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Wellcome Images has announced that over 100,000 high resolution images including manuscripts, paintings, etchings, early photography and advertisements are now freely available through Wellcome Images. Out of copyright images are being released under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.

This means that they can be used for commercial or personal purposes, with an acknowledgement of the original source (Wellcome Library, London). All of the images from the Wellcomes historical collections can be used free of charge.

The images can be downloaded in high-resolution directly from the Wellcome Images website for users to freely copy, distribute, edit, manipulate, and build upon as they wish, for personal or commercial use. The images range from ancient medical manuscripts to etchings by artists such as Vincent Van Goghand Francisco Goya.

From a photography perspective the images includes Muybridge, John Thomson, Beato and others. But one word of advice... don't use the 'technique' preset term for 'photography' as most of the photography images appear to have been categorised by process, so use: daguerreotype, collodion and albumen to find photography images.   

The earliest item is an Egyptian prescription on papyrus, and treasures include exquisite medieval illuminated manuscripts and anatomical drawings, from delicate 16th century fugitive sheets, whose hinged paper flaps reveal hidden viscera to Paolo Mascagni’s vibrantly coloured etching of an ‘exploded’ torso.

Other treasures include a beautiful Persian horoscope for the 15th-century prince Iskandar, sharply sketched satires by Rowlandson, Gillray and Cruikshank, as well as photography from  Eadweard Muybridge’s studies of motion. John Thomson’s remarkable nineteenth century portraits from his travels in China can be downloaded, as well a newly added series of photographs of hysteric and epileptic patients at the famousSalpêtrière Hospital

Simon Chaplin, Head of the Wellcome Library, says “Together the collection amounts to a dizzying visual record of centuries of human culture, and our attempts to understand our bodies, minds and health through art and observation. As a strong supporter of open access, we want to make sure these images can be used and enjoyed by anyone without restriction.”

What are the issues raised by the commissioning of new works by a photographic archive? How do these new works alter or activate the existing archival collections; how do they alter understandings of the archive? And what are the considerations for a photographer/artist making work specifically to enter the archive?

The Library of Birmingham Photographic Archive holds over 3.5 million items, ranging from daguerreotypes at the dawn of the medium to works by contemporary practitioners. The most recent additions to the archive are the works produced through Reference Works, Birmingham’s largest photography commission to date. The project saw four artists - Michael Collins, Brian Griffin, Andrew Lacon and Stuart Whipps - commissioned to respond creatively to the move and transition from the 1970s Central Library to the new Library of Birmingham, opened in September 2013.

Using Reference Works as a starting point, this symposium will consider archival commissioning in a broader context, from the perspective of the archivist, the historian, the curator, the photographer, the artist and the art writer. Speakers include Reference Works artists Professor Brian Griffin, Andrew Lacon and Stuart Whipps; Curator and Head of Photographs at the Library of Birmingham Pete James; Creative director, photo historian and lecturer Anne Braybon; Professor of Philosophy and Director, Centre for Fine Art Research, BIAD, BCU Professor Johnny Golding; photographer and Professor of Photography at the University of Brighton Professor Mark Power and artist, critic and art historian Dr Lucy Soutter. Further speakers will be announced shortly.

Building the archive: the Reference Works photography project in context

Friday 28th February 2014

9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Library of Birmingham

Early Bird Until Friday 31^st January
Full Price £25
Concession £20

Standard
Full Price £30
Concession £25

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-the-archive-the-reference-works-photography-project-in-context-tickets-10077180117

In 1851 British amateurs commented on the large daguerreotypes of the Macaire brothers in Le Havre. Until now only one (at BnF) was believed to have survived. On Monday, 27 January, a second one will surface.

Details: http://www.photoceros.com/27-01-2014-presentation-dun-daguerreotype-de-cyrus-macaire-a-rennes/

Auction:http://www.rennesencheres.com/

The Bethlem Archives & Museum in Monks Orchard Road, Beckenham, records the lives and achievements of people experiencing mental health issues and documents the rich history of the institution, which began in 1247, along with its affiliated hospitals. Recognised as Europe’s oldest institution specialising in mental illnesses, it has been known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlem Hospital, Bethlehem Hospital and most notoriously, Bedlam.

Its museum is in the running to collaborate with the photographer, known professionally as Rankin, on a project which has its roots in Victorian images in the Museum’s collection. In the mid-19th century, photographer Henry Hering photographed numerous Bethlem patients to try and detect the patients’ mental health conditions through their facial expressions and features. The Museum holds a large collection of these images, showing patients before and after treatment and illustrating the Victorian need for categorization of patients.

