Blogs

My thanks to those who've responded to my blogpost-a-day throughout September on a cache of recently discovered amateur stereos by James Edward Ellam (1857-1920). Link here They date from the 1890s when James was refining his stereoscopic technique before working for Underwood & Underwood of London. Here are a few highlights from week 1.

1. "On The Look Out, Runswick Bay." 

 2. "West Window, Whitby Abbey 1893."

"Bracklinn Falls, Callander."

If you have Ellam stereos in your collection, I would be very interested to hear from you.

I'm trying to establish whether these stereocards and others bearing a "J. E. Ellam" credit on the verso exist as duplicates, perhaps suggesting that they were sold commercially.

The National Portrait Gallery is hosting two events around its Yevonde: Life and Colour exhibition. On 15 September the NPG will hold a panel discussion chaired by Chanel Curator for the Collection, Flavia Frigeri, and include panellists Juno Calypso, Ajamu X and Marika Takanishi Knowles to discuss role-play in the arts. On 29 September a study day will consider the breadth of Yevonde’s innovative photography. 

The exhibition closes on 15 October 2023

Details: 
Yevonde panel discussion:  role-play in the arts / 15 September 
Study Day: Yevonde - an exploration / 29 September 

This one-day, in-person, interdisciplinary workshop will bring together researchers, archivists and curators to explore twentieth-century photo-magazines from across the British Empire and Commonwealth during the so-called ‘golden age of photojournalism’. Registration is now open - it is not being streamed so attendance in person is necessary.  

As well as the birth of photojournalism, the seismic political, cultural and technological revolutions of the interwar period also gave rise to a novel publication format – the photo-magazine. As Stuart Hall characterised it in his seminal 1972 essay on Picture Post, these were ‘image-over-text’ publications which gave primacy to the photographic image arranged into dynamic layouts and photo-stories by an innovative cadre of picture editors and art directors.

Exemplified by photo-reportage from the Spanish Civil War, this novel format was catalysed during the Second World War via widely circulated visual information campaigns by both commercial organisations and political actors. In the postwar period, the photo-magazine format was deployed by British occupying forces in defeated Germany. Photo-magazines were also a vital element of flourishing public relations initiatives by both newly established agencies of the UN and a host of industrial and manufacturing companies concerned about image management.

Thus, throughout the central decades of the last century, the general readership photo-magazine was developed and used to communicate with large, diverse and/or distant audiences. This format constituted a defining aspect of a public’s visual experience prior to the segmentation of magazine audiences from the 1960s and the dominance of television. This period – arguably, the golden age of photojournalism – coincides with the decline and disestablishment of the British Empire.

A selection of papers will look at publications from across the British Empire and Commonwealth in this period. These will address how such photo-magazines sought to instruct and entertain; how they represented social issues; how they othered and racialised indigenous communities; how they documented conflict; how they obscured, as much as revealed, historical developments; how they constructed, connected or divided audiences and publics; and how they explored or framed key tensions in the changing political landscape of the British Commonwealth and its constituent dominions and dependencies.

Hosted by the Tom Hopkinson Centre for Media History at Cardiff University, this initiative is a collaboration between Dr Tom Allbeson (Senior Lecturer in Media History, Cardiff University) and Dr Kevin Foster (Associate Professor in Literary Studies, Monash University).

Photo-magazines across the British Empire & Commonwealth, c.1930-65
Friday, 22 September 2023
Cardiff
Free
See the programme and register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/photo-magazines-across-the-british-empire-commonwealth-c1930-65-tickets-714578191607?aff=oddtdtcreator

Launched online last week is the Sankey Family Photography Collection of 10,000 photographs taken by father and son, Edward and Raymond Sankey in Barrow-in-Furness. The physical archive, now housed at Cumbria Archives, is a collection of glass plate negatives and postcards of Barrow and the north-west, which is believed to be the largest of its kind, documenting Barrow between the years of 1890 and 1970.

The images were catalogued and digitised as part of the Seeing the North with Sankey Project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage fund with the support of a team of volunteers.

See: https://signalfilmandmedia.com/sankey-website-launch/

Image: Duke & Duchess of York at Walney Bridge / 4 Apr 1935

Bonhams auction of the Lesley Mees Collection Votes for Women includes several lots of photography including an album c.1908-1909 showing 'joyous scenes' of suffragettes leaving Holloway prison, and other subjects. It is estimated at £1500-2000. 

The working group "Color Photography in the 19th Century and Early 20th Century: Sciences, Technologies, Empires", convened by Janine Freeston and Dr. Hanin Hannouch, and hosted by the Consortium for Science, Technology, and Medicine is meeting on Tuesday September 19th, 4 pm UK time.

