The School of Art History at the University of St Andrews is offering three PhD scholarships of £15,000 in the areas of Art History, History of Photography and Museum & Gallery Studies to begin in September 2013 (3 years, full time). The Scholarships will cover the cost of fees (at the UK/EU home rate) and provide a tax-free bursary to successful candidates.
For full details on these scholarships and the application process, see:
As priceless images from the earliest days of photography were dissolving in front of museumgoers' eyes, an unlikely team set out to save them. In the theaterlike darkness of the international Center of Photography in New York City, black-and-white ghosts of New England's mid-19th-century Boston Brahmins stared out from behind the glass-and-rosewood frames. These were the works of Albert Sands Southworth and Josiah Johnson Hawes, the Rembrandts of daguerreotypy—the first practical form of photography. A demure bride in white silk crepe fingered her ribbons; the stern and haughty statesman Daniel Webster glared from behind his brow. When the “Young America” exhibit opened in 2005, its 150-year-old images captured American icons at a time when the nation was transitioning from adolescence into a world power. “Each picture glows on the wall like a stone in a mood ring,” the New York Times raved in its review.
Yet after a month on exhibit, the silver plate–bound images began to degrade...
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nanoscientists-attempt-save-disintegrating-artworks
A rare album of photographs of China by John Thomson titled 'Foochow and the River Min' (1873) sold for an auction world-record of £349,250 (including buyer's premium) at Sotheby's on 15 November 2012. One of an edition of only 46, this album was offered for sale by descendants of the original tea-merchant owner, Oliver Latham, who won the album in a pigeon match in Foochow in April 1873.
In the same sale a complete set of Thomson's Illustrations of China and its People (1873-74) sold for £49,250 (including buyer's premium).
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2012/travel-atlases-maps-natural-history-l12405/lot.103.html
This week's blog post from the Special Collections department of the University of St Andrews has some beautiful photogravures from Hill & Adamson and Julia Margaret Cameron, amongst others:
The Reverend Dr John Wall MA FRPS died on 5 October 2012 aged 84 years. His funeral was held in Kirkbymoorside on 16 October. John Wall compiled the pioneering Directory of British Photographic Collections which was published by The Royal Photographic Society’s National Photographic Record and Heinemann in 1977.
John Wall was born in Middlesborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire in 1928. From the age of three he lived in Darlington, County Durham where he attended Darlington Queen Elizabeth Grammar School. Later he attended Hartley-Victoria Theological College and Manchester University. He obtained a BD degree (London), an MA, Classics (Bristol) and a PhD in Medieval History (London).
After graduating in divinity Wall took pastoral charge of churches in Newcastle and Somerset. He entered the teaching profession in 1966 and became a principal lecturer and head of religious and social studies at Middleton St George College of Education in County Durham. Wall was an enthusiastic amateur photographer and joined the Royal Photographic Society. He gained his Associateship in 1966 and Fellowship in 1977.
His lasting legacy is the publication of the Directory of British Photographic Collections. This had its origins in a meeting held by the Society in March 1972. The idea of a National Register of Photographic Archives had been championed by Colin Osman for some years and this, under Wall’s efforts, was renamed the National Photographic Record and set up as a department of the Royal Photographic Society. (1) The NPR was supported by the Sunday Times and funded privately with some £16,000 raised to establish it. Wall became its leading advocate and, with a staff of four and four years, worked on the compilation of the Directory. The Directory aimed to collate basic information on photography collections in the United Kingdom and some 17,000 questionnaires were circulated with 1580 collections included in the book which was published in 1977. (2)
Following publication Wall continued to write and lecture extensively on photographic archives and related subjects. He gave The Peter Le Neve Foster lecture at the Royal Society of Arts in November 1982 titled ‘Towards a National Photographic Archive’ . (3)
Taking early retirement on account of his wife's incapacity, Wall retired to Kirkbymoorside, on account of its proximity to the North Yorks Moors Railway. His interests and hobbies included: steam railways; walking; coins and stamps; mazes; sundials; photography; medieval history and sculpture. In addition to the Directory he was the author of First in the World: The Stockton and Darlington Railway (Sutton Publishing, 2001); The Face of the Realm: Twentieth Century Coins of the United Kingdom: Their History and Design (Spink and Son, 2002) and well as articles and papers across all his interests.
Away from photography Wall was an active Methodist and a volunteer with the North Yorks Moors Railway. His wife, Betty, predeceased him and he had five children. Ruth, Michael, Antony, Mary and David.
