We are looking for a specialist to set up and lead a new photographs department within a thriving and expanding  Auction House.  Our client is aiming  to establish themselves in the middle market for the sale of photographs that span the history of the medium but which may initially focus on modern, post-war and contemporary photography.

The successful candidate will have an excellent understanding of photographs and the marketplace, and have the skills and aptitude to establish the department.

Areas of Responsibility

Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Strategic and business development

• Develop business contacts and strategic opportunities, including developing auction and private sales strategies

• Identify and maintain relationships with all client categories (collectors, dealers, galleries etc), and particularly the ability to work with major clients in the consignments and sale of high value property

• Liaise on material in the field with other internal departments: pre-press, marketing, public relations etc.

• Proactively research and gather information into the marketplace/trends/buying & selling patterns

Valuations, cataloguing, pre and post-sale responsibilities

• Analyse and respond to incoming written, phone and photo enquiries to determine sale potential

• Work alone and with colleagues to determine provenance, authenticity, value, condition, and marketability of property

• Write and prepare catalogue essays, work on catalogue production and layout, as appropriate

• Coordinate pre-sale exhibition set-up

• Work with buyers during sales, including weekend exhibitions, to market and sell the sale

• Work with the Marketing team, to help develop a coordinated marketing plan to achieve budgeted sale totals

• Participate in telephone bidding with clients during the auction

• Participate in the full after-sales analysis, and implement any agreed changes

General

• Ensure compliance with all internal policies and procedures and any relevant external bodies or processes

• Participate in organization-wide meetings, activities and processes, and develop internal contacts, networks and interactions as appropriate

• Actively participate in events, valuation days, and other functions to represent the client

• Carry out other duties as required 

Person Specification

Essential skills and experience

• Extensive experience in the field, either at auction, within the trade or at another relevant institution e.g. gallery or own business

• Proven ability to develop relationships with the major collectors, dealers and galleries

• Excellent writing skills in English, and ability to combine an understanding of the material with a commercial sense of marketing and promoting value

• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including first class spoken English

• Ability to work to tight auction deadlines, balancing photography, cataloguing, sale organisation, marketing and promotional details

• Experience working with on projects of all sizes, long- and short-term; demonstrated ability to prioritise a variety of concurrent projects

• Excellent knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Outlook etc)
• Superior client service skills
• Strong follow-up skills with attention to detail
• Ability to thrive within a fast-paced team environment

Desirable qualifications

A qualification relevant to the field e.g. degree in photography, contemporary art, fine art

Closes 10 July 2018

Apply here: https://jobs.theguardian.com/job/6742450/auction-house-specialist-photographs/

Group of Reportedly Altered Daguerreotypes with Dubious Signatures, etc. Appears on Market and Includes Daguerre, Le Gray, the Bisson Frerer and Th. Jacobi. This is an article from my E-Photo Newsletter on a group of reportedly fake signatures on actual 19th-century daguerreotypes. If you'd like to be included on our free email list for the newsletter, just comment, or email me your details.

http://www.iphotocentral.com/news/article-view.php/253/241/1581/0/0/10

Richard Ovenden's lecture will explore the life and work of one of the greatest innovators in the history of the photography. John Thomson was the first to photograph the ruins of Angkor Wat, the first Western photographer to travel extensively in the interior of China, and the first photojournalist to document the lives of everyday people on the streets of Victorian London. His life and work will be set in context and will focus on the major contributions he made to the establishment of photography as one of the great modern means of communication.

Richard Ovenden is Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford. His book John Thomson (1837–1921) Photographer, published two decades ago, remains one of the most authoritative works on John Thomson.

There will be an opportunity to visit the exhibition at the Brunei Gallery - China and Siam: Through the Lens of John Thomson after the lecture.

The Icon Photographic Materials Group, Tru Vue and The National Archives are delighted to announce an evening lecture by Professor Debra Hess Norris, titled: I’ve Just Seen a Face: The Preservation of our Global Photographic Heritage. 

