Blogs

With the increasing cold winters we seem to be experiencing each year in the UK, I thought the following lecture and exhibit might be of interest to fellow BPH members wishing to pursue this area of photography.

Jim Simard, Head of the Alaska State Library Historical Collections, and Ron Klein, photographer and historian are on a search for the oldest photo taken in Alaska as part of their work in creating a new exhibit on early Alaskan photography. Using historical research techniques and an acute knowledge of early photographic processes, they are combing through numerous public and private collections to find the most interesting and earliest photographs of Alaska. If you can make it to Alaska on next Wed 2nd March, their presentation “Wet Plates in Cold Climates: Alaska’s Oldest Old Photograph—and Why” will be on from noon to1 p.m. at the Alaska State Museum as part of the Wednesday noon lecture series. And it's free entry when you get there!

Of interest to BPH members might be an exhibit, which will run through the summer of 2011, tentatively titled, “The First 25 Years of Alaskan Photography,” and will composed primarily of photographs and artifacts from the collections of the Alaska State Library, Archives and Museums.  The exhibit will feature images by masters of “wet plate” photography who made significant contributions to the fascinating story of photography in the Alaskan frontier.  The exhibit will feature images by early photographer Charles Ryder, who accompanied the Western Union Telegraph Expedition of 1866, creating the earliest known Alaskan photographs. It will include the work of professionals such as Eadweard J. Muybridge, H.H. Brodeck, William H. Partridge, and other masters of “wet plate” photography. Amateur photographers who made significant contributions to the development of the art will be included. Stereo images, “magic lantern” slides, hand tinted cabinet cards and tiny cart-de-visites all contribute to the fascinating story of photography in the Alaskan frontier. 

The full press release can be found here.

Great in Britain is a unique photographic archive of the British people at work. Photographers are invited to submit photographs that celebrate the understated pride and passion of the often unsung working heroes that form the bedrock of this great nation. This 'visual time capsule' will give a fascinating insight into the world of work in Britain, chronicling the diversity of skills that exist in this country, as well as the great innovation and endeavour.

greatinbritain.co.uk will become a unique resource, a visual time capsule that will build a legacy for the future and enable viewers to discover and appreciate those who live and work around them now.

Through the Great in Britain project, Barbour will curate an archive of images that celebrate the Rural Community in Britain. We want to see the people who live and work in the countryside, catalogue the variety and breadth of skills and vocations that exist, and showcase the contribution that they make to our society.

Eye Wonder: Photography From the Bank of America Collection is an ambitious collection of more than 100 works of contemporary photography by female artists from 1865 to 2004. Though Social Realist photographers such as Dorothea Lange and Margaret Bourke-White are well-represented, more avant-garde examples get prime play.

The show begins with portraits, including the earliest piece, Julia Margaret Cameron's 1865 "Alfred, Lord Tennyson." The earlier ones tend to be of artistic notables, although they also feature Lange's photos of Depression-era migrants. Among those is probably the best-known image here, "Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California.'' This then lead viewers to Giselle Freund's intimate photographs of Virginia Woolf, Henri Matisse and Marcel Duchamp. The surreal dreamscapes of Sandy Skoglund — goldfish flying through a turquoise bedroom over the heads of a mother and son — find a cinematic partner in the massive posed film stills of Liza May Post.
Details of the exhibition can be found here.

Photo:  Sandy Skoglund's "Revenge of the Goldfish" is one of 115 pieces in the "Eye Wonder" exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Polar Visual Culture: An International Conference will take place in the Arts Building Lecture Theatre at the University of St Andrews on 17-18 June 2011.

Convened by Natalie Adamson and Luke Gartlan, this conference brings together a diverse, internationally recognised group of scholars to present new research on the visual culture of polar exploration. The polar environment, and its potential destruction, is now receiving heightened attention in the mass media, with extensive scientific study and urgent results on climate change reported daily. The conference aims to focus attention upon the unique, prolific and hitherto under-examined visual culture - with a strong focus on photography, but also including film, painting and graphic illustration, expedition and frontier narratives, installations and poetic geographies - that the expeditions to the two polar regions have inspired since the early nineteenth century, and which forms a fundamental part of our perception of these environments.