Dr Michael Pritchard
(1). Colin Osman, ‘A National Register of Photographic Archives’, Newsletter of the Royal Photographic Society Historical Group, No. 1 (June 1972), p. 4.
(2). John Wall, ‘Recording Britain’s Photographic Heritage’, Transations Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, vol. 78 (1984), pp. 16-17.
(3). John Wall, ‘Towards a National Photographic Archive’, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
Vol. 131, No. 5318 (January 1983), pp. 70-86.
Bonhams is to sell Beatle George Harrison's Pentax S1a camera in an auction on 12 December 2012 in London. The camera has come from the Harrison family collection. Click here to see the full lot description. It is estimated at £5000-6000.
The BBC has today announced that it is gifting its collection of almost 1,000 historical objects to the National Media Museum as part of its celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of the BBC.
This unique collection tells the story of British broadcasting, and specifically the BBC, from its earliest pioneering days in the 1920s right up to the present moment. The collection features important radio and television studio equipment used by the BBC over its 90-year history, plus production props, radio and television receivers, branding and merchandising objects.
A display of selected objects from the collection will open to the public at the National Media Museum, Bradford, on Wednesday 14 November - 90 years to the day since the BBC made its first radio broadcast.
The display will give people the opportunity to see some of the original artefacts that were used in the earliest years of the BBC, including seminal microphones such as one of the original Big Ben microphones used to capture the sounds of the bell in 1924; a nostalgic 'Lip microphone' dating from 1937, specially designed by the BBC to block background noise from sports commentary in the 1930s; and a famous 'biscuit tin' radio, dropped by parachute over occupied Europe during World War II and used by the resistance to tune into the secret 'personal messages' sent out over the BBC.
Other highlights from the collection, now incorporated into the Museum's National Television Collection, will feature in future displays. These include iconic objects such as an extremely rare Blattnerphone, the broadcast recording device which used steel tape to capture the voice of Neville Chamberlain as he announced the outbreak of World War II to the nation in 1939; the AXBT microphone, created by the BBC and now considered a design classic; and two original Emitron 405-line television cameras manufactured by EMI in 1936 and used at the BBC's television studios in London for the world’s first regular high-definition television service.
Robert Seatter, Head of BBC History, said:
"I know how absolutely fascinated audiences are to see the real objects that make broadcasting happen – whether it's that special microphone or the particular prop from a seminal TV show.
"I'm delighted that this BBC collection is being shared with the National Media Museum. I hope this donation will enable more people to connect with the history of the BBC, which of course is all our history."
Jo Quinton-Tulloch, Head of the National Media Museum, said:
"This generous and hugely significant gift will greatly enhance the National Television Collection held by the Museum, making it probably the best of its kind anywhere in the world. It also represents another major landmark in our flourishing partnership with the BBC."
Iain Logie Baird, Curator of Broadcast Culture at the National Media Museum said:
"This diverse collection of objects used by the BBC covers the evolution of public service broadcasting in this country, and celebrates the rich variety of programmes the BBC has produced over the decades. This collection will be a great asset to the Museum."
The BBC has gifted this collection to the National Media Museum in order to make it accessible to broadcast enthusiasts and the public in general through both temporary and permanent displays in the National Media Museum.
In another event marking the 90th anniversary, more than 55 BBC radio stations will come together for Radio Reunited – the first attempt at a simultaneous broadcast since what was then the British Broadcasting Company was formed in 1922. The broadcast will be live on the 14 November from the National Media Museum's sister museum - the Science Museum, now home to the original 2LO transmitter that made the first BBC broadcast on 14 November 1922. Part of the 2LO will feature in a new exhibition opening on the same day at the Science Museum that takes visitors back to the time of that first broadcast.
The National Media Museum is a longstanding partner of the BBC, the Museum has collaborated recently on a number of exhibitions and events, including the celebration of 25 years of popular TV soap EastEnders, the 75th anniversary of BBC high-definition (405-line) television last year, and the hugely successful exhibition marking 50 years of Blue Peter. This year, the Museum's Cubby Broccoli cinema was fitted to show the BBC's special Olympic coverage using Super Hi-Vision Ultra high-definition television, developed by Japanese broadcaster NHK, one of only three sites to do so in the UK.
www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/bbccollection
Image: Iain Logie Baird, curator of broadcast culture at the National Media Museum, holds a 1944 Marconi AXBT microphone
Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photographs at the Victoria & Albert Museum, will be at the Blau Gallery, London, on 22 November to talk about the history of how the museum’s collection was formed and how that set the pattern for current collecting. He will discuss the ‘collecting plan’ and recent collecting initiatives, as well as what catches his eye personally, what he sees too much of and avoids, and what he is looking for in excellent photography that is right for a museum.
