Hi everybody! I am looking for further stereos from the “New Series Welch Views” which is most probably by William England. I have attached two images (No. 11 and No. 13). Does anybody have further information on this series or more scans for me? Thanks and best regards.
Gerlind
Archives full of photographs of artworks from their collections and beyond, including sensitive documents relating to government committees and export applications have been saved from being thrown out. Brian Allen, director of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, a UK educational charity with links to Yale University, immediately dispatched a van to salvage the hundreds of boxes when he received a call out of the blue from a "low-ranking" Tate employee informing him they were destined for the skip.
Some photographs were of otherwise unrecorded works, and were the only image in existence. Others were shots of important pictures taken by different cameras, in different lights and from different angles over many years, often showing dramatic changes. Although the archives' disposal occurred within the past five years, the news has only now emerged, as reported in a Guardian article here today.
Photo: Skip material quality? Images of two John Hoppner works. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian.
This ongoing exhibition (across the pond, unfortunately) is held in conjunction with the Daguerreian Society, and features some 60 nineteenth-century daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. It addresses several facets of the public’s insatiable appetite for portraits of loved ones and strangers alike. Flawless artistic and studio portraits will be on view.
Highlights include a rare portrait of James Cutting, the inventor of the ambrotype, by Mathew Brady and a pair of important full-plate daguerreotype portraits by Southworth and Hawes on loan from The Dandrew-Drapkin Collection. One features the statesman Daniel Webster, the other, Alvin Adams, the shipping magnate whose company later became American Express. Other formal portraits of sitters are an elegant likeness of a lady by John Jabez Edwin Mayall and a playful photograph of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky by Alphonse Plumier. In contrast to these formal portraits, the exhibition also presents images of anonymous subjects, mainly workers and models made by unknown “operators.”
This is the second in a series of exhibitions drawn from The Ludmila Dandrew and Chitranee Drapkin Collection. You can view them at the Museum of Fine Arts, Florida.
Minnie Weisz Studios in Kings Cross will be running a series of weekend workshops learning to make positive ambrotypes, images direct onto glass, tin and acrylic. Following in the footsteps of Frederick Scott Archer, the inventor of the collodion process in 1851, you will be taught by experts in the field of alternative historic photographic processes, practising and teaching in the UK : Jo Gane, John Brewer.
Each workshop begins with a mini lecture about the history and science of the wet plate collodion process, each specialist in the field will introduce their own work and examples of ambrotypes for the class to view and discuss.
Participants will learn the process, a hands-on approach, pouring plates, working with large format cameras in the studio, for portraits and still life, processing the plates in our specialist dark room, making up to 7 plates each per weekend workshop.
Further details, including dates etc, can be found here.
Photo: The Bullring Birmingham, Ambrotype © Jo Gane
I took over the stewardship of the Trinity Mirror collection back in 2004. Since then I have when possible try to discover a little of the history and careers of our earliest photographers and where possible try to credit their work.
Back in 1904 when the Daily Mirror became the first UK daily newspaper to print photographs on a regular basis published images simply carried the credit Daily Mirror. Little credit was given to photographers like Ivor Castle, Tom, Bernard and Horace Grant who were the pioneers of photo-journalism in this country.
My aim, and the reason for joining British Photographic History is to unearth as much information I can find out about these forgotten heroes of Edwardian photo-journalism.
Can you help?
If you have any information I would be delight to hear from you.
John Mead
Ivor Castle the first photographer employed by the Daily Mirror in 1904
The first Canadian photographer of international renown with subjects ranging from royalty, Governors General and the Fathers of Confederation, to Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Anna of Anna and the King of Siam fame. He would also have been responsible for most of the vintage photos of Victorian Montreal, its winter scenes and its citizens.
Not only that, he also owned the largest photography business in 19th-century North America. But his biggest coup must be the 'Maple Box' - a portfolio of his pictures as Canada's official gift to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, in 1860.