The Museum would work with Rankin to create a new permanent collection of portraits. The project would raise awareness of the extent of mental illness, helping to reduce prejudices by showing that it is not always clear from a person’s appearance that they are unwell. Victoria Northwood, Head of Archives & Museum, said: “As we know now, mental illness cannot always be detected in people’s appearances and our project will aim to emphasise this point. Our historic photography collection is strong and it would be wonderful to be able to revisit the medium with a combination of Rankin’s skill and our contemporary values. 

The full report can be found here. You have until 28th January to place your vote for Bethlem Archives and Museum, or any of the other three contenders here.  It's your choice!

The work of Limerick photographer Franz S. Haselbeck is one of the greatest Irish photographic collections, chronicling an exciting period in Irish history. Haselbeck was never fully appreciated during his lifetime (1885–1973), but his granddaughter, Patricia Haselbeck Flynn, recently painstakingly catalogued his archives, some of which are now on display in Limerick City Hall. 
Haselbeck was a photographer in Limerick City from 1912 until his death, in 1973. He cycled all over the city and surrounding countryside photographing important events of the time, including the War of Independence, construction projects, the military, and taking portraits of the locals.  

His work now provides one of the most important and comprehensive views into 20th century Ireland. Spanning six decades of major change, the collection is made up of almost 5,000 surviving images and documents from the early 1900s to the 1960s.

Patricia Haselbeck Flynn inherited the collection in 1990 and, working closely with the Limerick City Museum and Archives (LCMA ), she has insured her grandfather’s archive of work will be preserved. She also penned the book Franz S. Haselbeck’s Ireland and curated an exhibition of his work and equipment, named The Street, in Limerick City. It is the culmination of years of work.

A selection of his photographs can be seen here, and you can read the rest of the article here.

The National Portrait Gallery, London, has appointed Phillip Prodger (right), founding Curator of Photography at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, as Head of Photographs Collection, from 1 June 2014. He has been at the Peabody since 2008. 

Prodger will lead the Gallery’s photographic exhibitions and displays programme and oversee the Gallery’s Collection of more than 250,000 photographs, which spans from the medium’s invention to the present day.

Terence Pepper OBE, Hon FRPS, formerly Curator of Photographs, has a new part-time role, starting January 2014, as the Gallery’s Senior Special Advisor on Photographs, and will be working on special projects with the Exhibitions team until early 2016. Pepper's change of role was reported by BPH in December 2013.

Phillip Prodger, Ph.D (Cantab.) FRSA, was curator of the National Portrait Gallery's acclaimed exhibition Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio and Street in 2011, and Ansel Adams: From the Mountains to the Sea, which showed at the Royal Museums Greenwich in 2012. He is the author and editor of 17 books and catalogues, including Darwin's Camera, named one of the best art and architecture books of 2009 by the New York Times, and Man Ray | Lee Miller: Partners in Surrealism (2011). In 2013 he was the only curator in the United States to receive a Focus Award, given annually to those making a critical contribution to the promotion, curation, and presentation of photography.

Originally from Margate, Kent, Phillip Prodger has held appointments at the National Gallery of Canada, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University. He received a Ph.D. in history of art from the University of Cambridge in 2005. Expert in late nineteenth/early twentieth-century art and photography, he has curated more than 30 exhibitions internationally, including at the Beijing Museum of World Art and the Berlinische Galerie in Germany.

Terence Pepper’s exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery include those on Howard Coster (1985) and James Abbe (1995), Angus McBean Portraits (2006), Vanity Fair: Portraits (2008), (co-curated with David Friend and winner of the Lucie Award for Exhibition of the Year), Beatles to Bowie: the 60s Exposed (2009) and Man Ray: Portraits (2013- 2014) which toured to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh (where it was nominated for a Lucie Award) and The State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.

Pepper joined the National Portrait Gallery as Librarian in October 1975. In 1978, having become Curator of Photographs, he curated and published his first National Portrait Gallery catalogue to mark the centenary of E. O. Hoppé in Camera Portraits by E. O. Hoppé. (He recently co-authored with Prodger the 2011 Hoppé Portraits Catalogue). In 1981 Pepper curated his first major exhibition, Norman Parkinson: 50 Years of Portraits and Fashion.