Advance questions for Martin to address on the night of the talk are encouraged, and can be sent to mail@danielblau.com
This talk runs from 6:30 pm at 51 Hoxton Square, London N1 6PB.
Our talks are open to everyone. We recommend booking early to avoid disappointment, as numbers are limited. Tickets cost £6..Click here to book.
Image: Photographic Society exhibition at the South Kensington Museum, 1858.
For Michael Collins, one of the wonders of photography is that a photograph can record and show far more than could be observed at the time and occasion of the exposure. This is what he regards as the "long look" of photography. Moreover, he subscribes to the understanding that, subtly or otherwise, it will reveal the nature of the engagement between the photographer and the subject. In his Reference Works lecture, Michael Collins will discuss these principles, and relate how they inform his work on the Library of Birmingham Photography Project.
Michael Collins is an artist who has had his work exhibited widely in Britain and the USA. He is the author of "Record Pictures: Photographs from the Archives of the Institution of Civil Engineers" (Steidl 2004). His exhibition "Birmingham Site Specific: Factories" was held in Hockley in 2006.
The event is part of a series of Photographers Talks linked to REFERENCE WORKS, the Library of Birmingham Photography Project.
Tuesday 4 December 2012
2.00 - 3.30pm
Birmingham City University, Visual Communication, Gosta Green, Birmingham
Admission Free
International submissions are invited to be included in a forthcoming book, to be published by MuseumsEtc in 2013. The book will bring together the varied ways in which reflexivity manifests itself within photography and the photograph. In this instance we are taking a broad approach to the term (as evidenced in the suggestions below), where “reflexivity” is used to describe:
At a ceremony on 3 November Oscar Gustave Rejlander's previously unmarked grave in Kensal Green cemetery had a new stone placed upon it just in time for the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2013.
The project has been fully funded from Woverhampton Photographic Society funds and from personal donations from members of WPS Historical Group.The project has taken two years to come to fruition, and the WPS is very grateful for the help and support it has received from staff at Kensal Green, and especially Joe Hughes from the Friends of Kensal Green. The memorial plaque was hand-carved and gilded by the sculptor David Kelly.
Details of the event were noted here: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rejlander-to-be-honoured
Photos courtesy of Dr Donald Stewart FRPS
I’d like to draw members’ attention to a small exhibition in Walthamstow, East London - the original home of one of the largest camera factories in Europe. The emphasis is on popular photography rather than the historical - though there are historical references.
The space is divided into nine sections; 'small people', 'just a bit cut off', 'some exceedingly bad pictures', etc. Each section is prefaced by a vintage photograph with the rest of the images in that section reprinted from scans of either found, archive or contemporary images I've taken with locally-made vintage Ensign cameras. I was unable show the museum’s original photographs and this way the display has coherence and it's not immediately obvious (in some cases) which are vintage and which contemporary images.
It is an accessible and humorous show which also includes a display cabinet of Ensign artefacts and the cameras I used, plus some others from the museum’s collection. Round the room are quotes from Ensign publications and there is also a table display relating to a local man who used an Ensign with some of his family snaps loaned by his daughter.
The feedback I have had has been very positive with people remarking that it makes them want to revisit film and see what cameras they have in their attics. I hope it also makes people appreciate the old photographs they have in their possession.
More information here
The Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) at De Montfort University is seeking a dynamic and committed photographic historian specialising in twentieth century photographic history to join their growing team of academic researchers and post graduate students. Candidates' research field will ideally relate to PHRC''s core research strands in global social and cultural practices of photography, photography and science, and the industrial and business history of photography. We welcome applications from candidates with backgrounds in cultural history, visual culture, art history, anthropology, history of science, museum studies or any other relevant field. The PHRC is a highly interdisciplinary research centre, with excellent links to national and international universities and cultural industry partners. A successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively as well as individually, promoting the field of photographic history.
The post-holder will contribute to the research culture of the PHRC and teaching of the MA in Photographic History and Practice. The post holder will also be expected to supervise PhD students in photographic history, engage with undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the university, and be able to develop research projects, and develop and undertake viable grant funding applications.
De Montfort University, rated as one of the top ten creative universities in the UK, has a growing reputation as a world leader in photographic history. It works with a wide network of major museums, archives and libraries internationally. Its excellent research library in photography and photographic history supports both research and teaching and it hosts a growing number of digital resources for photographic history.