For this session, we are thrilled to have Hana Kaluznick (V&A assistant curator of photography) as our guest!

Attendance is free, easy, and gives you access to our multilingual bibliography about color photography circa 1900, videos, and reading material by becoming member of the group.

Hana (bio below) will discuss her thesis topic "Chromatic Imagination: Realising Early Colour Photography in Britain, 1890 to 1939"

When colour photography emerged in industrialised societies in the late nineteenth century it sparked industrial and scientific interest for some and aesthetic and conceptual concern for others. Over the course of fifty years, from 1890 until 1939, the accessibility of colour photography changed dramatically, culminating with the widespread uptake of Kodak Corporation’s Kodachrome colour-coupler technology in the late 1930s. Kodachrome reversal film redefined the photographic industry. It was celebrated as the solution to nearly one hundred years of research and development concentrated on finding a way to make affordable and practical colour pictures, and was so proficient that by the early 1940s it was in position to usurp the majority of competing colour processes established before it.
The flourishing industry of colour photography that existed before Kodachrome was driven largely by improvements in technology, including the introduction of aniline dyes and faster equipment; increased accessibility because of changing economies; and evolving conceptions of colour in public consciousness as it related art, advertising and collective taste. Although most nascent colour photography enterprises failed, the sheer volume of processes introduced signifies an enormous amount of creative velocity attributable to diverse thought and experimentation on behalf of colour photography’s innumerable stakeholders. Through consideration of the meaning of colour in contemporary British society, and the economic and social networks that underpinned the industry, this thesis aims to establish a stronger understanding of the competitive and dynamic market for early colour photography between 1890 and 1939.

Hana Kaluznick is Assistant Curator of Photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). She was Assistant Curator of the expansion of the V&A Photography Centre (2023) and has contributed to other V&A displays including Known and Strange (2021) and Valérie Belin / Reflection (2019). She is a PhD student at the University of Liverpool studying the industrial history of early colour photography.

Very sad news concerning the passing of John Benton Harris. He was extremely supportive of my work researching the life of Bill Jay and in the making of our film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay www.donotbendfilm.com

My thoughts are with his friends and family.

To accompany the Museum of Bath at Work's exhibition Face to Face: Victorian and Edwardian Portraits of Working People in Bath made from negatives from the studio of Tom Carlyle Leaman at number 7, The Corridor off Union Street and showing Bath people in the 1890s-1910s, the museum holding a study day.

The day will explore some of the themes in the exhibition. 

Study Day programme
Each talk will include time for questions and discussion
10.00 Welcome and introduction
10.10 Nick Russell on Photography in the 19th century and photography in Bath
10.55 Ann Cullis on Dress, accessories, hair, fashion styles, and making methods
11.40 Kirsten Elliott on Department stores and shops in Bath
12.30-13.30 Lunch break
13.30 June Hannam on Working lives: the jobs they did, with focus on women workers
14.15 Bath Record Office staff on Bath Record Office, introducing the resources available
14.55 Close, and concluding questions/discussion
15.15-16.00 Researching your family history beginners advice; where and how to start; problem-solving and problem-sharing

Details: https://bath-at-work.org.uk/event/introductory-talks-face-to-face-victorian-and-edwardian-portraits-of-working-people-in-bath/
Museum of Bath at Work
Julian Road, Bath BA1 2RH
e: mobaw@hotmail.com 
w: www.bath-at-work.org.uk

The next Photograph Fair takes place at  the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury on Sunday, 24 September from 0930-1500. The venue will also host the Ephemera Fair. 

Details: https://etcfairs.com/ephemera-fairs/

When colour photography emerged in industrialised societies in the late nineteenth century it sparked industrial and scientific interest for some and aesthetic and conceptual concern for others. Over the course of fifty years, from 1890 until 1939, the accessibility of colour photography changed dramatically, culminating with the widespread uptake of Kodak Corporation’s Kodachrome colour-coupler technology in the late 1930s. Kodachrome reversal film redefined the photographic industry. It was celebrated as the solution to nearly one hundred years of research and development concentrated on finding a way to make affordable and practical colour pictures, and was so proficient that by the early 1940s it was in position to usurp the majority of competing colour processes established before it.

The flourishing industry of colour photography that existed before Kodachrome was driven largely by improvements in technology, including the introduction of aniline dyes and faster equipment; increased accessibility because of changing economies; and evolving conceptions of colour in public consciousness as it related art, advertising and collective taste. Although most nascent colour photography enterprises failed, the sheer volume of processes introduced signifies an enormous amount of creative velocity attributable to diverse thought and experimentation on behalf of colour photography’s innumerable stakeholders. Through consideration of the meaning of colour in contemporary British society, and the economic and social networks that underpinned the industry, this thesis aims to establish a stronger understanding of the competitive and dynamic market for early colour photography between 1890 and 1939.