Photograph and film collections are held in museums, libraries, archives and private homes all over the world: they document our global heritage. These materials are deteriorating owing to exposure to poor environmental conditions, inadequate storage, and natural disasters. During this presentation, Debra will introduce the fundamental properties and care of photographic print and negative collections and address why their preservation is vital and relevant.

The lecture is aimed at conservators, historians, curators, photographers, artists and collection managers as well as interested non-specialists. The talk will be followed by a drinks reception.

Debra Hess Norris is Professor of photograph conservation at the University of Delaware, and an internationally renowned author, teacher and lecturer.

In the nineteenth century, Scotland was a pioneer of photography. A leading practitioner was George Washington Wilson, whose innovations in stereoscopic photography created some of the most captivating 3D images. Join photographic historians Dr Brian May and Professor Roger Taylor as they trace Wilson’s career, show key examples of his work using a stunning new 3D projection system and present their accompanying book, George Washington Wilson, Artist and Photographer, published by the London Stereoscopic Company.

To book: https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival/whats-on/brian-may-roger-taylor-12047

For those unable to attend the book is available from 20 July, published by the London Stereoscopic Co. It is a heavily revised and updated version of Taylor's original 1981 publication. 

Photoworks is seeking to recruit a new Chair to lead its Board of Trustees, plus several new Board members to help guide its vision and development.

It’s working as one team to deliver impressive projects. And it’s the satisfaction of presenting, and promoting, one of the world’s greatest and most diverse art collections. This is what makes working for Royal Collection Trust so different.

In terms of both quality and diversity, our collection of photographs is breath-taking, with works dating from the 1840s to the present day.

It's a 'living' collection, yet there are fascinating stories here that have lain untold for decades. Joining the team at the heart of uncovering these, you'll help to research and bring them alive – not just through inspiring exhibitions but also catalogues, presentations and displays.

Developing your own expertise, as well as the teams' knowledge, you'll also share your discoveries with a wider audience through presentation and interpretation.

At the same time, you'll make sure the photograph collection has proper custodial control, and will edit and update existing online records, ensuring they are accessible and easy to navigate.

Drawing on expertise from teams across Royal Collection Trust, collaboration will be part of your daily routine and will be key to your success.

But, above all, your passion for engaging people with history will help to preserve the photographic heritage of this unique collection.

Read more and apply here: https://theroyalhousehold.tal.net/vx/appcentre-3/brand-3/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/6/opp/1766-Assistant-Curator-of-Photographs/en-GB

This is a French photo, but I believe may have British interest. I am looking for any information. Albumen print by Antoine Samuel Adam -Salomon, Sculptor in Paris. He was a rival of Nadar. 

This print was sold in New york, 1996, by the Lunn gallery, Ltd. As stated in their catalogue, 'Isabelle, May be the daughter of Franz Liszt'.  I have no idea if this is true, but Adam-Salomon did photograph both Liszt and his wife.

My research has lead me here; Curiously, Oscar Rejlander photographed a similar portrait of a young girl reading, She was Isabele Somers-Cocks, later Lady henry Somerset,daughter of JMC's sister, Virginia.

So, I have various spellings, Isabele, iIabelle, Isabella. and i am confused.

I still think its a stellar photo. Tell me what you think.

• Experience how the museum’s photographic collection and its new Panoramic Halton tablets have been integrated with hands-on exhibits and the local environment in the observatory (supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund). 
• Hear from Howard Hopwood, Trustee of Catalyst and former HARMAN Chairman and New Business Director, about the black and white chemistry in your archives and collections.
• Ask Howard Hopwood questions and discuss issues like dealing chemical problems, faulty processing and contamination of prints of old negatives and prints.Programme10.30 - registration & refreshments (at the cafe)10.45 - introductions from PCN and Catalyst11.15 - archive collection highlights and observatory tour12.15 - presentation & Q+A with Howard Hopwood13.00 - lunch and informal networking for delegates in museum cafe14.00 - closePricesPlaces for PCN members are priced at £10, with tickets for non-members priced at £15. Ticket prices include refreshments and a contribution to the work of the museum. Places are extremely limited - so do get it or regret it!

