Blogs

The working group "Color Photography in the 19th Century and Early 20th Century: Sciences, Technologies, Empires", convened by Janine Freeston and Dr. Hanin Hannouch, and hosted by the Consortium for Science, Technology, and Medicine is meeting on Tuesday September 19th, 4 pm UK time.

For this session, we are thrilled to have Hana Kaluznick (V&A assistant curator of photography) as our guest!

Attendance is free, easy, and gives you access to our multilingual bibliography about color photography circa 1900, videos, and reading material by becoming member of the group.

Hana (bio below) will discuss her thesis topic "Chromatic Imagination: Realising Early Colour Photography in Britain, 1890 to 1939"

When colour photography emerged in industrialised societies in the late nineteenth century it sparked industrial and scientific interest for some and aesthetic and conceptual concern for others. Over the course of fifty years, from 1890 until 1939, the accessibility of colour photography changed dramatically, culminating with the widespread uptake of Kodak Corporation’s Kodachrome colour-coupler technology in the late 1930s. Kodachrome reversal film redefined the photographic industry. It was celebrated as the solution to nearly one hundred years of research and development concentrated on finding a way to make affordable and practical colour pictures, and was so proficient that by the early 1940s it was in position to usurp the majority of competing colour processes established before it.
The flourishing industry of colour photography that existed before Kodachrome was driven largely by improvements in technology, including the introduction of aniline dyes and faster equipment; increased accessibility because of changing economies; and evolving conceptions of colour in public consciousness as it related art, advertising and collective taste. Although most nascent colour photography enterprises failed, the sheer volume of processes introduced signifies an enormous amount of creative velocity attributable to diverse thought and experimentation on behalf of colour photography’s innumerable stakeholders. Through consideration of the meaning of colour in contemporary British society, and the economic and social networks that underpinned the industry, this thesis aims to establish a stronger understanding of the competitive and dynamic market for early colour photography between 1890 and 1939.

Hana Kaluznick is Assistant Curator of Photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). She was Assistant Curator of the expansion of the V&A Photography Centre (2023) and has contributed to other V&A displays including Known and Strange (2021) and Valérie Belin / Reflection (2019). She is a PhD student at the University of Liverpool studying the industrial history of early colour photography.

Very sad news concerning the passing of John Benton Harris. He was extremely supportive of my work researching the life of Bill Jay and in the making of our film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay www.donotbendfilm.com

My thoughts are with his friends and family.

To accompany the Museum of Bath at Work's exhibition Face to Face: Victorian and Edwardian Portraits of Working People in Bath made from negatives from the studio of Tom Carlyle Leaman at number 7, The Corridor off Union Street and showing Bath people in the 1890s-1910s, the museum holding a study day.

The day will explore some of the themes in the exhibition. 

Study Day programme
Each talk will include time for questions and discussion
10.00 Welcome and introduction
10.10 Nick Russell on Photography in the 19th century and photography in Bath
10.55 Ann Cullis on Dress, accessories, hair, fashion styles, and making methods
11.40 Kirsten Elliott on Department stores and shops in Bath
12.30-13.30 Lunch break
13.30 June Hannam on Working lives: the jobs they did, with focus on women workers
14.15 Bath Record Office staff on Bath Record Office, introducing the resources available
14.55 Close, and concluding questions/discussion
15.15-16.00 Researching your family history beginners advice; where and how to start; problem-solving and problem-sharing

Details: https://bath-at-work.org.uk/event/introductory-talks-face-to-face-victorian-and-edwardian-portraits-of-working-people-in-bath/
Museum of Bath at Work
Julian Road, Bath BA1 2RH
e: mobaw@hotmail.com 
w: www.bath-at-work.org.uk

The next Photograph Fair takes place at  the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury on Sunday, 24 September from 0930-1500. The venue will also host the Ephemera Fair. 

Details: https://etcfairs.com/ephemera-fairs/

When colour photography emerged in industrialised societies in the late nineteenth century it sparked industrial and scientific interest for some and aesthetic and conceptual concern for others. Over the course of fifty years, from 1890 until 1939, the accessibility of colour photography changed dramatically, culminating with the widespread uptake of Kodak Corporation’s Kodachrome colour-coupler technology in the late 1930s. Kodachrome reversal film redefined the photographic industry. It was celebrated as the solution to nearly one hundred years of research and development concentrated on finding a way to make affordable and practical colour pictures, and was so proficient that by the early 1940s it was in position to usurp the majority of competing colour processes established before it.

The flourishing industry of colour photography that existed before Kodachrome was driven largely by improvements in technology, including the introduction of aniline dyes and faster equipment; increased accessibility because of changing economies; and evolving conceptions of colour in public consciousness as it related art, advertising and collective taste. Although most nascent colour photography enterprises failed, the sheer volume of processes introduced signifies an enormous amount of creative velocity attributable to diverse thought and experimentation on behalf of colour photography’s innumerable stakeholders. Through consideration of the meaning of colour in contemporary British society, and the economic and social networks that underpinned the industry, this thesis aims to establish a stronger understanding of the competitive and dynamic market for early colour photography between 1890 and 1939.

Chromatic Imagination: Realising Early Colour Photography in Britain, 1890 to 1939
Hana Kaluznick
Online: 19 September, 1100-1230 (EDT)
Organised by the Color Photography in the 19th Century and Early 20th Century group
Details: https://www.chstm.org/content/color-photography-19th-century-and-early-20th-century-sciences-technologies-empires

Throughout September, I'll be blogging about a series of stereocards that I recently purchased as part of my ongoing research into the influence of 3D on early press photography.

The significance of the cards I'll be looking at is that they can be attributed to James Edward Ellam (1857-1920), an amateur stereographer from Yorkshire who enjoyed a successful career in London as a news agency photographer servicing Fleet Street.

He is best-known for his stereos for the Underwood & Underwood company of King Edward VII & Queen Alexandra in their Coronation robes, King Edward with his grandchildren at Balmoral (both in the National Portrait Gallery, London) and a set featuring Pope Pius X at the Vatican in Rome.

As I've obtained 30 of his amateur stereos, I thought I would write a blogpost-a-day this month about each of the cards.

In the process, I hope to shed further light on a period of James's career when he was making the transition, like other aspiring press photographers, from amateur to freelance/professional status.

You can follow the posts on my blog Click here

Credit: "The Cloisters, Durham Cathedral 1894" by J.E. Ellam.