So who was this migrant from Paisley who arrived in Montreal in 1856? Senior cataloguer Nora Hague of the Notman Photographic Archives is a fount of information about William Notman (8 March 1826 – 25 November 1891), his career and times. The Archives (which include 400,000 glass negatives, 60,000 of which have been digitized) are housed at the Mc-Cord Museum, where Hague has worked for more than 40 years. You can read an article on him here and view some of them here too.
But more interestingly, if Notman is someone you are researching on, CBC Ideas, 88.5 or 104.7 FM in Canada will be airing a two-part radio documentary about the life of William Notman by Elaine Kalman Naves on Wednesday, 22nd February, and Thursday, 23rd February, at 9pm. Fear not for local UK BPH readers - with today's technology I think there is an equivalent iPlayer which you can try here on the day. Hope it works!
Photo: Ice shove, Montreal 1884 by William Notman, courtesy McCord Museum.
The search begins...As reported back in December in BPH the current Director of the National Media Museum, Colin Philpott, is to leave in April. The search for his successor - re-designated as museum Head has now started. See: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nmem-director-ph... for the original report.
Head of the National Media Museum
UK, Bradford
Award wining, visionary and unique the Media Museum houses world class collections in photography, film, broadcast and new media.
As Head of the Media Museum you will have the drive and imagination to commission creative content and embrace new thinking, technologies and approaches for our collections, exhibitions and programmes.
The Museum is based in the heart of Bradford. It is one of a group of four museums including the Science Museum, the Railway Museum and the Museum of Scienceand Industry Manchester. Together we reach over 5 million visitors.
The role includes:
For an information discussion, please contact Heather Mayfield on 0207 942 4862, for further information please visit www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/aboutus.
APPLICATION DETAILS
You may wish to upload a single document in Microsoft Word format which includes both your CV and a covering statement.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Head of National Media Museum
Department: Media Museum
Location: Bradford
Reports to: Deputy Director, Science Museum
Date: 25 January 2012
Purpose of the Job
To lead the Media Museum at Bradford, ensuring its future success and maximising the impact of its exhibitions and programmes for local, and national, audiences.
To develop a clear strategic and business plan for the national media collections held by NMSI, and ensure optimum public access through exhibitions, display, digital delivery and research.
Work with colleagues to ensure that Media Space becomes a landmark cultural venue, and ensure that a creative programme for the Media Space enhances the cultural offer in Bradford.
Key Deliverables/Accountabilities
Working Relationships and Contacts
Line Management and Budget Responsibility
Directly line manages: 4-6 people
Indirectly line manages: 50-60 people in multidisciplinary teams
Budget Holder of £4,000-5,000k
Candidate Profile
Experience
Skills, Knowledge and Relevant Qualifications
Behaviours
Scope for Impact
Please note:
For further information see: https://vacancies.nmsi.ac.uk/VacancyDetails.aspx?VacancyID=102
Closing date 5 March 2012
We welcome applications from all sections of the community in which we work. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people and we guarantee interviews to suitably qualified disabled applicants.
A small selection of the images on offer at our next event is now available online.
Please click HERE.
Event details:
Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, WC1N 1HT.
10am-4pm: £3 admission or free after 2pm with a voucher from info@photofair.co.uk
40 dealers from the UK, Europe and North America exhibiting work from the 19th to 21st centuries.
It has recently been reported that the French police has opened an investigation into the possible forgery of early photographs sold at the provincial auction house Artcurial Deauville on 29 March last year.
At issue is a catalogue of 83 lots that supposedly came from the family of Charles Edouard de Crespy Le Prince (1784-1850), a minor painter and engraver (the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Museum in Montmorency has one of his works). The catalogue comprised 185 images on salt paper and 73 negatives, all of which are studies of trees and rocks. The works were “rediscovered” according to a catalogue introduction that did not give other details of provenance. The text dated them to 1848, placing them close to the official beginning of photography (1839). Many leading dealers and collectors were present in the saleroom, and others were on the telephone. All the lots sold for prices between €745 and €34,080, mainly within estimate although some of the most expensive made ten times expectations. The sale totalled €554,200. The consignors were given a €100,000 advance.