It may be of interest to BPH members to know of articles about 19th century photographers in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

An article on George Parker (1833-1907) is here:

http://pittvillehistory.org.uk/bios/GeorgeParker.html

Joseph Dunton ran Dunton's Portrait Rooms in the 1860s.  The early part of his career in Cheltenham, when he pioneered archery practice there, is covered in this article:

http://pittvillehistory.org.uk/bios/873.html

Dunton's life is covered more fully in the Cheltenham Local History Society Journal:

‘Joseph Dunton (1810-1886) – Part 1, Archery Entrepreneur’, CLHS Journal No. 33 (2017), pp. 3-11
‘Joseph Dunton (1810-1886) – Part 2, Photography and Fireworks’, CLHS Journal No. 34 (2018), pp. 24-31. 

Funded by the Clare Hampson Fund, the internship will focus on the conservation of photographic materials as well as giving the intern the opportunity to develop their understanding of audience engagement.

The National Archives is the official archive and publisher for the UK Government and guardian of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents. We are hosting an internship in the conservation of photographs. The intern will research and implement conservation treatment on photographs and engage audiences in their work.

The closing date is 14th June 2018 at 9am. 

Click here: https://icon.org.uk/what-is-conservation/internships and click 'vacancies'

Dawn Parsonage is a Photographic artist and collector of found photography based in London. For over 20 years she has collected thousands of photographs, negatives, slides and stereo-cards from anonymous photographers. Concentrating on the 1850s-1950s, she searches for the unexpected, humorous, emotive and beautiful. Images, that when viewed with a modern eye, are just as emotive as those taken by named and celebrated photographers. 

The talk will take a broad look at her collection and ask:

• What can these forgotten images teach us about our own relationship with photography today? 
• Can the act of collecting found photography be viewed as an art form? 
• What role do images which have begun to degrade play in Dawn's work?
• How did the progression in photographic technology influence these images? 
• How does Dawn's collection influence her own photography?
• What is the future of found photography?" 
  https://www.dawnparsonage.com/

Limited places are available. 
£3 per ticket, 

Book here: https://www.liop.co.uk/talks/

This is the first monograph exploring how, throughout its history, sculpture has provided a model to conceptualize photography as an art of mechanical reproduction. While there is a growing body of work examining how photography has contributed to the development of a Western 'sculptural imagination' by disseminating works, facilitating the investigation of the medium, or changing sculptural aesthetics, this study focuses on how sculpture has provided not only beautiful and convenient subject matter for photographs, or commercial and cultural opportunities for photographers in the market for art reproductions, but also an exemplar for thinking about photography as a medium based on mechanical means of production. In both media, processes from conception to realization involve apparatus that bypass the 'touch of the artist' - so important to enduring notions of the value of works of art.

The book closely analyses a number of case studies, from 1847 to the present, selected both to explicate the conceptual and technological continuities between the two media, and also because of how they illuminate the materiality of photographic objects. The final chapter considers the convergence of the two media in contemporary sculptural practices that use forms of 3D photography and computer-operated sculpting machines. 

Rooted in an understanding of the practical, social and aesthetic implications of photographic as well as sculptural technologies, this volume demonstrates how photographs of sculpture are particularly useful in revealing how photography's changing materialities shape the meaning of images as they are made, circulated, looked at, written about and handled at different historical moments.

Sculptural Photographs. From the Calotype to Digital Technologies
Patrizia di Bello
Bloomsbury, 2018

See more and order here

Find out more about the Victorian obsession with the photography of death with this short film from the BBC. Interviewees include Dr Kelley Wilder, director of the Photographic History Research Centre in Leicester. 

