Blogs

It has been reported that the deadline placed by the UK government on a temporary export ban on the ‘Signor 1857' - an album containing 35 works by various photographers, belonging to Julia Margaret Cameron, lapsed last night.

A prospective UK buyer was - despite significant efforts - unable to raise the £121,250 needed to secure it , even after the government-extended 3-month export ban.  Neither the name of the buyer, nor the destination of the album, have been disclosed. The DCMS would not say if the prospective purchaser was a UK organisation, or an individual.

You can read the full report here and how BPH reported the original sale and export licence deferral here (http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/export-cameron-album-121-250-needed-to-save-it) 

The news comes at a time when Sotheby's is about to auction another, and previously unknown, Cameron album (see: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/auction-newly-discovered-album-complied-by-julia-margaret-cameron) 

Pete James, Curator of Photographic Collections at the Library of Birmingham will discuss how, over the last 148 years, Birmingham’s four libraries have been the subject of a wide range of projects by architectural, documentary and amateur photographers. The talk will explore some of the ways in which the libraries and their staff have been represented, recorded and celebrated, culminating in the Reference Works project.

The Library of Birmingham holds some 3.5 million items ranging from daguerreotypes to digital works by lead contemporary artists. In 2006 the collection was awarded Designated Status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in recognition of its national and international importance.

The Library of Birmingham, Arts Council England and collaborative partners have created GRAIN, a hub and network of photography within the region. The combination of REFERENCE WORKS and GRAIN will make The Library of Birmingham a national and international centre for photography.

The event is the second in a series of Artists Talks linked to REFERENCE WORKS at the new Library of Birmingham.

Archival Sources - A talk by Pete James
Wednesday 16^th October

6:00 - 8:00 pm

Admission Free

Meeting Room 4 - The Library of Birmingham, Centenary Square, Birmingham.

http://www.reference-works.com

http://libraryofbirmingham.com

http://grainphotographyhub.co.uk

A descendant of Victor Albert Prout was published a book about this photographer. Victor Albert Prout (1835-77) came from a family of artists and was himself an artist as well as an early photographer. He lived in Australia for a total of eighteen years, first as a child with his father, John Skinner Prout, and later returned there with his wife and children when he worked both as a photographer and a portrait painter. For 130 years nothing more was known about him but his work is now prized and collected in museums and galleries in many countries, including Australia, America, the United Kingdom and Germany. The story of his own and his family's life, and his own tragic death, has now been written.

The book is available from the publishers J & J Osmond, at Joan.Osmond@tesco.net

As a photographer who engages with culture and tradition in my work, I am, not unnaturally, aware that there is some point where contemporary photography becomes the stuff of photographic history.

In this spirit, I should like to draw fellow members' attention to my exhibition PHOTOGRAPHIES (details in events). The exhibition contains four sets of prints (Surreal?, Voiture, Oradour, ART) looking at ways photography relies on perception, realism, cultural reference and time.

You may view the exhibition online at this private gallery link: PHOTOGRAPHIES

A pdf briefing on the exhibition is available HERE

An afterthought: does anyone else see E H Shepard's Piglet (from Winnie the Pooh) in the shadow of the Miro? As cross-cultural references go, that may be somewhat extreme, but now I've seen it, I can't "un-see" it....

In 1908, thirty-one-year-old American adventurer Robert Sterling Clark organized a scientific expedition to northern China for the purpose of creating a detailed geographical survey of the area, recording daily meteorological observations, photographing the people, places, and landscapes, and collecting samples of the flora and fauna.

Departing from the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province, the Clark expedition traversed “Shên-kan” (the provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu), reaching as far westward as Lanzhou before returning to Taiyuan. In all, the team covered nearly 2000 miles (3200 km), primarily on horse and mule. A complete documentation of their journey, Through Shên-kan: The Account of the Clark Expedition in North China, 1908–9, was published in 1912. Despite having devoted a number of years to planning the expedition, Clark never again returned to China. In 1910 he settled in Paris and began collecting art, an interest that would become the passion of his life.

Shanghai Museum is hosting this exhibition until 1st Dec 2013, details of which can be found here. 

For those BPH readers with an interest in Whitby, or the genius of Sutcliffe as one of Britain's most famous photographers - he was awarded an honorary fellow by The RPS in 1935, and was a prolific writer for Amateur Photographer - there is an article to celebrate his birthday which you can read in the Whitby Gazette here.

