the 19th Century. William P. Hart, a Queenstown photographer, was likely the first to photograph the Sutherland Falls (in 1883).
- Burton Bros. 5764: Preservation Inlet N.Z. (‘Preservation Inlet’). [It is not absolutely clear from Burton’s catalogue, but because they noted that BB Nos. 5701 to at least BB5715 were ‘Selected from Coxhead’s Negatives’ it is possible that this photograph was actually made by Frank A. Coxhead, or H. Coxhead, his brother. Of further interest is that Burton Bros., reissued it as a combination print which has had a separate sky printed in.]
- Burton Bros. 5767: Cuttle Cove Preservation Inlet N.Z. is an earlier version (judging from lichen stripped from the large tree in BB5768), "similarly framed" but taken at a different date and season.]
- Burton Bros. 5768: Preservation Inlet. (‘Preservation Inlet [Upright’) [Please note that this might also turn out to be a photograph made by Frank A. Coxhead (or his brother). It is an albumen print made by Burton Bros., and the photograph appears to date from the mid‑1880s.
- Burton Bros. 5804: Sutherland Falls Milford Sd. N.Z. (`Sutherland Falls’) [This is most likely to be a photograph by Frank A. Coxhead. Tell tale signs include the difference between the writing of Burton’s number (5804) on the negative and the actual caption which is more like Coxhead’s, and the apparent partial erasing of a name under the ‘Burton Bros.’ signature. If so, and this seems very likely, it suggests that all Burton Bros. negatives from BB5701 to BB5804 were made by FA Coxhead and printed by Burton Bros. (The original Burton Bros. catalogue indicates that negatives BB5804 to BB5833, of the `South Seas (Henderson)’, so it appears that they were adding this run of other photographer’s negatives to their catalogue, some time around 1897.]
- John B. Turner, 24 February 2002.
This item was written to accompany ten Burton Bros., and one Muir & Moodie photograph, chosen by Dr Paul McNamara for the exhibition ‘Nicholas Twist / Burton Brothers’ at the McNamara Gallery Photography, 190 Wicksteed Street, Wanganui. The exhibition opened on Friday 1 March 2002 and closed a month later. BB5764 above was not exhibited.
An area devoted to John Sawyer and Walter Bird (of Norwich and elsewhere) can now be found on the Early Photographic Studios website at http://www.early-photographers.org.uk/S&B01%20Index.html. It includes separate timelines for Sawyer, Bird and their partnerships, a note on Sawyer’s rivalry with Oliver Sarony, a dating guide for early Sawyer carte mounts, and several other documents.
The Sawyer & Bird folder represents work in progress and is far from a systematic study, but it’s hoped that it may contain items of interest to anyone seeking to investigate the careers of these photographers.
Photography from China Pre-1860, selected from the albums of Elizabeth Vacher, on show from 3 June to 27 September at Bath Royal Literary and Philosophical Institution, Bath.
See: http://www.brlsi.org/events-proceedings/events/2013-06-03/exhibition-capture-shadow
There will be a lecture on 3 July on The Scramble for China by Professor Robert Bickers and on 19 July on Photography in China by Michael Gray both at BRSLI.
I am writing to inform members of the imminent appearance in print of a magnum opus related to the History of the Photography, called 'Catchers of the Light', which tells of the 'forgotten lives of the men and women who first photographed the heavens', of which one eminent Professor of Astronomy recently wrote:
"It is rare to find a magnum opus in astronomy that is so detailed, so interesting, and so expert over a wide range that it is hard to carry across the magnificence of this work...I highly recommend this to all with an interest either in the history of astronomy or in the history of photography." Jay M. Pasachoff, Memorial Professor of Astronomy, Williams College; from April 2013 Newsletter of the Historical Astronomy Division, American Astronomical Society.
The book is to be published in two A4 sized hardback volumes, totalling nearly 1700 pages and includes a comprehensive Index - weighing in at about 8 kilos!. For those who prefer a little lighter reading, an eBook edition is also available!
It contains biographies and important information (much of it new) on many of the early pioneers of photography, including well known names such as William Henry Fox Talbot, Louis Daguerre, Nicephore Niepce, Frederick Scott Archer, Richard Leach Maddox, Leon Foucault, Hippolyte Fizeau and George Eastman. Lesser figures like John Adams Whipple, Albert Litch, William Breed Jones, James Wallace Black, Thereza Llewelyn, Mary Field, Thomas Henry Wainwright, Frederick Charles Luther Wratten, Charles Edward Kenneth Mees and many more are also featured.
