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Archives: Early 20th century Limerick by Franz Sebastian Haselbeck

Posted by Michael Wong on October 13, 2010 at 12:23

A collection of images which include the War of Independence, the Civil War, Home Rule meetings, British soldiers parading in Sarsfield Barracks, and meetings of the Irish Volunteers in the early 20th century will be on display for the very first time.

Taken by Franz Sebastian Haselbeck (1885-1973), a photographer of German descent whose ancestors moved to Limerick in the 19th Century, it also includes pictures of the building of the Shannon Scheme where Mr Haselbeck not only recorded the construction of the country's first hydroelectric power station, but also worked as an interpreter for Siemens, who built the station. The collection has been restored by the ESB Archives and Patricia Haselbeck, the photographer's granddaughter.

The full report, plus a short video clip, can be found here, and details of the exhibition here.

Photos: Photographer Franz Sebastian Haselbeck; Members of the Royal Irish Constabulary on parade in 1913.

'Lady' goes on World Tour

Posted by Michael Wong on October 10, 2010 at 21:54

That's Lady Shallot to you and me! (not the gaga type).

Taken by one of Victorian pioneers of photography, Henry Peach Robinson of Tunbridge Wells, the image is made from two separate negatives illustrating a scene from a poem by Tennyson.

The Lady of Shallot is set to go on an international exhibition which explores the relationship between the mid-Victorian pre-Raphaelite painters and contemporary photographic artists. It starts in Washington at the end of this month, before moving to Paris.

It is one of Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery's most important works. Robinson worked at a studio in the Great Hall in Tunbrudge Wells for more than thirty years from the 1860s, and often combined several negatives to form one image. So much for Photoshop ...

Online Launch: Johnston Collection

Posted by Michael Wong on October 10, 2010 at 21:53

This unique collection represents the work of three generations of a local family of photographers who captured

images of life in and around Wick between 1863 and 1975. During that period they produced around 100,000 glass-plate negatives. Of these, nearly 50,000 survive and are held in trust by the Wick Society.

Brothers Alexander and James Johnston, Alex's son and Alex's grandson captured an era when Wick was the “herring capital of Europe.” “The silver darlings,” as the herring were nicknamed, attracted over a thousand boats which crowded into the harbour in August and September each year for the season and thousands of migrant workers swelled the town’s population. They were photographed preparing their boats, setting the tan sails for sea, landing catches, and onshore were recorded in scenes of intense activity which show the teams of workers who gutted, cured, packed and carted the salted herring barrels for export all over the world. The Johnston plates also show the boat builders, the coopers, rope makers, basket weavers, plumbers, shopkeepers and others in supporting industries to give a wonderful glimpse of social history.

The collection is now available online, and details can be found here.

125 years of Kodak ...

Posted by Michael Wong on October 10, 2010 at 21:52

Kodak recently celebrated 125 years of innovation at last month's Photokina in Cologne:

When 21st century high-tech meets 19th century photography ...

Posted by Michael Wong on October 7, 2010 at 23:27

The image was considered to be one of the finest examples, if not the most famous, in the history of

daguerrean photography. Taken in 1848 by Charles Fontayne and William Porter, it was a panorama spanning some 2 miles of the Cincinnati waterfront. They produced it using eight 6.5 by 8.5inch daguerreotype plates, a then-new technology, that in skilled hands of 19th century photographers was capable of displaying mind-blowing resolution.

Fast forward to 2006. To safeguard the image, Van Skalk, the manager of the Cincinnati Public Library, transported the photo to the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York to begin stabilization and conservation work using the most advanced methods of photographic preservation.

Using state-of-the-art digital microscopy, it exposed previously undetected damage to the image - information critical for the preservation specialists. But more importantly, due to the impressive quality of the 19th century daguerreotype, the digital microscope was able to provide an undistorted 30x magnification of the photo - an enlargement revealing unprecedented historic detail of Cincinnati's past.

After the restoration, the historians made a guess on the time and date the photos were taken by using old steamboat records, analysing the angle of shadow etc. They figured the shots must have been taken just before 2pm.

Guess what. There was a clock tower in one of the photos. And using the high-tech microscope scanner, the clock tower showed a time of .......

Read the full report here to find out the answer!

P.S. Use the zoom feature on that site or this other site here - I was amazed at the sharpness of the images - puts my 21st century digital camera to shame!

Photomonth Photofair this weekend

Posted by Michael Wong on October 7, 2010 at 18:00

As part of the East London Photography Festival, there will be a Photofair with over 100 stalls selling

photographs, books, prints and other services. It will be held this coming Saturday 9th October at the Spitalfields Traders Market. As always, it will be a hit and miss, but if you look hard enough you might find something of interest !