We invite all those interested in these themes to register for this important conference and join us in St Andrews. 

For further information, a list of speakers, and registration details, see the conference website:

http://www-ah.st-andrews.ac.uk/newsandevents/pvculture/

And for the conference poster: PVCposter.pdf

The Royal Photographic Society and Birmingham Central Library are holding a practical workshop on researching photographic history on Saturday, 5 March 2011. Amongst the formal presentations will be others from active researchers in the field presenting aspects of their own research.

Researching photographic history is of interesting to many different historians not least of which are genealogists. The day will offer practical advice about undertaking research into all aspects of photographic history from active researchers in the field. Traditional sources and digital sources will be discussed. In addition, genealogists, local historians and photographic historians attending are invited to share their own experiences. 

Speakers will include Dr Michael Pritchard and Dr Ron Callender who have both completed a PhD and a Fellowship in different aspects of photographic history and are active researchers. One session will discuss how photographic history can be used to achieve a RPS distinction.

There is no charge but as places are limited please book in advance. Details of the event are here: http://www.rps.org/events/view/1989?m=3&y=2011&d=&t=workshop&g=0&r=0&reset=reset

The National Media Museum saw its visitor numbers drop by more than 12 per cent last year, a report revealed today. Figures compiled by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions show the museum attracted 526,914 visits – a drop of 12.8 per cent compared to 2009. This follows an 18 per cent drop in 2009 to 613,923 from 2008.

Museum director Colin Philpott said factors such as the Imax cinema closing for maintenance affected numbers but a great deal was still achieved by the museum in 2010. He said: “We broke a world Nintendo DS record, revealed the results of groundbreaking research into some of the world’s oldest photographs which we house and care for in the National Photography Collection, and we hosted an exciting range of film festivals and temporary exhibitions.

“We continue to strive to inspire as many people as possible to learn about and engage with media, and I am confident that a fantastic line-up of forthcoming events, including opening a new gallery exploring the history and impact of the internet in 2012, will put us firmly in the 50 per cent of attractions showing an increase in visitors in the near future.”

See also: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/bradford/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9406000/9406686.stm

Moderna Museet’s collection of photography, ranging from 1840 to the present day, is one of the finest in Europe, featuring many of the most prominent names in photo history and comprising more than 100,000 photographs, including pictures produced with older methods – daguerreotypes, calotypes and albumin silver prints. The collection provides a historic background to the art of photography, and now they are sharing this with all visitors. Moreover, several magnificent private donations have recently enriched the collection with works by famous artists practising in the field of photography.

In 2011, Moderna Museet will take a radical step, with a brand new series of exhibitions focussing on photography entitled Another Story: 1000 Photographs from the Moderna Museet Collection. This is possibly the most extreme re-hanging of the collection undertaken in the history of the museum.  The new presentation will be launched in three steps.

Of interest to fellow BPH members is the third exhibition in the autumn which visits the birth and early years of photography. Another Story: Written in Light focuses on the pioneers from 1840 and up to the first three decades of the 20th century. 

The other two earlier exhibitions are Another Story: Possessed by the Camera, highlighting contemporary photo-based art, followed by the opening of Another Story: See the World!, on the period 1920-1980. From the autumn of 2011 and until the end of the year, the permanent collection exhibition will consist entirely of photography and photo-based art.

“We are planning to publish four new books about our photography collection together with the German publishing company Steidl. The first book, Reality Revisited, was published in autumn 2010. This will be a ground-breaking project, both for the wider public and for experts on photography. Ours is the largest curated photo presentation ever to be undertaken by a Swedish museum,” says Ann-Sofi Noring, co-director.