All of the above pioneers contributed in some way either directly or indirectly in mankind's quest to understand the Universe through the media of Photography, by means of the various processes and technologies developed during the period from 1839 up until the present day - whether it be Daguerreotype, Calotype, Collodion, Gelatino-Bromide, Plastic film or the CCD chip.
Of particular importance to Photographic Historians, is that in a number of cases, the biographies included on important figures like Archer and Maddox represent the first ever published on them.
In addition to the biographies, the book contains a great deal of historical information on the general development of photography and on the photographic processes and technologies used and their relative importance to each other. On a lighter note, the workings of the modern digital camera is explained with the aid of a mad scientist, a field of Leeks, an Irish Leprechaun,11 million square buckets and an army of pixies, all washed down with lots of rain!
I am sure this book will be of great interest to all libraries and museums, as well as students and researchers into the History of Photography. An electronic review copy is available on request to interested institutions, organizations and magazines.
For further details on the Book, see the links below:
http://www.catchersofthelight.com/shop/
http://www.catchersofthelight.com/shop/item.aspx/b-1-catchers-of-the-light-print-book-edition/95/
The Index can be downloaded from here as a PDF:
http://www.catchersofthelight.com/downloads/index.pdf
Stefan Hughes
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey has said there was 'no question' of closing any of the Science Museum Group's three northern museums, including the National Media Museum. They had been under possible threat following an interview given by Ian Blatchford, head of the SMG, in which he suggested closure of one museum was likely if cuts from the government spending review were as expected.
The SMG, which also runs the Science Museum in London, said it had received 'overwhelming support' and would 'continue to do all we can to ensure that the museums remain open.' It said until confirmation of the funding package was received, it could not be certain 'about the level of structural deficit we face and which options will have to be considered.'
In an emergency Common debate Vaizey said: 'They [the SMG] asserted if there was a certain level of cuts they would have to look at closing one. They are not going to receive that level of cuts so there is no reason why any of these museums should close. Let's not beat about the bush - they won't close.'
Later in the debate, minister Ed Vaizey said it was up to Bradford Council to help breathe new life into the Media Museum, but he again vowed it would not close. He insisted he wanted to secure a vibrant long-term future for the attraction, not just apply a 'sticking plaster'.
He said Council chiefs – themselves facing further huge funding cuts – must find a way to turn around the museum’s fortunes, after a steep decline in visitor numbers. It is very important that the local council comes to the table and makes a very important contribution to the future of the National Media Museum.
Last week it was reported the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Treasury had agreed the department's spending would be cut by 8% for 2015-16. Arts and museums, it was reported, would share less of the burden with a 5% reduction.
The detail of the spending review will be announced next week.
The full emergency debate can be found here: NMeM%20Hansard.pdf.
This exhibition explores the lives and careers of the Charles R. Meade and Henry W. M. Meade brothers who, along with their contemporaries such as Mathew Brady and Southworth and Hawes, are recognized as leading members of the first generation of American studio photographers.
This conference aims to provide a platform for an interdisciplinary debate questioning the meaning of the contemporary rural landscape seen through photography.
Over 40 academics and artists will present papers as part of panels discussing themes such as: the question of habits and conventions of looking at rural space, rural identity, the post-industrial rural and the differentiation between and meaning of rural and urban spaces.
What does it mean to live in rural space? Does or can photography shape our understanding of the rural? What does the rural realm mean to the urban population? How do we view and evaluate rural depictions within the context of the wider contemporary art world?
The conference schedule and booking information are available at: http://visualising-the-rural.blogspot.co.uk/
If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Dr Katrin Joost
Lecturer
University of Cumbria
01228 400300 ext. 8211
The local MP for Bradford has been assured by the Culture Minister yesterday that they are clear about the value of the Museum to the local area and to the UK, and any closure would be 'unacceptable'. George Galloway, the Bradford West MP, went further, saying: “The museum will not close. The minister said it was a political non-starter – and that’s a direct quote.”
The news everyone in Bradford was waiting to hear came 11 days after the threat of closure first emerged, because of looming spending cuts. Thanks to everyone who joined in the petition.
You can read the rest of the news article here.