Maurice Broomfield 1916-2010

Posted by Michael Pritchard on October 7, 2010 at 12:45

The industrial photographer Maurice Broomfield whose work documented the inner landscape of industrial Britain from the 1950s to the 1970s has died. He succeeded through his striking photographs in revealing both the grit and beauty of the people, factories and processes which manufacture the everyday objects around us. The V&A have recently taken possession of the photographer's archive.

A full obituary can be found here.

John Claude White: Tibetian Gems auctioned off

Posted by Michael Wong on October 6, 2010 at 20:08

An album of rare photographs of Tibet taken by well-known British amateur photographer, John White (1853-1918), was sold for £38,000 at Bonham's India and Beyond sale yesterday. White, who served in the Indian Public Works Department from 1876, accompanied the Younghusband Mission to Tibet in 1903–4. During the campaign he made a series of mostly landscape photographs, including a number of impressive panoramas.

Head of Bonhams Book department, David Park said: "The India and Beyond sale has a reputation for unearthing the rare and unusual. These were all high quality works eagerly sought after by collectors and the prices reflect the strong level of interest both in the early history of photography and the lost worlds captured in these images."

The sale made over £250,00 in total, and the lot description can be found here.

Auction: Eaton S. Lothrop, Jr. Photographic Collection, Part II

Posted by Michael Wong on October 6, 2010 at 19:43

If you'd missed out on the first installment of this auction as mentioned in an earlier blog, fear not, as

the second lot is now online from today until 26th October. This second collection will consist of photographs, literature and research material, with British interests.

Details of the lots to be auctioned can be found here. Good luck!

Irish Photohistorian: Sean Sexton

Posted by Michael Wong on October 5, 2010 at 11:48

It has been said that Sean Sexton's collection of Irish photos is one of the greatest in the world. The

critically acclaimed Sexton collection has been published in several books, including The Irish: A Photohistory (Amazon link on the right: ISBN-10: 0500510970) with remarkable images depicting Ireland’s history from 1840 to 1940, and exhibited in many countries.

He is known to be incredibly knowledgeable, with a gift of spotting 'undiscovered' material. One being a photo album of images by a Royal Academician, Sir Frank Brangwyn, which he paid £1,500 in a Christie's auction, and sold 4 months later for a killing at a Sotheby's sale. Is is now on offer by an American dealer for about $375,000 to $400,000.

An exhibition of Sexton's collection will be on display at the Gallery of Photography, Dublin from 14th - 21st October. Details will be posted in the 'Events' section later in the week.

Exhibition: First Photographs of Hong Kong

Posted by Michael Wong on October 5, 2010 at 11:47

As mentioned in an earlier blog, part of The Hong Kong Photo Festival will feature an exciting new exhibition entitled "First Photographs of Hong Kong". It will showcase treasured photo collections of Hong Kong in the 19th Century loaned from museums in Paris and London, including the first published stereo photograph of Hong Kong landscape by P. Rossier and a series of exceptional panoramic views of Hong Kong and its harbor, including two beautiful ones dated March 1860 by the famous war photographer, F. Beato.

Over one hundred 19th centuryphotos of Hong Kong will be airlifted from France to be displayed in a 19th century building (Central Police Station Compound). This is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to offer the public a glimpse of Hong Kong in its olden days. This exhibition shall echo with the collective memory of the public, and show tourists worldwide Hong Kong’s developments over the past century.

With thesupport of the Development Bureau, the exhibition shall take place from 27th Nov to 27th Dec at the Central Police Station Compound, and details will be posted in the 'Events' section shortly.

Photo: Hong Kong 1858, P. Rossier

Manchester and J T Chapman - exhibition

Posted by Michael Pritchard on October 4, 2010 at 20:00

Following recent discoveries in the John Rylands Library Special Collections, UNDEREXPOSED is an exhibition in Collaboration withThe Museum of Science and Industry, celebrating the life of one of Manchester’s early photographic pioneers, J.T. Chapman.

Chemist, inventor and photographer, Chapman invented some of the processes that were to become standard in early photography. However, he is widely omitted from history books as he published his formula under the pseudonym ‘Ostendo non Ostento’ (I show, not boast). Working from Deansgate, Manchester, Chapman also invented and sold his own cameras and projectors.

The exhibition also showcases a selection of glass plate negatives, recently discovered and linked to the Langford Brooke family of Mere Hall in Cheshire, which have been cleaned, re-housed and digitised by CHICC.