Several dealers voiced doubts about the authenticity of the photographs immediately after the sale, but details of the affair did not begin to emerge until December when the vendors brought a lawsuit for non-payment against the auction house. The specialist photography dealer Alex Novak of Vintage Works did not attend the sale, nor buy, but has since examined some of the photographs. He points to a number of concerns. One is the paper used, which appears to be polluted. The leading US dealer Hans Kraus says “It is a salutatory lesson, not to trust catalogues, and to be more careful.”
You can read the rest of this article here.
John Hillelson, who owned the John Hillelson Agency and was the London agent for Magnum from 1958 until 1987 died on 13 February following complications after a heart operation. John was born on 13 April 1923 in East Prussia and arrived in Britain in 1934 fleeing from Nazism. He was classified as an enemy alien in 1939 but secured a job as a caption writer at the Keystone picture agency. He then served with RAF as a wireless operator rejoining Keystone after the war.
He opened the John Hillelson Agency in 1958 at 145 Fleet Street, representing Magnum Photos in the UK.He maintained close links with Magnum until his death.
His son writes: “After serving in the Royal Air Force during WWII, John Hillelson embarked on a career in journalism that took him to Paris in the early 1950s, to run the United Press picture desk. In 1958, following his return to London, he was invited to represent the Magnum photographers' co-op, and, during the 1960s, he collaborated with a new generation of weekly magazine editors to publish photo-reportage by Magnum photographers and gain exposure for less-known work, such as the pictures of apartheid smuggled out of South Africa by Ernest Cole in 1966-7.
The John Hillelson Agency became one of the most respected picture agencies of 70s and 80s, expanding its stable to include the French Viva and Sygma agencies, and many independent photographers. The Agency's library, overseen by Judith Hillelson with her incomparable visual memory, was an important resource for a generation of picture researchers.
Alongside his love of good contemporary photography, John was a pioneering collector of early photographs specialising in historic images of the Near and Far East by the likes of Felice Beato, Hill and Adamson, and James Robertson. These two strands of interest spanned over a hundred years of photographic development, and came together to confirm John's position as a leading advocate of human interest photography”.
For more information see: http://lalettredelaphotographie.com/entries/5628/the-death-of-john-hillelson http://www.pressphotohistory.com/?p=744 and http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=vsr4oG0Nve/WORKS-FILE/190150156/9
Special places have a magical power. They inspire people with extraordinary stories, Lacock Abbey & House is no exception. Set in rural Wiltshire, Lacock is famous for its picturesque streets, historic buildings and its more recent role as a television and film location. The Abbey, located at the heart of the village within its own woodland grounds, is a quirky country house of various architectural styles, built upon the foundations of a former nunnery. Visitors can experience the atmosphere of the medieval rooms and cloister court, giving the sense of the Abbey’s monastic past. In 1835 William Henry Fox Talbot invented the photographic negative at the Abbey, taking an image of the oriel window, making Lacock the birthplace of modern photography. The contents within the Abbey reflect 800 years of life here.
Sharing our love of places and people, you’ll manage the care of the Abbey and its collections while striving to improve the visitor experience through offering a glimpse into the incredible stories of the people who’ve lived here. You’ll be bringing this fascinating property to life for all of our visitors. And you’ll need to use all of your creativity and enthusiasm to make sure visitors keep coming back. There’ll be challenges. But, you’ll be ready for them. In fact, you’ll face them head on. Leading and managing a great team of staff and volunteers, you’ll be confident showcasing your big, bright ideas and helping to develop engaging plans across the property with the Lacock team, to improve visitor enjoyment which in turn will generate income and support important conservation activities. You’ll also focus your energies on making sure that the Abbey has effective security and fire protection at all times.
As part of this role involves providing out-of-hours security cover (on a rota basis), you’ll be expected to live in the provided on-site accommodation. This will include evening, weekend and Bank Holiday working.