‘Pictures’ is a word that has become synonymous with photographs, encompassing vernacular uses of photography, as in the library of ‘pictures’ on our mobile phones, as well as in the sense of providing a true ‘picture of events’ in the journalist context. From the 1980s, photography as ‘picture’ acquired a very different meaning, and was associated with large-scale colour photographic prints, pioneered by such artists as Jean-Marc Bustamante. Simultaneously, pictorial values have been proclaimed crucial to asserting photography’s place in the museum as an object confident of its value as art. This panel examines the effect of these changes on the photographic practice, their effect on the curatorial practices and, more broadly, photography as a form of contemporary art.
The panel will be followed by a speaker-led seminar for which a place can be booked separately. The aim of the seminar is to enable participants to further explore and discuss the issues raised by the panel.
London, 22 June 2013, Tate Modern
See: http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/talks-and-lectures/photographspictures
Look forward to celebrating your 100th!
Check out the celebratory events here.
Auctioneers Davey and Davey will be putting up for sale a photo album, dating back to the 1870s, that was recently found in an attic in a home at Parkstone. Much of the fascination of the album lies in seeing the foundations of modern Bournemouth taking shape. There is a view of Westover Villas near St Peter's Church, not far from where Austin Reed stands today. The area west of the pier, where Hot Rocks stands today, can be seen part-developed.
The auction is on Saturday 22nd June, 10am, at Davey and Davey at 13 St Peter's Road. You can read the rest of the news article here.
Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South, and Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley have united to secure a Select Committee inquiry into the Science Museum’s threat to the National Media Museum.
Both Mr Sutcliffe and Mr Davies are members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and jointly requested an urgent special inquiry into the Science Museum’s proposal to close one of its three museums in the North of England.
The Committee agreed to their request and it is now likely that the Select Committee will press the Science Museum and the Minister before Parliament’s Summer Recess in July.
Gerry Sutcliffe said: “The National Media Museum is crucial to Bradford and I am delighted that the Select Committee has agreed to our request to hold an inquiry into this issue. I very much hope that we can use this opportunity to block any plans to close the Museum”.
Philip Davies said “Gerry and I made the case that this was a vitally important issue for the Bradford district and for the North of England more widely and it is great our colleagues on the Select Committee have agreed that we can press the Science Museum and the Minister about these proposals and hopefully see them reversed. Gerry and I will continue to work together – along with other local MPs – to protect the best interests of the Bradford district”.
The Chairman of the Select Committee John Whittingdale, Conservative MP for Maldon, said “Both Gerry and Philip were very persuasive about both the importance of the National Media Museum to Bradford and of the need for an inquiry into this to be held as soon as possible, and the Committee therefore agreed with the request to look into this as soon as time allows”.
In a Strange Land: Perceiving and Interpreting Unfamiliar Environments will take place from June 25–26, 2013 in the Springer Auditorium, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. It is a multidisciplinary international symposium organized by The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and the Shpilman Institute for Photography, Tel Aviv, in conjunction with the exhibition Displaced Visions: Émigré Photographers of the 20th Century. Moderator: Dr. Nissan N. Perez
The Speakers:
- Prof. Marc Augé, France (Chair)
Globalization, Space and Migration
- Prof. Svetlana Boym, Harvard
Nostalgia, Estrangement and Off-Modern Space
- Prof. Boris Groys, NYU
After History: Alexandre Kojève as Photographer
- Prof. Hagi Kenaan, Tel Aviv University
An Unfamiliar Familiarity: Photography and the Everyday
- Prof. Malcolm Le Grice, UK
The Influence of European Émigré Artists on the Development of Experimental Cinema
- Prof. Michael Levin, Founding Head of the Multidisciplinary Art Department, Shenkar College
Trying to Achieve a Union Between Prussianism and the Life-cycle of the Muezzin
- Mr. Bernard-Henri Lévy, France
Title to be announced
- Dr. Nissan N. Perez, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Strangers in a Strange Land: The Photographic Vision of the Émigrés
- Prof. Shelley Rice, NYU
Local Space/Global Visions
- Mr. Yigal Zalmona, Former Chief curator at Large, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Immigrants or Natives: The Identity Discourse and Early Israeli Art
All lectures will be conducted in English.
25.6.13 between 9:30 – 16:30; 26.6.13 between 09:30 – 17:00
75 NIS per day/120 NIS for both days. Special student price: 40 NIS per day/70 NIS for both days.
Space is limited; please confirm your attendance by phone: 02-6708895/6.