FACULTY OF ART, DESIGN AND HUMANITIES
Senior Research Fellow/Senior Lecturer Photographic History
Permanent, Grade G, full-time
£34,895 - £44,166 per annum
Closing date: 10 December 2012
More details: https://jobs.dmu.ac.uk/webrecruitment/Documents/7593.pdf
Does anyone know anything about the Indian photographers named Messrs Hughes Bros.?
I am interested in the photographer Charles Henry Manning who was born in London in 1848 and worked for Messrs Hughes Bros., of Madras, India. He later claimed to have photographed the King of Siam while in India. Rama V visited British India during 1870–1872 to see the administration of British colonies. He toured the administrative centres of Calcutta, Delhi and Bombay (Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chulalongkorn).
Manning was later a photographer in Adelaide, South Australia during the period 1875 to about 1884, before moving to New Zealand where he was in business as a photographer until his death in 1895 aged 47 years.
Manning must have been in India sometime before 1875. He also claimed to have worked Johnston, O'Shaunessy and Co, Melbourne and Messrs Tuttle and Co., Sydney. While in Adelaide he photographed Queen Victoria's grandsons Prince Albert Victor and Prince George at his studio in King William Street in June 1881.
More information regarding C. H. Manning: http://canterburyphotography.blogspot.co.nz/2008/08/c-h-manning-christchurch.html
Join artists featured in the exhibition Light from the Middle East: New Photography for a virtual exhibition tour and conversation with Dr Marta Weiss (Curator of Photographs, V&A) and Dr Venetia Porter (Curator of Islamic and Modern Art, British Museum).
Artists participating in the discussion include: Manal Al-Dowayan, Jowhara AlSaud, Abdulnasser Gharem, Nermine Hammam, Taraneh Hemami, Khalil Joreige, John Jurayj, Sükran Moral, Waheeda Malullah,Youssef Nabil, Mitra Tabrizian and Newsha Tavakolian. Graphic designer Tarek Atrissi will also take part.
Light from the Middle East: New Photography, 13 November 2012–7 April 2013, is the first major exhibition of contemporary photography from and about the Middle East.
Light from the Middle East: Artists in Conversation
Tuesday 13 November, 15.30–17.00
Hochhauser Auditorium, Victoria and Albert Museum
Free, drop in
Image:
Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Wonder Beirut #13, 1997–2006
Courtesy of the artists and CRG Gallery, New York and In Situ / Fabienne Leclerc, Paris
Alexander S. Wolcott and John Johnson constructed the first mirror camera which was patented in America in 1840 (patent number 1582). It used a large concave mirror rather than a lens to produce a bright image which was then processed using the daguerreotype process. William Johnson (John Johnson’s father) came to England to market the camera and found that Richard Beard was the sole licensee for the daguerreotype process in England. Beard patented the Wolcott and Johnson camera in England (patent number 8546 of 1840) and opened the first Daguerreotype studio in London 1840. The photos below showing an original example in the Saco Museum in Maine, USA... Read nore about the project here: Mirror%20Camera%20%282%29.doc
The next London Photograph Fair takes place on November 11th. More than 50 dealers are expected to take part for the first time - full details are in our Newsletter. Please click here to read it:
http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/876431/8a3e5992dd/1582525691/966530e687/
or visit our website: www.photofair.co.uk
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This year marks the centenary of the study of photography at Newport. With a number of events, projects and activities planned to celebrate the long-standing reputation of this discipline at the institution, the University is proud to acknowledge the past, present and future of Photography at Newport through this landmark year of celebrations.
The Either/And symposium will examine the place of photography in contemporary culture. Speakers include: Professor Mark Durden, Ben Burbridge, Sarah James, Annabella Pollen and Liam Devlin. Tickets cost £10.00.
30 Nov 2012 / University of Wales, Newport City Campus
For more information visit: http://www.newport.ac.uk/
Following on from BPH's exclusive posting, here, in early October and here in September the Science Museum has announced that Media Space, the new 1800m2 purpose-built venue at the Science Museum will open in June 2013 with a major exhibition featuring contemporary artists' responses to scientific photography from the last two centuries.
Media Space will be based on the 2nd floor of the Science Museum and is a collaboration between the National Media Museum (Bradford), and the Science Museum (London), It will present two major exhibitions and a series of free installations in its studio space each year. The principal founding sponsor is Virgin Media and principal founding donor the Dana and Albert R Broccoli Foundation. The café/bar will be run by Benugo.
The first major exhibition in Media Space will be Revelations: Experiments in Photography, and the inaugural installation in the Virgin Media Studio space will be by digital art/design collective, Universal Everything. Hyundai Motor Company is Presenting Partner of the Universal Everything installation and further details will be announced in early 2013.