See: https://www.bbc.com/ideas/videos/the-curious-era-of-death-photography/p066vrf0

With the joining of the Royal Photographic Society Collection to its own the Victoria and Albert Museum now has one of the largest and most important photography collections in the world. Gain privileged access to the museum's collection and expertise by joining one of two upcoming photography evening courses:

• History of Photography: Tuesday 2 October 2018-Tuesday 27 November 2018. The V&A has been acquiring photographs since the 1850's and the collection has grown to be one of the largest and most important in the world. Coinciding with the opening of our new Photography Centre, this course will present an overview of the history of the medium, taught by the team of specialists who care for this diverse collection. During sessions in the Prints & Drawings Study Room, you will have the opportunity to view up-close magnificent original works not currently on display, from rare early treasures by the inventors of photography to twentieth century masterpieces and cutting-edge contemporary pictures.
• Fashion Photography: Tuesday 7 May 2019 - Tuesday 18 June 2019. Gain an overview of the history of fashion photography, from the blossoming of the medium in the early twentieth century to the modern day. The emergence of fashion photography as a distinct genre goes hand in hand with the burgeoning illustrated magazine industry. Publications such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar employed some of the period’s most celebrated photographers in the realm of fine art. As editorial shoots or advertisements, fashion photographs throughout history have helped to shape culture and reflect the dramatic changes in women’s roles.

These courses tend to fill very quickly and early booking is recommended. See full details here: https://goo.gl/4Mjoe5

Photographs by four of the most celebrated figures in art photography will go on show at Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery this summer in a major new exhibition, Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography, which comes to the city direct from the National Portrait Gallery.

Lewis Carroll (1832–98), Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–79), Oscar Rejlander (1813–75) and Lady Clementina Hawarden (1822-65) shared an experimental approach to picture-making and their radical attitudes towards photography have gone on to inform artistic practice ever since. Victorian Giants is the first exhibition to examine the relationship between these four ground-breaking artists. Drawn from public and private collections internationally, it features some of the most breath-taking images in photographic history, including many which, prior to the exhibition opening in London, had not been seen in Britain since they were made.

Oscar Rejlander was a Swedish émigré with a mysterious past; Julia Margaret Cameron was a middle-aged expatriate from colonial Ceylon (now Sri Lanka); Lewis Carroll was an Oxford academic and writer of fantasy literature; and Clementina Hawarden was landed gentry, the child of a Scottish naval hero and a Spanish beauty, 26 years younger.

While the four seem an unlikely alliance, Rejlander served as occasional mentor to Carroll, Cameron and Hawarden in different capacities. They maintained lasting associations, exchanging ideas about portraiture and narrative and although the four photographers developed distinctive styles, the overlap in their approaches has at times made it difficult to separate their output. Influenced by historical painting and frequently associated with the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, they formed a bridge between the art of the past and the art of the future, standing as true giants in Victorian photography. 

• Amongst the highlights of the exhibition are Lewis Carroll’s photographs of Alice Liddell, his muse for Alice in Wonderland. Visitors will see Caroll’s much-loved images of Alice as a child alongside less well-known photographs he made of Alice years later, showing her as an adult. The exhibition brings together these works for the first time, as well as Alice Liddell as Beggar Maid, on loan from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 
• Victorian Giants also features Oscar Rejlander’s famous picture, Two Ways of Life (1856-7), which used his pioneering technique combining several different negatives to create a single final image. Constructed from over 30 separate negatives, the work was so large it had to be printed on two sheets of paper joined together.
• The exhibition will include seldom-seen original negatives by Carroll and Rejlander, offering a chance to see ‘behind the scenes’ as they made their pictures.
• Visitors will be able to explore how each photographer approached the same subject, such as Cameron and Rejlander’s respective photographs of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson and the images they made of scientist Charles Darwin, or when Carroll and Cameron both photographed the actress, Ellen Terry. The exhibition will also include the legendary studies of human emotion Rejlander made for Darwin, on loan from the Darwin Archive at Cambridge University.
• Victorian Giants will also feature a selection of images which are accompanied by personal captions written by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. A Patron of the National Portrait Gallery since 2012 and an enthusiastic amateur photographer, The Duchess has written a foreword to the exhibition catalogue in which she discusses her interest in nineteenth-century photography, the subject of her undergraduate thesis while an art history student at the University of St Andrews.