The Guardian has reported that the National Media Museum has purchased Richard and Cherry Kearton's movie camera which appeared at auction in Newcastle recently. The £4000 acquisition was made with the support of the Royal Photographic Society - both Kearton brothers were members of The Society. The early 20th Century hand-cranked 35mm Urban Trading Company motion-picture camera was used by Cherry Kearton on his trips to Africa in the first two decades of the last century. It will be included in upcoming exhibitions dealing with scientific and war photography.

Richard and Cherry Kearton, working from the 1890s, and were possibly the world's first professional wildlife photographers. Starting at home in the village of Thwaite in north Yorkshire with a cheap box camera, they managed to capture some of the finest early pictures of in their nests, insects, and mammals. But having no telephoto lenses or fast film, they had to lug around massive plate glass cameras and devise ever more bizarre ways to get close to their shy quarries. 

Cherry Kearton became the Attenborough of his age, moving into wildlife documentaries, working with US President Roosevelt and travelling on safari to east Africa, Borneo and elsewhere. He took some of the first film of the first world war, at Ypres, and went on to found a film company. He died on the steps of the BBC having just broadcast a film he had made about his pet ape, Toto. 

Read the full report here: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/06/wildlife-photography-pioneers-attenborough-camera

On 28 September Dr  Afzal Ansary ASIS FRPS, as a member of the DGPh and on behalf of the chair of the management board, presented Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS with corresponding membership of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (DGPh).

The DGPh, based in Cologne, is an internationally respected organization which brings together leading individuals in the photographic world for the purpose of promoting all aspects of photography, across its artistic and scientific applications.  Members are elected in recognition of their services to photography in the broadest sense and the DGPh currently has more than 900 members.

Michael was elected for his contribution to the study of photographic history. He is Director-General of The Royal Photographic Society and a photo-historian. 

Image: Dr Afzal Ansary (left) and Dr Michael Pritchard (right). Photo: Robert Gates ARPS.  

UPDATE 28/10/2013: This event has been cancelled. 

On 5 December 2013 the Getty Conservation Institute is holding a one-day symposium Turning Over An Old Leaf: Thomas Wedgwood, Humphry Davy, and Their Early Experiments in Photography. 

The first published article on photography "An Account of a method of copying Paintings upon Glass, and of making Profiles, by the agency of Light upon Nitrate of Silver. Invented by T. Wedgwood, ESQ. With Observations by H. Davy" was published in 1802 by Humphry Davy in the Journals of the Royal Institution.

In his article, Davy described his and Thomas Wedgwood's pioneering work experimenting with light-sensitive materials, creating photographic copies of plant leaves, and testing the feasibility of creating "views from nature" using a camera obscura. Generations of photography historians have searched for any material sample of Wedgwood and Davy's experiments, as these photographic images, if found and authenticated, would be nearly a quarter of a century older than Niepce's "First Photograph."

In April 2008, a photographic image known as The Leaf was placed for auction. The image attracted a great deal of interest from photography experts and enthusiasts when questions were raised about its origins. The Leaf was subsequently removed from auction for further research.

Turning Over An Old Leaf will present results of recently completed scientific analyses by GCI scientists of The Leaf and results from analyses of two botanical images from the Getty Museum's collection that once belonged to the same album as The Leaf, an album of photographic images assembled by British watercolorist Henry Bright.

Conservation scientists and conservators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art will present results from their analytical study of Shark Egg Case, an image from their collection that was also part of the album assembled by Bright.

These scientific results and findings will be discussed in light of current advances in historical research of the Henry Bright album and in light of a series of experimental scientific, photographic, and recreational studies of the photographic work of Thomas Wedgwood and Humphry Davy as described in their 1802 article. In addition, demonstrations will be held to provide symposium participants with a deeper insight into photographic experiments from this important era of the prehistory of photography.

List of Scheduled Presenters

Geoffrey Batchen, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Roy Flukinger, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin

Michael Gray, Image Research Associates, United Kingdom

Art Kaplan, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles

Nora Kennedy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Jill Quasha, Private Photography Dealer, New York

Grant Romer, Independent historian of photography, Rochester

Larry J. Schaaf, Independent historian of photogrpahy, Baltimore

Dusan Stulik, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles

Frances Terpak, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles

For more information, contact oldleaf@getty.edu or see: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/public_programs/turning_over.html

Titled Sharing Photography and Photographs, the event is a series of talks which will explore an alternative history of photography as a shared activity.