CHICC is The Centre for Heritage Imaging and Collection Care, a JISC funded project to develop a Centre for Heritage Digitisation, based within the University of Manchester.

The John Rylands Library will be holding a series of events associated with the exhibition, for more information please contact 0161 306 0555 or email jrul.events@manchester.ac.uk

The exhibition is at the John Rylands Library, Crawford Room, from Wednesday 29 September to Sunday 28 November. Admission is free.

There will be a curator tour on Wednesday, 3 November between 1200-1300 and 1400-1500, both of which are free.

Early Photojournalism: 1855-1945

Posted by Michael Wong on October 4, 2010 at 15:23

The development of early photojournalism paralleled advancements in reproductions of the printed page, cameras, and film technology. In 1855, photographs taken by Roger Fenton of the Crimean War were translated into wood engravings in order to be published in The Illustrated London News.

The same was true of Wood & Gibson as well as Timothy O'Sullivan whose photographs of the American Civil War were illustrated in Harper's Weekly and Le Monde Illustré. By the late 1880s, the mechanical half-tone process provided images that were more faithful to the original photograph. Along with the inventions of the dry plate process and, later, roll film, the new breed of small, lightweight cameras with faster shutter speeds facilitated capturing unposed images.

This new exhibition bring together vintage and early prints dating from 1855 - 1945, and include iconic images by celebrated artists to anonymousgems.

Details of the exhibition can be found here.

Exhibition: The Central Axis of Beijing 1890-1960

Posted by Michael Wong on October 2, 2010 at 22:55

For the benefit of those BPH members interested in old China photography, there is an interesting

exhibition focussing on architecture in the city situated either directly upon or alongside what is known as the Axis of Beijing eg, the Temple of Heaven, the Imperial Palace and the Qianmen gate.

The Central Axis of Beijing was laid out in 1403 and can be traced even further back to the Mongol capital Dadu. This 7.8km-long stretch is therefore as old as the city itself. At "The Central Axis of Beijing – a photo exhibition", Beijing Postcards put pictures taken along the Axis on display. The pictures cover the period from 1890 to 1960, with the bulk of the pictures taken in the 1930s.

Apart from this, a side exhibition also tells the history of photography in China.

Details of the exhibition can be found here and here, and a video here.

Bourne Supremacy takes on Historic Delhi

Posted by Michael Wong on September 29, 2010 at 19:33

No, not your 21st century CIA assassin, aka Jason Bourne, but our very own 19th century Staffordshire 'sharp shooter', Samuel Bourne (1834 – 1912).

An exhibition of rare photographs, including ones by this legendary and prolific photographer in India from 1863 to 1870, will be on display at the "Historic Delhi: Early Explorations of the Camera, c.1860-1950". Bourne's name is synonymous with British Indian photography, and also one of the most researched and highly-recognised colonial photographer.

Commencing on 1st October, the exhibition will showcase around a hundred vintage prints from the extensive Alkazi Collection of Photography, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. It also includes images by Lala Deen Dayal, as well as from local photo companies such as the Delhi Photo Company.

The coming of early photography to Delhi and other Northern states was influenced by pioneering professional

photographers, Bourne being one of them, from the later established the company of Bourne and Shepherd (still operating in Calcutta). Bourne’s determination to photograph the most picturesque and remote areas of Northern India resulted in the finest examples of scenic photography ever produced by a single photographer. His travels and photographic work was recorded in a string of articles in the British Journal of Photography in the late 1860s. With more than 2200 images in his catalog by the time he left India seven years later, in 1870, Bourne has to be considered one of the finest artistic photographers of his time.

The Alkazi Foundation’s exhibitions often seek to depict a history of photography in India through the shows. This exhibition too brings forth this pedagogic line of thought. Details of the exhibition can be found here.

Guess it's time for Matt Damon to retire ...

Photos: Samuel Bourne, Jama Masjid from Dariba Kalan, 1860s, Albumen Print. The Alkazi Collection of Photography; The Civil and Military Gazette Lahore, 22 October 1880, Courtesy: National Archives of Pakistan, Islamabad; Bourne and Shepherd, Begum of Bhopal at the 1911 Durbar, 1911. The Alkazi Collection of Photography

Niépce - Now or Never!

Posted by Michael Wong on September 28, 2010 at 17:30

As part of the 2-day Niépce in England Conference to be held next month in Bradford, participants will

have a very unique and unprecedented opportunity (that may not be repeated in our lifetime) to view all three Niépce plates ‘out of their frames’.