Kirstie Hamilton, Director of Programmes at Museums Sheffield says: ‘We’re delighted to continue our partnership with the National Portrait Gallery with this exhibition. Victorian Giants is a fascinating celebration of how these artist’s radical approaches to image-making completely transformed photography. The remarkable stillness and incredible beauty in these works is truly captivating and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to show them here in Sheffield.’

Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography opens at the Millennium Gallery on Saturday 30 June and continues until Saturday 23 September 2018. Entry to the exhibition is free. 

A series of lectures and associated public events will be held alongside the exhibition.  Find out more here: http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/

Image: Oscar Rejlander, The Evening Sun.

In October 1843 a package of cyanotype photographs was delivered to the Royal Society. It had not been donated by the inventor of photography William Henry Fox Talbot FRS (1800-1877), or the inventor of the cyanotype photographic process Sir John Herschel FRS (1792-1871). The collection of stunning blue and white photographs was the gift of a Mrs Atkins of Halstead, Kent.

Read more of Rose Teanby's blog with the Royal Society here: http://blogs.royalsociety.org/history-of-science/2018/05/22/gift-1843/

While doing some research on the Scottish sculptor, Robert Forrest some years ago, I stumbled on an interesting reference to the photographer James Ross, in the minutes of the Directors of the National Monument on the Calton Hill in Edinburgh (just above the famous 'Rock house' where D. O. Hill and Robert Adamson first set up their business).

I placed the results of my research on my website here:

https://sites.google.com/site/joerocksresearchpages/home/james-ross-and-hand-coloured-calotypes

The Bromoil Circle of Great Britain is compiling a list (at the moment very short) of any bromoil related archive collections in the UK. The secretary Brian Iddon would be interested if anybody has any information relating to the Bromoil Process or Bromoilists were work is held in any institutions,museums,libraries etc.

Camera Work, the 115-year-old publication, is available to be read once again. Alfred Stieglitz published a photographic quarterly called Camera Work over a century ago. Original copies are rare, fragile, and very expensive.

It served as the mouthpiece for the photo-secession movement and introduced pictorialism to the world. Not only are the photogravures beautiful, but the texts, essays, and critiques are also worth reading. Emerging photographers, including Steichen, Robert Demachy, Gertrude Käsebier, Clarence White, and James Craig Annan as well as 19th century photography pioneers Hill & Adamson, and Julia Margaret Cameron grace the pages of Camera Work. The advertisements found on the last few pages of every issue remind the reader of a bygone era of early analog photography.

Very few people or institutions own original copies of Camera Work. Each time they are handled, the risk of damaging a piece of photography’s history is present. The greenish-grey paper used for the cover, and the bindings are extremely friable. It is not readily available to browse its content. The price original copies command makes it impractical for scholars and institutions to buy and to use them as teaching tools or for reference. The goal is to give access of its content to teachers, students, museums, libraries, collectors, and photography history enthusiasts.

Photographer and photogravure admirer Pierre Vreyen has published, for the first time, a high quality, affordable facsimile of all 50 issues. He incorporated high-resolution scans made from each original Camera Work plate and painstakingly reproduced each page as close to the original as possible. One can now read and appreciate every single page published by Alfred Stieglitz in his photographic quarterly. It took two years to digitize, clean, and color correct all 3924 pages and covers. The result of such meticulous work is a faithful facsimile publication. A bonus new issue, number 51, was created and is a table of content of all previous 50 numbers.

For more information, please visit

http://cameraworkmagazine.com