In 1988 the exhibitions Helmut Newton Portraits and Alice Springs Portraits were followed by research for the first monograph on Lewis Morley: Photographer of the Sixties (1989). A major book written with John Kobal on the MGM photographer Clarence Sinclair Bull: The Man Who Shot Garbo became the template for a further series of successful exhibitions based on the same formula including Horst: Portraits (2001), and Beaton: Portraits (2004). Pepper’s interest in Edwardian photography resulted in High Society: Photographs 1897-1914 and Edwardian Women Photographers. His most visited exhibition, co-curated with Philip Hoare, was Icons of Pop (1999) while his interest in contemporary photographs saw the establishment of the Gallery’s annual Photographic Portrait Prize.

Dr Tarnya Cooper, Chief Curator, National Portrait Gallery, London, says: ‘Terence Pepper has made a remarkable contribution to the Gallery over many decades and has been responsible for a considerable number of important and critically acclaimed exhibitions. During his long period at the Gallery he has also been absolutely instrumental in building our truly outstanding collection of portrait photographs. We are delighted that he will remain at the Gallery in order to continue to share his considerable knowledge and expertise’.

Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, says: ‘I am very pleased that Phillip Prodger will join the team at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and will be able to lead our important work in photographic portraits, building on the achievements of Terence Pepper in the development of the Collection and in creating outstanding loan exhibitions.’

In the interim period from 1st January to 31st May 2014 the photographs team will be led by the Gallery’s Twentieth Century Curator, Paul Moorhouse.

Additional reporting: Michael Pritchard

A reader has three photographic medals awarded to a Miss M Brightwell in the 1920s by the B.M.T.S.P.S. Does anyone know what the BMTSPS was? The PS presumably stands for Photographic Society. 

David Burder FRPS and Roger Smith will be presenting a replica of what was probably the first camera to be used commercially in England. Wolcott and Johnson’s design was adapted by Johnson and Beard and patented by Beard. The speakers will talk about the project, the making of the camera (made to Beard's patent drawings) and about the daguerreotype process. This is an evening meeting and time will not permit the making of an image but this is an opportunity to see an exceptional camera and learn about the way it was made and used. Places are limited. Promises to be an educational and fun event.

Monday 20 January 2014 at 6.30pm.

Wetherby Preparatory School, Bryanston Square, London, W1H 2EA

Organised by the RPS London DVJ Group jointly with the Historical Group 

Admission £5 (free for RPS Members) Booking essential via RPS website.

BPH publicised this project last year and the results of the first round of discussions and meetings have now been published. The website features case studies with Liz Hingley, Daniel Meadows and Mark Power. Read more here: http://www.photolegacyproject.co.uk/

Image: Mark Power's studio

If you are a Facebook user there is a new group to celebrate and to present information relating to this important anniversary. Search for ,'Birth of Photography' or click here: https://www.facebook.com/birth.of.photography

Photographic negatives left a century ago in Captain Scott’s last expedition base at Cape Evans have been discovered and conserved by New Zealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust. The negatives were found in expedition photographer Herbert Ponting’s darkroom and have been painstakingly conserved revealing never before seen Antarctic images.

The Trust’s conservation specialists discovered the clumped together cellulose nitrate negatives in a small box as part of the Ross Sea Heritage Restoration Project which has seen more than 10,000 objects conserved at Scott’s Cape Evans hut.

The negatives were removed from Antarctica by the Trust earlier this year. Detailed conservation treatment back in New Zealand separating the negatives has revealed twenty-two images.  The photographs are from Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Ross Sea Party, which spent time living in Scott’s hut after being stranded on Ross Island when their ship blew out to sea.  One of the most striking images is of Ross Sea Party member Alexander Stevens, Shackleton’s Chief Scientist, standing on-board the Aurora.

Although many of the images are damaged, the Antarctic Heritage Trust was able to recognise landmarks around McMurdo Sound, although the identity of the photographer remains unknown. “It’s an exciting find and we are delighted to see them exposed after a century. It’s testament to the dedication and precision of our conservation teams’ efforts to save Scott’s Cape Evans hut,” said Nigel Watson, Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Executive Director.

In 2010 the Antarctic Heritage Trust (NZ) discovered three crates of whisky and two crates of brandy under Ernest Shackleton’s 1908 base during conservation work.

See: http://www.ukaht.org/

Image: Alexander Stevens on Aurora deck (NZAHT)

Through the Lens of John Thomson: Hong Kong and Coastal China, 1868-1872, is a photography exhibition running until 16 February 2014 at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum - at Central Ferry Pier No 8.