Revelations: Experiments in Photography will explore contemporary art photographers’ responses to scientific photography made between 1850 and 1920. The exhibition of nearly 80 works will draw upon important historical photographs from the collections of the National Media Museum and the Science Museum. Scientific photographs can have psychological and emotional power, revealing the world in new and surprising ways. The creation of these images and their dissemination among different audiences has changed over time as have their uses, impact and status.
The exhibition will include photographs made with the assistance of microscopes, telescopes and aircraft. It will look at the ways in which photography has opened new fields of vision, charted the effects of invisible energy, demonstrated the passage of time and captured moments too brief to be seen by the naked eye. It will include works by a broad spectrum of photographers including William Henry Fox Talbot, Joris Jansen. Eadweard Muybridge, Harold Edgerton, Sarah Pickering, Clare Strand, Etienne-Jules Marey and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Hannah Redler has recently been appointed Head of Media Space and the Science Museum Arts Programme. First joining the Science Museum Group in 1998, Redler has been Head of Arts Programme at the Science Museum since 2004. Revelations is co-curated by Greg Hobson, Curator of Photographs from the National Media Museum along with Dr Ben Burbridge of the University of Sussex.
The capital cost of the project is £4 million and the funding has been raised from a combination of corporate sponsorship, private donations and fundraising initiatives. The Principal Founding Sponsor of Media Space is Virgin Media after whom the Studio will be named. Virgin Media has made this long term commitment, building on their current support for the National Media Museum, which includes the Bradford International Film Festival and the Life Online gallery; the sponsorship of Media Space is a further demonstration of this developing partnership. Source magazine reports that the anticipated visitor numbers for the first exhibition which will run from June to September is 80,000-100,000.
A major donor to the project is the Dana and Albert R Broccoli Foundation set up by the family of the late Bond producer ‘Cubby’. A photography auction at Christies in May 2012 raised £370,000 towards the project and the recent James Bond 50th Anniversary auction raised a further £47,000 through the sale of the Tom Ford dinner jacket worn by Daniel Craig in Skyfall. Media Space has also received generous support in the form of donations or artworks from a large number of individuals, companies and artists including Ed Burtynsky, Luc Delahaye, Rineke Dijkstra, Mary McCartney and Taryn Simon. The Science Museum Group has also invested significantly in the capital project.
Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of Science Museum Group, says, ‘Media Space is a project that is long overdue. The National Photography Collection ought to be widely known and exhibited because it really is astonishing in quality and scale. We hope to reach diverse audiences and the dynamic, innovative and compelling programme at Media Space will make this happen.’
Hannah Redler, Head of Media Space, says: ‘Media Space is a really exciting project that in many ways realises the original vision for South Kensington to be a place where the two cultures of art and science coincide. We’ve enjoyed a long history at Science Museum of bringing contemporary art interventions into our science galleries, but Media Space offers an unprecedented opportunity for our audiences to encounter photographers and artists’ own investigations into our collections.’
Luke Southern, Virgin Media’s Head of Brand Activation and Partnership says, ‘We’re immensely proud to support this incredible new exhibition space. Both the still and moving image can have a powerful impact on people so, whether online, on TV, in the cinema or in a gallery, we care passionately about bringing that to life in a positive way. Media Space will provide the perfect platform to champion and showcase emerging talent as well as established artists who will inspire every generation.’
Revelations: Experiments in Photography will run from June –September 2013. Further information will be announced in December. Gift Aid ticket price £6.60, standard ticket price £6.00. Media Space is based on the 2nd Floor of the Science Museum on Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DD.
For more information see: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/mediaspace
Photographers, curators and historians explore contemporary photographic practices and the post-industrial sublime on 16 and 17 November 2012. The symposium will look both forwards and backwards, surveying some of the territories of new photographic landscapes that have emerged since the late 1970s, and addressing the challenges facing photographers today.
Different archaeologies of practice, place and history will be discussed, with presentations from leading practitioners,
curators and academics. The symposium coincides with the exhibition Futureland Now: reflections on the post-industrial landscape, featuring the photographic and lens-based work of John Kippin and Chris Wainwright at the Laing Art Gallery until Sunday 20 January 2013.
Early-bird rate offer! Sign up by 31 October for £20/£10 (student/unwaged), following that attendance will be £30/£15. For more information, please visit www.northeastphoto.net or www.laingartgallery.org.uk or email: Amanda.ritson@sunderland.ac.uk