Details of the autumn exhibition will be posted in BPH when available. In the meantime, the press release can be found here.

Photo: Alfred Tennyson, 1865 by Julia Margaret Cameron ( 24,7 x 19,9 cm) Moderna Museet.

Vanessa Fleet was a student pursuing a master’s degree in museum studies at the University of Toronto. Last summer when completing her internship at the Art Gallery of Ontario, she discovered that a series of 1,702 photographs auctioned at Christie's in 1997 and acquired by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in 2005 were taken by the previously unknown French photographer and painter Abel Boulineau. She re-examined the photographs after learning that Gallery curators questioned the original attribution—to French photographer Émile Fréchon. The reattribution was spurred by Fleet’s discovery of an inscription written on the back of one of the photographs by the photographer: “Auberive—Avenue de l’Abbatiale—where I was born, 16 March 1839.” 

A new AGO exhibition tells the story of this discovery and displays for the first time more than 70 of Boulineau’s photographs depicting French regional life. The photographs in the collection were taken between 1897 and 1916 and feature charmingly composed rural scenes of shopkeepers and children, washerwomen and tradespeople, markets and villages, and scenic landscapes.

Completely unknown in the history of photography, Abel Boulineau was a painter and teacher at l’Association polytechnique in Paris. There is much evidence to suggest that Boulineau modeled many of his paintings after the photographs in this collection, which was given to the AGO by an anonymous donor in 2005. Boulineau died in 1934.

The news article can be found here, and details of the exhibition here.

Photo:  Abel Boulineau, Dax: Jeanne Dupary and washerwomen on the banks of the Adour River, 1906, gelatin silver printing-out-paper. Anonymous gift, 2005 ©2011 Art Gallery of Ontario.

Animation artist Koji Yamamura ("Mt. Head" and "Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor") has completed his long-awaited animated short, "Muybridge's Strings," in a coproduction with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and others.

Yamamura took seven years to finish the 12-minute short, slated for release this year. The NFB, long known for its support of quality art animation, has produced many critically acclaimed works that have won top accolades at international film festivals.

"Muybridge's Strings" follows the life of groundbreaking British photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904). Muybridge succeeded in photographing a horse in fast motion. The photos became a famous forerunner to the invention of movies and animation. Yamamura's animated short also includes a parallel story about a girl growing up in modern Tokyo. The film's score includes J.S. Bach's "Crab Canon."

For further info, you can read the full article here.

Photo: No, not Muybridge, but Anime director Koji Yamamura (Photo by Atsushi Ohara)

Lying almost undisturbed since 1877 and gathering dust in a pile of boxes and files, a monocle was recently found in Lacock Abbey. Now in pride of place at the museum it was shown to a group of photographers who gathered in Lacock for a special dinner to mark the annual Talbot Day celebrations.

Historians at the birthplace of modern photography have discovered a monocle worn by William Henry Fox Talbot, some 130 years after his death, who used it during his development work on the first camera. Curator Mr Watson said: “I know it is definitely Talbot’s monocle as we have photographs of him wearing it in his thirties and forties.”

Read the full news report here.

Hello everyone.

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations regarding appraisers who are qualified to provide informed and well documented appraisals of 19^th and 20^th century photography, photographic albums, and photographic books?

Recommendations for individuals or firms with a good reputation in the UK would be preferred with the added preference of being located in Scotland if possible.

Much thanks to all,

Best,

Marc Boulay

Photographic Archivist

The National Technical museum at Letna Park in Prague, which is one of the oldest in Europe, reopens to the public after a four-year reconstruction. It is a collection of the Museum of Technology and the Military History Institute in Prague, through which visitors can explore more than 40 weapons and vehicles, the Czech Army used during the last 110 years.