About you
Alongside an understanding of collections management and experience in a conservation role, you’ll have an impressive track record of managing people and places. You’re an inspirational leader and enjoy motivating your team with your exciting ideas. You’ll be happy working with big budgets and hitting big targets too. We’d also like you to have a degree or commensurate experience in a relevant field. You’ll enjoy getting things done and making things happen at this special place, like putting smiles on faces.
Incredibly rewarding
We expect a lot, but we’ll offer a great deal in return, starting with stimulating and challenging work and the opportunity to help us achieve our bold ambitions. We value your contribution, recognise the importance of a work-life balance, and are committed to your continued development. You can also look forward to free admission to all our incredible places, plus a helpful 20% off at our shops, cafes and restaurants. But they’re just the benefits we can tell you about here.
About us
Here at the National Trust, we want even more people to enjoy our extraordinary places, spaces and collections. We want people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved with them, be inspired by them, and love them as much as we do. That’s why we’ve put some bold ambitions in place. We want everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to feel like a member of the National Trust and, by 2020, we want to have grown our membership to more than five million.
Apply
To be part of something special, please visit our website. Closing date: 29 February 2012. Provisional interview date: 14 March 2012.
For more information see: http://vacancies.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/job-detail.asp?id=7790
Employer: NATIONAL TRUST
UPDATE: You can view the video using the link on this page here or here.
In Paris 1886, the world's first media interview took place when the great photographer Felix Nadar interviewed the scientist and sceptic, Michel Chevreul, on his 100th birthday. The two men discussed photography, colour theory, Moliere and Pasteur, the scientific method, the crazy ideas of balloonists, and – of course – how to live for 100 years. It was a lively and interesting conversation between two legends of the 19th century: one born before the French revolution; the other destined to see the marvels of the aeroplane and the movies.
The photographs and the original words were published in Le Journal illustré (Paris) on September 5, 1886. As a series of unposed portraits it is remarkable; as a photographic and stenographic record of an interesting and sophisticated conversation from 1886 it is unique.
Now with the technology of the 21st century, ABC network in Australia has recreated 'The First Interview' as if a talking movie was filmed in the 19th century. It is being shown tonight at 10:05pm on ABC1. (Sorry guys, don't think we can tune in here unless they have an equivalent 'iPlayer' facility, but even then, due to copyright reasons don't think that would be permissible.) Perhaps Aussie BPH members can comment on this documentary.
Photo: ABC, Australia.
Christopher Penn and I are looking for examples of these stereocards for reference and possible inclusion as one or more figures in his forthcoming book on A.T.W. Penn and Nicholas & Co. to be published later this year by Quaritch. We have a copy of a list that was advertised but no visuals. If anyone knows of any examples that we could see please get in touch.
Thanks,
LS
Almost £30,000 in grants have been awarded to Denbighshire Archives in a number of restoration projects, one of which includes rare 19th century photo books of habitual criminals (taken between the 1860-90s) used by the Denbighshire Constabulary to keep check on repeat offenders.
The books were formerly owned by Denbighshire Constabulary, created in 1848, now North Wales Police, and were used by officers to keep check on people with criminal records. They give a colourful description of people with criminal records, including their photo.
The items will go on show, some for the first time, once the work is completed. Would be interesting to see if I recognise any long, lost family members! You can read the rest of this interesting BBC article here.
Photo: Criminal records: This man was 'liberated' in 1874 after being sentenced to 'penal servitude' for robbery with violence.
TW Gaze Auction Rooms, on Roydon Road in Diss will be auctioning off this Friday (17/2/12) an impressive collection of about 1,000 photographs capturing 19th century every day life in East Anglia. Taken by renowned mid-Norfolk photographer Herbert T Cave, who spent time living in Dereham and Swaffham, it includes images in various themes, including agriculture, social life, equestrian, retail, scenery and architecture.
The collection has been separated into about 30 lots and is estimated to be worth a total of £1,000. Collectively it depicts the nature of East Anglia at the turn of the 19th century in a high level of clarity.