Born in Edinburgh in 1837, the Scotsman trained as a lensmaker at the age of 14. And then, like many youngsters of his time, Thomson headed east to explore and broaden his horizons. In 1868, after he had visited Singapore and Malaya, Thomson decided to go to Hong Kong and coastal China.

During his four-year stay in China, Thomson traveled to places such as Tianjin, Beijing, Fujian and Guangzhou, as well as Hong Kong.

When he first arrived in town, he immediately set up a studio on Queen's Road and it did not take him long to establish a good reputation. He was soon invited to take photographs of the commemorative book created for the first visit of Prince Albert, the Duke of Edinburgh and second son of Queen Victoria.

In 1872, Thomson headed back home to London, bringing with him 600 glass plates created during his stay. It is these plates, held by London's Wellcome Collection, which form the basis of the exhibition. 

W J J Bolding (1815-1899) is the subject of a new book about this 1850/60s North Norfolk photographer. The book records what is known about Bolding along with a selection of his outstanding photographs. A chapter by John Benjafield contextualises Bolding's work in the early history of photography. 

Bolding took up photography sometime in the 1840s making paper negatives and, later, using wet-collodion. The subject of a number of exhibitions over the years and included in the Arts Council's 1975 The Real Thing which described his portraits of estate works and villagers as 'amongst the most powerful portraits in the history of photography'.  Roger Watson, Curator of the Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock said of the Victorian Photographer: 'W J J Bolding was a photographer of the first rank. His work deserves to be more widely seen and appreciated'.

A Victorian Gentleman's North Norfolk. W J J Bolding and his place in early photography

Richard Jefferson

JJG Publishing, 2013

ISBN 978-1-899163-78-6

167 pages, hard covers. 

The book is available for £25 and can be purchased from Richard Jefferson (e: richardjefferson@f2s.com) or from Big C, 10a Castle Meadow, Norwich NR1 3DE. Tel: 01603 619990.  All profits go to Big C, Norfolk & Waveney's cancer charity, see: www.big-c.co.uk/boldingsbook.aspx

The Guardian reports on the government scheme to accept items in lieu of tax. Items accepted must be made available to the public for viewing. Included on the list are the following photographic items:

• David Octavius Hill (1802-70) and Robert Adamson (1821-48) 'Calotype Studies', 1846. A rare and highly important album containing a total of 127 photographs comprising 100 calotype photographs by Hill & Adamson. See:  http://www.visitukheritage.gov.uk/servlet/com.eds.ir.cto.servlet.CtoDetailServlet?ID=98607
  
  
• Ducamp, M: Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. Paris: 1852. Folio, mounted albumen prints, contemporary green morocco gilt; and 2 others. (3). See: http://www.visitukheritage.gov.uk/servlet/com.eds.ir.cto.servlet.CtoDetailServlet?ID=94737
  
  
• Talbot (H. Fox): The Pencil of Nature, 1844, plates 13-18; Sun Pictures, 23 plates, bound in one volume. See: http://www.visitukheritage.gov.uk/servlet/com.eds.ir.cto.servlet.CtoDetailServlet?ID=115202

You are entitled to see these items and if you are a UK taxpayer then you are effectively paying for the foregone tax. There may be other items of photography and the full list is searchable here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/heritage/visit.htm#1

The Fotorestauratie Atelier VOF offers English Master Classes in various subjects surrounding the preservation of photographs. During the first half of the year we are placing special focus on preservation strategies surrounding modern photographs. 
 
All courses will be given in Amsterdam and prices include coffee breaks, lunch and a reader. Classes will be given by Clara von Waldthausen, Hans Meesters or by a guest lecturer. The number of participants is limited to 8 unless otherwise indicated in the course description.

Identification of Modern Photograph Processes

Date:     19, 20 & 21 March 2014

Costs:   495,00 euro
 
This course covers the most common modern photograph processes and finishing techniques in theory and in practice. Participants will learn about and examine the differences between true black and white photographs, early color processes, chromogenic and silver dye bleach photography, inkjet prints and many other modern processes during a three-day workshop that is divided into theory and practical sessions. 
                                                                                                        
Digital Photograph Documentation for Conservators / Restorers 

Date:     14, 15 & 16 April 2014

Costs:   595,00 euro
 
In the last 10 years conservators have made the switch from analoge photograph documentation of their treatments to digital documentation. However there are many differences in the way digital documentation is performed and in the tools needed to produce and ensure longevity of the digital file.  Targets other than the Kodak color scale have to be used, a white balance has to be made and stitching together of images using programs such as Adobe Photoshop can be performed. This master class will provide the background necessary to understand digital photography and document conservation treatment optimally. 