Uhh? Where does the history of photography fit in? Well, hidden amongst the exhibits are a couple of gems!  First is a renewed exhibition of the history of photography, called a photo studio. The development of photography, its use and influence on society from the 19th century up to the present day is presented together with basic photographic processes and their development in a stylized photographic studio. The individual historical stages are documented by used appliances and original photos of everyday life in society. The central part of the exhibition is a glass studio – a reconstruction of a contemporary photographic studio with a glass ceiling from the 20th century used for a portrayal in daylight. The most valuable exhibit is considered to be the daguerreotype of the Royal Palace in Paris dating from 1840 whose author was the inventor of photography : J. L. M. Daguerre himself.

Another remarkable part of the collection is devoted to daguerrotypy – the oldest practically applied photographic technique. The collection contains two daguerrotypies of J.L. M.Daguerre himself. Particularly precious is also a microdaguerrotypy from 1840 and a daguerrotypy of sun spectrum. Quite numerous collection is devoted to one of European pioneers of photography Wilhelm Horn. The period of a painting conception of photographic recording from the 50s and 60s of last century is represented in the collection by ambrotypy andchromophotograp­hy. The collection also contains a set of albums with portraits, examples of activities of the first Czech photographic associations, and stereophotography. Beginnings of colour photography are documented by Lippmann's pho­tographs and particularly by the collection of autochromes which is the largest in the Czech Republic. Karel Smirous is the dominating author of this oldest practically applied technique of colour photography. The collection also comprises special photographic techniques and rarities creating an attractive supplement and documenting the variety of possibilities of photographic recording.

Photographic cameras and accessories

The collection of photographic cameras and accessories dates back to 1911 and was combined with the field of polygraphy. Since 1923 the collection has been developing independently. It documents the development of basic design groups of photographic cameras. It contains objects demonstrating fundamental chemical and physical processes in the field.

The oldest are examples of camera obscura – predecessors of photographic dark-rooms, the collection follows with chambers fordaguerrotypy. The wet colloid process is represented by several studio dark-rooms as well as travel chambers. The collection also contains many studio and travel chambers for dry plates, manual chambers for plates as well as reel film, cassette, box, tilting and brace types, single- and twin-lens reflex cameras, cameras for cine-film, mini-cameras, special cameras – underwater, panoramatic, stereoscopic, for aerial photography, for microphotography, for spectroscopy, camouflaged, reproduction, cameras for component colour photography – Bernpohl, Spektaretta.

The collection of individual photographic objects counts about five hundred pieces. It includes objectives from the oldest models (Plosl, Chevalier, Voigtlender, Petzval, Steinheil, Busch) to modern types. A large part of the collection comprises accessories of cameras, outfit of dark-rooms, instruments for determination of exposure, illuminating technique, flash and filament lamps. A very large part of the collection is devoted to instruments for inspection and projection of static pictures. The collection is completed with price lists of photographic firms and promotion materials.

Prehistory of cinematography

The collection documents development from the first attempts at recording motion and representing events to the cinematograph of brothers Lumiere. It contains originals of magic lantern of simple as well as complex design that made it possible to create illusion of motion by a multiple projection. Quite abundant is the collection of hand- painted projection pictures.

The collection also contains tens of stroboscope disks, thaumatrops, magic drums and similar instruments – toys that utilized reverberation of sight perception for showing simple actions. Worth particular attention is a set of three-dimensional models depicting ten motion stages of a bird's flight. It served as a pattern for manufacturing the copy of Marey's miros­cope. The field of serial photography of motion phases is represented by copies of the Marey's and Demeny's instru­ments and tens of original chromophotographic studies by Marey. The collection comprises also a copy of Muybridge's zo­opraxiscope – an apparatus for projection of serial photographs. There is also a functional copy of Anschutz's elec­trotachyscope including original picture disks and also functional precise copy of the Edison's kines­cope.

The work of prof. Reynaud is represented by several originals of praxinoscopes and a world uniquefragment (17 picture frames) of the original film band for projection praxinoscope.