These three artefacts, made on pewter plates, are among the finest examples of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's works and are part of the Royal Photographic Society collection. It will enable participants a rare chance toclosely examine the surfaces and reverse of these unique photographic treasures. The plates, and their conserved frames, will be on display
throughout

the conference in the Kraszna-Krausz Print Viewing Room, in the NMeM Research Centre.

Speaking to the BBC, Museum curator Philippa Wright said: "That they will all be on publicdisplay out of their frames for perhaps the last time is very special indeed."

The good news is that if you can't make it to the Conference, the plates can still be viewed by appointment at the museum until the end of October 2010.

Photos: Le Cardinal d'Amboise; Christ Carrying His Cross (Niépce heliographs)

Francis Galton and The Art of Composite Photography

Posted by Michael Wong on September 27, 2010 at 22:32

Like his cousin, Charles Darwin, Francis Galton (1822 - 1911), worked on the study of heredity. He

founded the science of eugenics (the study of improving human races), and in 1865 documented his findings in his best-known work "Hereditary Genius, its Laws and Consequences". In the history of photography, one attributes to Galton the development of composite photography - a multiple exposure process in which he generated typological portraits.

As an anthropologist and statistician, Francis Galton embarked on a photographic mission in the late 1870s to produce “portraiture of the invisible.” Instead of making photographs of individual objects or things observable to the eye, Galton aimed to create photographs of ideas and concepts that encompassed all individuals within that class.

If you are a follower of his work, then there is a lecture on Galton's photographic work entitled "The Monstrous, the Meaningless, and Margins of Error", details of which can be found here.

Exhibition: Memory of Place (1840-1870) featuring Roger Fenton

Posted by Michael Wong on September 27, 2010 at 22:30

'Memory of Place' showcases a collection of images from the Musee d'Orsay's archives.

Running until November 28th 2010, this stunning exhibition offers examples of how photographers between 1840 and 1870 began to explore the possibilities of the art form as a way of remembering moments. The technology being used at the time made recording the "changing aspects of nature" quite difficult, according to the venue, but photographers such as Roger Fenton and George Barnard found they could capture images of important landscapes.

Details of the exhibition can be found here.

Photo: Roger Fenton (1819-1869) The Valley of the Shadow of Death 1856, taken in 1855
Salted paper print from a wet collodion glass negative
H. 28,4 ; W. 35,7 cm; Paris, Musée d'Orsay
© RMN (Musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

A Close-up: GR Lambert

Posted by Michael Wong on September 27, 2010 at 21:30

I was fortunate enough to make a quick stop in Singapore last month to view the exhibition 'The Originals of GR Lambert' which is currently on show at the Philatelic Museum - as mentioned in an earlier blog.

According to the literature, Mr Lambert (b 1846), from Dresden, Germany, is one of the earliest commercial photographers in the region. The first mention of GR Lambert & Co was an advertisement

placed in the Singapore Daily Times in April 1867 to inform the local community of the opening of his studio on No 1 High Street. Mr Lambert produced high quantities of large format original photographs (8 x 10 inches) featuring local landscapes and people for sale to the public.

However, at the turn of the century,Mr Lambert and other professional photographers were challenged by the rise of family photographers and amateur photographic societies. As a result, they diversified their business quickly to producing postcards and servicing the needs of amateurs. This new century ushered in the profitable postcard craze which reached its greatest height of popularity from 1906 to 1913, a period which collectors refer to as the Golden Age of Picture Postcards.

The first picture postcard of Singapore was produced by Lambert in 1897. It was said that the company had a

turnover of about a quarter of a million postcards per year. The outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 brought an abrupt end to this Golden Age, and Lambert & Co ceased operation when the war ended in 1918.

It is difficult to make any assessment of Mr Lambert's own photographic contribution as his presence in Singapore was sporadic. The firm was managed by Mr Alexander Koch, who entered the business as an assistant around 1883 to 1884. His position as Manager was taken over by Mr H T Jensen, who ran the

business from around 1908 to 1910.

Beautifully presented, curated and well worth a visit. The collection is donated by a Mr Koh Seow Chuan, an avid and renowned collector in Singapore. The exhibition only finishes on 2nd Jan 2011, so there is still time to pay a visit if you happen to be in the Far East. Highly recommended.

NMeM under threat

Posted by Michael Pritchard on September 24, 2010 at 7:30

The National Media Museum appears on a leaked list of public bodies under review for closure by the government. Incorrectly named as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television the museum is directly funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. Other bodies which are under review include the National Archives and eighteen other museums and galleries in the UK. The British Library is to be retained.

The report is published here and the full leaked list published by the Daily Telegraph is here.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.