 
Note: An understanding of one's own camera is required and participants are encouraged to bring their own camera and if possible a laptop with Adobe Photoshop. These tools will be useful during the practical sessions. 

 
Presservation of Modern Photograph Collections

Date:      21, 22 & 23 May 2014

Costs:    495,00 euro
 
Which processes can be stored at room temperature and which can better be stored in cold storage? What are cold storage temperatures and what are the requirements to store at these temperatures? This master class will discuss storage of modern photographs as well as focus on deterioration, exhibition, framing and transportation requirements of color, black and white and inkjet prints.
 

Course discussions surrounding the concept of originality versus reproducibility of photographs will be held and the use of exhibition copies will be looked at. Strategies for handling and installing modern photographs will be examined. Experiences in decision-making and working with artists and museum staff will be shared and considered during a number of case studies that will be presented by participants and lecturer. After the course, participants will be able to make warranted decisions concerning the preservation of modern photograph collections, identify damage to the collection and document damage on condition rapports.
 

 
Note: It is recommended that participants have experience in process identification of the most common modern processes including chromogenic, dye transfer, silver dye bleach and inkjet prints. If you do not, may we recommend our master class, “Identification of Modern Photograph Processes” which is given in March. Participants that enroll in both classes receive a 75 euro discount. 
 
Storage & Framing: Theory, Techniques and Materials

Date:      25, 26 & 27 June 2014

Costs:     695,00 euro
 
This hands-on course focuses on mounting and framing strategies for storage and exhibition. Participants will become familiar with mounting materials and techniques for modern and historic photographs as well as the various adhesives for mounting photographs with different primary supports.  Common mounting methods used by commercial framers will be considered and during practical sessions mock-ups will be made using a number of mounting techniques. The use of microclimates in framing will also be examined and the possibilities and limitations of hermetic framing will be evaluated. 


 
Note: This course is limited to 5 participants
 
To register for one of the classes below please send an email to us via the form on the right side of this window with your name, email address, telephone number (optional) and message, and press the "verzend" button to send it to us. Once received, we will be happy to send you a registration form and if desirable a list of hotels in the area.

See more and book here: http://www.fotoconservering.nl/3173912/master-classes

We are happy to announce that The Papers of William Henry Fox Talbot are now searchable online in the British Library catalogue.To search the collection, go to the British Library's online catalogue‎ and search for 

William Henry Fox Talbot or Add MS 88942 : 1647-1952

(first click on "details" and then on "see contents" on the right).

The Talbot Papers were donated to the British Library by the Talbot family in 2005. A subsequent loan collection of further material came to the British Library from the family in 2008. The collection is significant in both scope and scholarly integrity: The papers contain notebooks, letters, photographs, diaries, unbound Assyriological and mathematical folios, natural specimens in herbaria, offprints of Talbot’s articles, patents, artefacts and a small selection of books from Talbot’s library. Whilst the covering dates of the collection are 1647-1952, most of the material is from Talbot's lifetime. The Talbot collection as a whole is still in the process being catalogued. To date, the first series, Talbot's notebooks Add MS 88942/1, has been completed and is already available to readers. The extent recorded online (348 folders) thus refers to this first Series and will be revised accordingly as the cataloguing project progresses.

The photographs in this collection are catalogued separately in the British Library Catalogue of Photographs.

Talbot's correspondence had already been calendared and transcribed by The Correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot Project.

Regarding the wider archive, several photographic notebooks and thousands of important prints (originating in a donation to the Science Museum by Talbot's grand-daughter) are held at the National Media Museum, Bradford and a smaller part of the archive is currently in the process of being acquired by the Bodleian Library or held in several public and private collections. The library of the Talbot family remains partly at the National Trust Property at Lacock Abbey. The archive of the Talbot family and Lacock Abbey is held on deposit at the Wiltshire County Record Office.

Former Identifiers: Deposit 10690

For an overview of the collection, see also

William Henry Fox Talbot: Beyond Photography (Yale University Press 2013)

A new monograph records the life and achievements pioneering wildlife photographer and cinematographer Oliver G Pike FRPS. The 56-page publication is available for £5 plus p+p from the author's website: http://www.olivergpike.info/

The world's two oldest photographic periodicals have announced their digitisation. The Royal Photographic Society's Photographic Journal, which dates from March 1853 and the British Journal of Photography which dates from January 1854 will be made available in digital forms to researchers and the public. Both publications have been published continuously since their first issue.