Roger Hargreaves will give a talk while Colin Harding will look at the work of groups such as the Photographic Exchange Club in the 1850s as well as later manifestations of print-circulating societies such as the Postal Photographic Club in the 1890s.

The talk is organised by the National Media Museum in conjunction with The Royal Photographic Society and will be held on 25th Oct. For more details on booking, times etc, click here.

Derek Birch takes over from Roy Robertson and is the sixty-third President since the Society's was formed in 1853.

"Reflecting The Society's interests across the art and science of photography Derek's background is from the science of traditional photography," says the Society. "For 33 years he worked for Kodak as a research scientist helping to develop products including colour films and papers. He retired in 2006."
Birch joined the Society in 1986 and has been active within its Imaging Science Group. He was Vice-President between 2011 and 2013 and has chaired the Science Committee.
"I am deeply honoured to have been elected president" comments Birch. "The Society has much to offer all photographers as well as supporting all aspects of imaging more widely. During my term as president I would like to build on the work of my predecessors and further enhance the Society's educational role through online learning and to expand the membership which will allow us to more fully realise our founding aim of promoting photography."

Birch will serve his term until 2015. You can read the full report here.

The first Anamorfose Cahier is a photo essay about the two World Wars who dominated Europe in the twentieth century. The Cahier is based on vintage photos from the Anamorfose photo collection.

The essay starts with photos of destroyed Ypres over photos of the upcoming nationalism in Germany with a private album of a German Officer towards the landing in Normandy with vintage photos taken by Capt. Herman Wall to the liberation of the camps.Some of this photos are published for the first time.

Some of these images may shock you.

I am searching for information on these 2 photos of the Wedgwood family. One portrait of "Fanny Wedgwood, (Mrs. Francis) and one portrait of three children listed as "Aunt Rose, Aunt Mab, and Grandaddy Wedgwood (Lawrence).

They are both about 8 x 10" albumen prints, mounted behind arch-topped boards. Fanny heavily painted(oil?), and the children, well sadly it looks as if they were painted at one time and someone has tried to remove the paint.

Would anyone be able to tell me if these indeed are Wedgwood family members descended from Josiah Wedgwood? Are they related to Emma Wedgwood? Is the boy Lawrence the one who eventually took over the pottery factory?

Thanks in advance for any information!

David 

Sotheby’s has announced the discovery of a previously unknown album of photographs by the foremost female pioneer of nineteenth century portrait photography, Julia Margaret Cameron.

The album - known as The Valentine Prinsep Album -  of 32 large scale portrait photographs - containing images of leading Victorian celebrities and two unrecorded photographs - represents a major addition to Cameron’s oeuvre. Estimated at £250,000-350,000, it will be offered at Sotheby’s auction of English Literature, History, Children’s Books and Illustrations in London on 10 December 2013.

The sale will mark the first time in over thirty years that any album compiled by Julia Margaret Cameron containing her own photographs has appeared at auction. The "Signor 1857" Album, compiled by Cameron, but containing images taken by various other photographers, was sold for £121,250 at Sotheby’s London on 12 December 2012. It is currently the subject of an export licence deferral pending an attempt to secure it for a British institution. 

Specially compiled by Julia Margaret Cameron for her godson and “illustrious” nephew the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Valentine Cameron Prinsep, on his 31st birthday in 1869, this highly-important album was completely unknown until it was discovered earlier this year.

It is one of only eleven known albums compiled by Cameron with her own photographs, and represents hours of meticulous work. The album contains carefully chosen portraits of her friends and family including leading figures in Victorian society such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, Sir John Herschel and her goddaughter Julia Jackson (the mother of Virginia Woolf). While several of the images are known in only a handful of other prints, two others are previously unrecorded and possibly unique. The two unseen pictures both depict Mary Hillier, the daughter of a local shoemaker and Cameron’s personal maid.

Exhibition Dates
The first public exhibition of the album will be in Sotheby’s New York from 28 September through to the 2 October, to coincide with Sotheby’s New York Photographs auction and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new exhibition dedicated to Julia Margaret Cameron (19 August 2013 – 5 January 2014) . The album will also be exhibited in Sotheby’s Paris in mid-November.