Chromatic Imagination: Realising Early Colour Photography in Britain, 1890 to 1939
Hana Kaluznick
Online: 19 September, 1100-1230 (EDT)
Organised by the Color Photography in the 19th Century and Early 20th Century group
Details: https://www.chstm.org/content/color-photography-19th-century-and-early-20th-century-sciences-technologies-empires

Throughout September, I'll be blogging about a series of stereocards that I recently purchased as part of my ongoing research into the influence of 3D on early press photography.

The significance of the cards I'll be looking at is that they can be attributed to James Edward Ellam (1857-1920), an amateur stereographer from Yorkshire who enjoyed a successful career in London as a news agency photographer servicing Fleet Street.

He is best-known for his stereos for the Underwood & Underwood company of King Edward VII & Queen Alexandra in their Coronation robes, King Edward with his grandchildren at Balmoral (both in the National Portrait Gallery, London) and a set featuring Pope Pius X at the Vatican in Rome.

As I've obtained 30 of his amateur stereos, I thought I would write a blogpost-a-day this month about each of the cards.

In the process, I hope to shed further light on a period of James's career when he was making the transition, like other aspiring press photographers, from amateur to freelance/professional status.

You can follow the posts on my blog Click here

Credit: "The Cloisters, Durham Cathedral 1894" by J.E. Ellam.

In his lifetime, Leeds-born Wordsworth Donisthorpe patented a motion-picture camera, helped found the British Chess Association, wrote prolifically on libertarian politics and even invented a language.

The great What If will tell the story of Donisthorpe’s strange, one-of-a-kind camera, which was based, extraordinarily, on the flax spinning machines in the Leeds mills of his father, George Edmund Donisthorpe. It will look at a film sequence shot by Donisthorpe in 1889, just weeks after another inventor, Louis Le Prince, shot his own sequences in Leeds as well as Donisthorpe’s last-ditch efforts to fund his experiments by attempting to blackmail one of Bradford’s most respected industrialists.

A forgotten pioneer, Donisthorpe’s story will be presented by local historian, Irfan Shah, along with revelatory new material, as we pose the question: would the history of cinema have been different if Wordsworth Donisthorpe had been better at blackmail?

The talk will be given in the wonderful cinema of the Leeds School of Arts at Leeds Beckett University and introduced by Professor Robert Shail.

Details and register here: https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/events/heritage-open-days/hod-wordsworth-donisthorpe-and-the-great-what-if/

Art and photography have played a key role in capturing and reflecting on the conditions for the Brexit referendum. Illustrated by a range of work by artists including Cornelia Parker, Wolfgang Tillmans, David Shrigley, Tacita Dean and Jeremy Deller as well as the satirists Cold War Steve and Led By Donkeys, who offer fascinating insights into their work, along with ephemera such as campaign posters and leaflets, and more personal photographs which capture the searing impact of the vote on both UK and EU citizens, this impassioned and compelling book explores the role of the photograph and sometimes moving image in the ongoing consequences of what the author views as a political cataclysm.This book is a work of personal protest. This book is in part a manifesto, a call for a return to working relations and trade with our closest neighbours, and a survey of some of the artistic statements of protest and resistance around the Leave and Remain campaigns. As Brexit stalls, these interviews and these works of art and protest constitute an archive of resistance. 

From Jeremy Deller’s film of musicians protesting outside the House of Commons to portraits of those whose lives have been changed immeasurably, this art of protest brings together disparate aspects of the bitterly fought battle to remain and the consequences of the decision to leave the EU on 1 January 2021 and serves as a reminder of this political and social schism.

In doing so, the book offers insight into our society, exploring issues of national identity, migration, colonialism/decolonialism, racism, the flag, austerity, the border in Northern Ireland, Scotland and how artists can intervene in political debate. It offers an original, visually stimulating and attractive examination of this still topical subject, revealing how art and photography can capture and memorialise key moments in our history.

Thank you to all who contributed to my book on the cultural repercussions of Brexit. We spoke about Brexit and the art of protest - let’s just say that neither the artists nor myself hold back. And a special thank you to all at Lund Humphries. 