The original cinematograph of brothers Lumiere was purchased in Lyon in 1898 by architect Krizenecky who made with it the first Czech films. The copy of this apparatus completed with a lamp box documents using of this instrument in projection. The collection is completed with many written materials.

So the next time you are in Prague, don't just down some Czech beer while looking at the Astronomical clock. Head to the National Technical museum for some photographic history delights! Time for me to book a ticket! Full details can be found here. 

Photo: Photographic studio in the Museum.

The Port Arthur convict photographs are a truly remarkable survival from Australia's colonial past. Taken shortly before the infamous Tsmanian penal settlement closed for good, these images record the faces of men sent to Australia on convict ships between the 1820s and the 1850s, and were taken in the 1870s. 

This study tells the stories of 65 individuals whose images are held in the National Library and the Queen Victoria Museum in Launceston.Using transportation records, trial documents, prison files and eyewitness accounts, the author has pieced together biographies of some of the men - and their female partners - who found themselves transported to the colonies. Perhaps your ancestors are among the men pictured in this book?

On a more controversial note, disputing some of the facts in the book can be found in this blog here. You can be the judge!

Either way, if the book is of interest, try and search for it on the Amazon link on the right.

The National Portrait Gallery has a number of events connected with its two photographic exhibitions the first dealing with E O Hoppé is open now and the next on Ida Kar opens in March. The events are summarised below but see the NPG website for more information and to book (www.npg.org.uk) In my experience events tend to fill up quickly so I would recommend early booking in order to secure a place.

HOPPÉ PORTRAITS: SOCIETY, STUDIO AND STREET
Until 30 May 2011

Exhibition Tour: Free with a timed exhibition ticket.
Friday 4 March 2011, 19.30
Join Curator of Photographs Terence Pepper for a tour of the exhibition.
Workshop
Hoppé’s London: Whitehall and St. James’s
Saturday 19 March 2011, 11.00 - 15.00
E.O. Hoppé’s camera lens was drawn towards the unusual and quirky sides of London and Londoners. Led by a Blue Badge Guide, this walk will explore the London that Hoppé knew. Walk lasts approximately 2 hours. Tickets: £15/£12.
Talk: Picturing Everyman
Thursday 24 March 2011, 18.30
Writer Geoff Dyer and artist Dryden Goodwin take the exhibition as their starting point in a discussion on photography and portraiture’s search for ordinary, representative subjects.
Tickets: £5/£4. 
 

IDA KAR: BOHEMIAN PHOTOGRAPHER
Opens 10 March 2011
Tickets: £3/£2.50/£2

Kar stood at the heart of the creative avant-garde and was the first photographer to have a retrospective exhibition in a major London Gallery. As one of the shining stars of the 1950s art world, Kar’s work has remained surprisingly hidden. This exhibition re-presents this key twentieth-century figure and offers a unique opportunity to see iconic works, which have not been exhibited publicly since the 1960s.

Curator Tour: Free with an exhibition ticket
Friday 18 March 2011, 19.30
Curator Clare Freestone takes a look at some of the highlights in the exhibition.

Finally one other photography events is:

Guardian Eyewitness Event: Photojournalism into the new Millennium
Thursday 3 March 2011, 19.00
Join Roger Tooth, the Guardian’s Head of Photography and editor of Eyewitness Decade, for a whirlwind tour of photographic journalism and its role within a national newspaper.
Tickets: £5/£4.

Greenway Associates has reported that it is now working with the Science Museum, London in partnership with the National Media Museum, on Media Space a substantial exhibition and events space in London. The space offers not only a re-presentation of NMSI’s photography, film, and television collections, via temporary exhibitions and new programming, but also a space that is physically and programmatically geared towards adults and visitors coming to the South Kensington site. This is the previously designated National Media Museum's London presence.