Images: 

Top: Mary Hillier (1867). The daughter of a local shoemaker and Cameron’s personal maid. Middle:Sir John Herschel (1867).Secretary of the Royal Society and first president of the Royal Astronomical Society before the age of 40. Lower:  The dedication: A birthday gift to my godson & illustrious nephew!!! From his old auntie Julia Margaret Cameron 14th Feb. 1869

The press release can be found here: http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BID/2704525427x0x693461/aad7...

£75,900 to be precise - which was more than double its estimate!

It was the most expensive book to be sold by Keys, the Norfolk auctioneers. The book in question was 'Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads' which contained 40 platinum prints of photographs taken by Cuban-born, Peter Henry Emerson. Just 25 copies of a deluxe version of the book were printed in 1886 with a further 175 copies of a standard edition, including the one sold yesterday. Many have since been broken up and the photograph pages sold separately.

Competition in the sales room yesterday afternoon had been fierce, with five live phone bidders, two private bidders in the room, and a Canadian bidding live on the internet. It was finally snapped up by someone in the London book trade who did not show their interest until the bidding had reached about £62,000, according to Andrew Bullock head of auctioneer Keys’ book department. The previous highest price paid for a copy was $70,000 in America a few years ago, then equivalent to about £52,000. The vendor brought in the book, which had belonged to her father, unaware of its value.

You can read the full report here.

Photomonitor publishes a thoughtful review of Media Space's opening show from Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr. Hodgson introduces his exhibition review with some considered thoughts on Media Space. Commenting on the opening '[The Science Museum] has at last opened its exhibition space specifically devoted to showing the priceless and largely inaccessible collections which have spent so long doing so little in Bradford at the National Media Museum, the Science Museum’s daughter house there'.  He also poses a question: 'The great national collections of photography now have a jewel box in which to be seen, and first-rate research, touring shows, publications and so on should naturally follow.  Whether they will do so or not is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.'

Read the full review here: http://www.photomonitor.co.uk/2013/09/tr-j-in-context/

Hans P. Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs will present an exhibition of more than 40 early photographs by French photographer Charles Nègre (1820-1880) from 17th September through 1st November, 2013. Nègre is primarily known for his landscapes and architectural photographs of Paris and the South of France made in the 1850s. The exhibition will be the first one-man show of Nègre's photographs in the United States. A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition.Charles Nègre began taking photographs in 1844, just five years after the discovery of photography. Attracted to the medium as a way to collect visual images for his painting, Nègre quickly mastered photography, using a process modified by fellow student Gustave Le Gray.

Among the highlights in the exhibition is Une rue à Grasse, 1852, a waxed salt print of a street in Nègre's hometown, which, with its dynamic abstract composition anticipates 20th-century art photography.  Jacob W. Lewis, an historian of 19th-century art and photography, notes in the catalogue, "This view of Grasse and its sun-soaked buildings and oil presses that line up on a steep zigzag road, interlocking like puzzle pieces, is no mere indulgence in the picturesque. Rather, it represents a test for photography as a means to capture the infinite variety of rough-hewn Provence into a fully considered tableau of pleasing effects, where no element is without its formal significance." Another print is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

You can read more about this exhibition here and here.

Photo: "The port at Toulon," salt print from glass negative, ca. 1853.

For those of you who missed the Open Day earlier this month, no fear as you can watch a clip of it on the link at the bottom.

W. W. Winter is a long established photography business in the UK, operating today from its purpose-built studio premises in Midland Road, Derby, which the firm moved into in 1867. The building and contents offer an historical insight into the progression of photography; from total dependency on daylight, the move to early electric lighting, colour film and processing, to present day in which digital photography dominates.

Company MD, Hubert W. King, LBIPP, will be available to reminisce about his career at Winter's beginning in the 1940s and continuing actively in the studio today! Also on site will be artist Debbie Cooper, who is currently working on a project with Winter's extensive archive of glass negatives. Winter's continues to be run as a studio for contemporary portrait photography, and is also renowned for specialist copy and restoration of old photographic images. Available on the day will be; a tour of the premises including the studio and daylight retouching rooms, access to unseen archives (including glass plate negatives, photography equipment and other historical family business treasures), display of images from The Winter Collection, informal talk from owner Hubert King (recipient of long service award from the BIPP). W. W. Winter is a treasure trove of delights for the photographic enthusiast. 

You can catch the ITV news clip on this link here.