The sale will also consist of about 200 items of photographic interest including cameras, lenses, magic lantern slides and photographs from the 19th to the 21st centuries. The collection can be viewed on Thursday, from 2pm until 8pm and on Friday from 8.30am.
The auction catalogue can be found here.
Photo: One of the Herbert T Cave pictures on sale.
Having won the Fred Whitehead Award for Best Book Design as mentioned in a previous posting here, the book, 'The Gernsheim Collection' which includes more than 125 full-page plates from the Ransom Center's collection, has just picked up another accolade. It has been awarded an Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award, which honours a distinguished catalogue in the history of art published during the past year.
The Gernsheim collection is one of the most important collections of photography in the world. Amassed by the renowned husband-and-wife team of Helmut and Alison Gernsheim between 1945 and 1963, it contains an unparalleled range of images, beginning with the world's earliest-known photograph from nature, made by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826.
The Gernsheim collection includes 35,000 major and representative photographs from the 19th and 20th centuries; a research library of 3,600 books, journals and published articles; about 250 autographed letters and manuscripts; and more than 200 pieces of early photographic equipment. Its encyclopedic scope makes the Gernsheim collection one of the world's premier resources for the study and appreciation of the development of photography.
Edited by Ransom Center Senior Research Curator Roy Flukinger.The catalog also traces the Gernsheims' passion for collecting and their career as pioneering historians of photography, showing how their efforts significantly contributed to the acceptance of photography as a fine art and as a field worthy of intellectual study. The book also includes a preface by former Ransom Center Curator of Photography David Coleman, a foreword by George Eastman House Curator of Photographs Alison Nordström and an afterword by former Victoria and Albert Museum Curator Mark Haworth-Booth.
You can pick up a copy yourself as reference using the Amazon link on the right. At the rate it's going, Adele should start getting worried ....
This is my first post...You need to zoom in on the faces of these children and you will see that each and everyone has a loop of thread, or whatever, gripped between their lips. Nobody I have asked so far has ever seen this before.
Was it a common event in 1900, when this picture was taken in Yorkshire, to keep the little dears still?
The Courtauld History of Photography Research seminars start on 22 February:
Wednesday February 22, 2012 at 5.30 pm, Research Forum South Room |
Wednesday 18 April 2012 at 5.30 pm, Research Forum South Room |
Wednesday June 6, 2012 at 5.30 pm, Research Forum South Room |
Courtauld History of Photography seminars:
Research Forum
The Courtauld Institute of Art
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
tel: 020 7848 2909
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is showing Silver, Salt, and Sunlight: Early Photography in Britain and France from February 7, 2012-August 5, 2012. It has been curated by Anne E. Havinga.
The invention of photography in 1839 was a pivotal achievement that changed the course of cultural history. The early years of the medium were rich in experimentation. As each process and technique was invented, artists enthusiastically explored new possibilities for visual recording and expression. This exhibition celebrates the golden age of early photography in France and Britain, the two countries in which the medium was simultaneously invented.
Arranged according to theme and exploring a range of photographic approaches, “Silver, Salt, and Sunlight” features some rare early photographs from the Museum's collection. Among the photographic pioneers included are William Henry Fox Talbot, Hill and Adamson, Roger Fenton, Edouard Baldus, Gustave Le Gray, Nadar, Julia Margaret Cameron, and Francis Frith.
For more information: http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/silver-salt-and-sunlight and for a review: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/2/14/MFA-early-photography-exhibit/
Image: Gustave Le Gray’s “Cloudy Sky—The Mediterranean with Mount Agde.” The photograph is an albumen print from wet collodion glass plate negative.
I'm wondering if anyone might be able to throw a bit more (spot) light onto this company? Taking 'walking pictures' across the UK between around 1932 until 1937 I would love to know more about how the business operated, or whether it was an early franchise system. All the Spotlight walking photos I have seen have three consecutive frames so were clearly taken using an adapted cine camera. I'll add a sample here but you can read more on my site at Spotlight GB.