Charlotte Cotton, the creative director of Media Space which is opening in 2012 will be giving a free history of photography seminar at the Courtauld, Londonm on 23 March (see: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/xn/detail/2680769:Event:17694?xg_source=activity) and http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/researchforum/events/2011/spring/mar2_histphoto.shtml

With the announcement in 2008 of the creation of the Ryerson Photography Gallery and Research Centre (RGRC), Ryerson University took its place amongst the top international centres for photography and related disciplines. The Gallery is home to the world-renowned Black Star Historical Black & White Photography Collection, as well as the many collections in the School’s Mira Godard Study Centre. 

As curator, you will develop and execute the exhibitions and educational programs for the RGRC. 

Equipped with an impressive array of qualifications and experience, you bring:
- A graduate degree in art history, history of photography or curatorial studies, along with at least three years¡¦ curatorial experience, and a relevant publication history (equivalencies will be considered)
- Expertise in developing long-term exhibitions plans, strategy proposals on themes and in enforcing exhibition policies
- The ability to identify public programming proposals on themes, fundraising opportunities, guest curators
- Experience in executing plans, including collaborating with organizers, guest curators and other institutions to address public programming initiatives, accessibility considerations, logistics and budgeting
- Proven project management experience, including marketing and communications strategies, schedules, as well as budgets for launch events, symposia, lectures and screening series
- A background in consulting on the design and installation of exhibits, loan agreements and negotiating for the loan of individual works or entire exhibits
- A commitment to client service, especially students, faculty, staff and external contacts
- Excellent research and written communications for writing reports, press releases, invitations, advertising, web updates, presentation materials and scholarly articles
- The ability to work both independently and collaboratively
- Flexibility and time management skills to ensure completion of work while responding to changing priorities.

Located in the heart of Toronto, the largest and most culturally diverse city in the country, Ryerson University is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. The University is known for innovative programs built on the integration of theoretical and practically oriented learning. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum and strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, research and creative activities. Ryerson is also a leader in adult learning, with the largest university-based continuing education school in Canada.

For a detailed position description and to apply online by March 9, 2011, please visit www.ryerson.ca/jobs. 

Ryerson University has an employment equity program and encourages applications from all qualified individuals, including Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and women.

Full details can be found here. Good luck!

Collections Manager (Projects)
Bradford and York
£20,717 p.a.
Fixed term until October 2011

NMSI is undertaking a major review and relocation of its reserve collections currently stored at the National Media Museum (NMeM) in Bradford and the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York. As Collections Manager (Projects), you will coordinate the review and rationalisation of the stored collections in both Museums. 

Reporting to the NMSI Major Projects Manager, you will provide curatorial expertise as part of a highly efficient project team. You will ensure that collections are cared for and conserved in line with Museum standards and broader legislative requirements. When required, you will also oversee safe transfer to new locations. 

Significant collections management experience is essential, with in-depth knowledge of object handling, logistics and collections care. You must be able to master a brief quickly, lead a small team and make the right decisions at the right times. This is an opportunity to make a positive, long-term impact on core NMSI collections – and your meticulous approach and collaborative style will set an example for others to follow. 

For a full job description please email recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Interested? Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk 

We regret that we can only respond to successful applicants.

No agencies please.

We are an equal opportunities employer. 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.

Deadline for applications: 8th March 2011

As noted here (http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/antiques-roadshow-amp-early) the BBC's Antiques Roadshow programme featured an item of photographic interest in this evenings programme. A descendent of J B B Wellington brought along a selection of photographs and exhibition medals that belonged to Wellington. Described as 'museum quality' by expert Marc Allum the archive was valued at £10,000-15,000.  The programme can be seen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00z1h04 (the segment starts at 11m 24s in) for the next seven days.

As many BPH readers will know Wellington was Kodak's factory manager at Harrow for a short period in the 1890s before establishing his own paper and plate manufacturing firm Wellington and Ward at Elstree. The firm was eventually absorbed into Ilford Ltd. Wellington was also an accomplished amateur photographer and had his house, The Leys, in Elstree designed by George Walton, who also worked for Kodak and W & W.