BPH understands that The RPS has already completed digitisation of its Journal from 1853 to 2012 and that it will be made available in a searchable form with the launch of The Society's new website in January 2014. The project has been funded through the generosity of a RPS member. The BJP has announced its own digitisation in its January 2014 issue (BJP, January 2014, p. 98) which stated that 'throughout 2014 and beyond, we will be digitising BJP's entire archive'. Its intent 'is to make [it] available to our readers, as well as historians, professors and researchers worldwide'. It is not reported whether access will be charged for. The RPS will make access available to the public without charge.

Commenting on the RPS digitisation to BPH The Society stated: "During a scoping exercise it became apparent how rare runs of the RPS Journal were and digitisation would both preserve the content and make it far more widely available to everyone from photographic historians, to family historians. The Royal Photographic Society was at the forefront of developments in the artistic and scientific development of photography and these were reported and discussed in the Journal. For much of its history the RPS Journal was read and had an influence far beyond its membership. The Society has always been an important body within British and international photography and the Society’s Journal is unique in its longevity". The ability to access the Journal which has never been previously made available in this way will allow The Society's role, that of its members and wider British photography over 160+ years to be studied as never before.

BPH will carry more on both projects as information becomes available. To contact The RPS about it's digitisation email: director@rps.org

With thanks to Bob Gates ARPS. 

The State Hermitage Museum is pleased to invite you to take part in the international conference "Current Research in Photography" held to mark the 250th anniversary of the State Hermitage and 175 years since the invention of photography.

The conference will take place on 18-20 November 2014 at the Restoration and Storage Centre of the State Hermitage in St.Petersburg, Russia.  It is planned to discuss the following issues during the conference:

• Study of historical and modern photography
• Restoration and conservation of photographic materials
• New technologies and photography

We hope that the submitted papers will reflect new research into history and attribution of photographs and present the latest restoration methods, modern technologies and projects to preserve photographic collections.

Distinguished arts experts, conservators and other specialists in preservation of the photographic heritage have already agreed to take part in the conference.

Each presentation will last 20 minutes.

The State Hermitage Publishing House is planning to publish the proceedings.

Requirements for publishing: All texts should be submitted in soft copy, A4 format; top, bottom, and right margins: 2 cm, left margin: 3 cm. Line spacing: 1.5, font size: 14, type: Times New Roman, 5-6 figures.

The Organizing Committee preserves the right to reject the materials it receives at its discretion.

If you wish to take part in the conference, we are asking you to forward the topic and an abstract or the text of your presentation to the Conference Organizing Committee until 1 July 2014 by contacting: photoconservation@hermitage.ru

Photography, like other modern media, was readily utilised in the promulgation of political and ideological concepts in Germany between the two world wars. This is especially true for the visualisation of racial and eugenic ideas developed in the nineteenth century and ideas of a ‘Germanic’ nation, subsequently incorporated in National Socialist thinking and propaganda. This exhibition (with illustrated catalogue) shown at the GHIL examines the work of the German photographer Erich Retzlaff (1899-1993) from the turbulent years between the nadir of the Weimar Republic and the downfall of the Third Reich as part of a visual discourse that emerged from an intellectual milieu deeply affected by the parascience of physiognomy and National Socialist race science.

Today almost forgotten in the history of photography, in the early twentieth century, ERICH RETZLAFF (1899-1993) was a prolific and celebrated photographer with several major volumes of his photographs published between the two world wars. In addition to his black and white studies of German workers, landscapes and peasants, Retzlaff was one of the first photographers to use the revolutionary 'Agfacolor Neu' colour film introduced in Germany in October 1936. Erich Retzlaff was considered by the National Socialists something of a pioneer in his idealised depictions of the German proletariat, disseminating notions centred on the people’s community (Volksgemeinschaft), which was at the heart of the National Socialist vision of society. Although his work was not produced under the direct auspices of the Reich Ministry for Propaganda and thus appeared to have a greater degree of creative freedom, Retzlaff was clearly a photographer siding with the regime. Ideological as his work was, Retzlaff's photographs are significant as cultural and historical artifacts of this period of German History.

The accompanying catalogue contains an essay by Christopher Webster van Tonder, an introductory text by Rolf Sachsse, and an article by Wolfgang Brückle. 

The exhibition can be seen at the German Historical Institute London from 22 January 2014 to 21 March 2014

See: http://www.ghil.ac.uk/

Opening Times:

Mo, Tue, Wed, Fri: 10 am – 5 pm
Thursday: 10 am – 8 pm

Closed Weekends and Bank Holidays
Free Admission