 Leave to Remain, A Snapshot of Brexit released on 7th September 2023

Available to pre-order at https://www.lundhumphries.com/products/leave-to-remain

I am writing a study on tourist photography for the Czech journal Fotograf Magazine. I devote a separate part of my study to Pattinson's daguerreotypes of Niagara Falls. During my brief research into Pattinson's images, I was struck by the fact that in the daguerreotype available in the Newcastle University Library collection, Pattinson appears to be gazing at the camera (see picture below; see also https://collectionscaptured.ncl.ac.uk/digital/collection/p21051coll22/id/4/rec/4).

In the famous engraving in Lerebours' Excursions Daguerriennes, however, he is gazing at a waterfall in the kind of spirit of romanticism and the aesthetics of the picturesque (see the image below). 

In this regard, I am curious whether Pattinson is gazing at the waterfall in the original daguerreotype after which the engraving was created or whether Frédéric Salathé, the author of the engraving, reversed the direction of his gaze.

Has the original daguerreotype survived? 

Geoffrey Batchen states in his book Apparitions that "the original daguerreotype has not survived the process of being turned into an engraving". However, Emily Ackerman, for example, mentioned in her paper that there are only three plates engraved using Fizeau's process in the Excursions Daguerriennes: the Hotel de Ville de Paris, the façade of Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Maison Élevée Rue St. Georges (see https://journals.flvc.org/athanor/article/view/126677). So, I assume Niagara Falls's engraving was copied by hand instead of Fizeau's process, and it could exist.

I believe that the V&A's collection has a daguerreotype that could have been used to make the engraving in Excursions Daguerrienes. It seems pretty similar to the engraving; see https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1404059/niagara-falls-photograph-pattinson-hugh-lee/. They even note in the image description: "Possibly related to the daguerreotype used to create the engraving for Lerebours's 'Excursions Daguerriennes'." I have just asked the V&A for a higher-resolution reproduction, as the low resolution of the freely available one makes it impossible to examine the details of the daguerreotype. 

However, I wonder if my reasoning that this could be the daguerreotype after which the engraving was created might be correct.

I would be grateful for any clarifications and corrections to my assumptions.

Michal Šimůnek

Historic England’s Archive and Library is the nation’s archive of England’s historic environment. It is a national collection with nearly 15 million items, mostly photography and documents. including nationally important collections covering archaeology, architecture, social and local history.  It is an accredited Archive and a recognised place of deposit. The collection continues to grow for now, and for the future.

We have an important role in telling the story of England; its shared memories, lived histories and diverse cultural identities. We conserve, save and safeguard, as well as share, collect and generate income.

As Head of Archive & Library, you will lead and manage a specialist team. You will be responsible for shaping the way we collect, manage, conserve and make available archive assets in line with Historic England’s strategic objectives and priorities. You will ensure that we share our collections – both physical and digital - in accessible, inspiring and engaging ways and that our collections are increasingly inclusive and representative. You will be responsible for development of the growing archive of born digital material, working with the Head of Digital Engagement to develop an integrated ecosystem that ensures our collections are held in the most cost-effective way and accessible to the widest possible audience.

Details here: Head of Archive and Library - Historic England - Applied (beapplied.com) 

The American photographer and educator John Benton-Harris has died. After completing US military service, in 1965 he settled in London, working as a staff photographer for London Life magazine.

See: https://www.johnbenton-harris.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Benton-Harris and

https://www.huckmag.com/article/photos-celebrating-the-eccentricities-of-london?fbclid=IwAR3srW5_ZFN58xbYHqY-gNHHX_srH44cedb3M1ND1dqyf-uDfz7kU3oRavs

Aeon, the digital magazine, has just published online a fascinating essay on slum photography which was at the heart of progressive campaigns against urban poverty, and was also a weapon against the working class poor. It is written by Sadie Levy Gale a PhD candidate in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University, Wales. The paper mainly uses examples from London. 

See:  https://aeon.co/essays/slum-photos-were-weaponised-against-the-people-they-depictpublishes

Image: Southwark slum, London Metropolitan Archives 

There are a series of visits and online collection talks coming up over the next few months organised by the RPS's Historical group. First up on 2 September is a visit to the John Rylands Library where Tony Richards will discuss advanced heritage imaging techniques, which will be followed by a look at highlights from the library's photography collections.

Following on are: 

• 7 September - the RIBA photography collection (online)
• 19 September -  the William Graham collection at the Mitchell Library (online)
• 4 October - Little Woman. The art of being Jane Wigley, daguerreotypist (online)
• 6 October - Visit to Bradford Industrial Museum and its photography collection (live)
• 22 October - Celebrating the Bromoil Circle Archive - demonstration, talk and display (live)

Full details and registration are here: https://events.rps.org/en/celebrating-the-bromoil-circle-archive-4a2N4Lhk0L/overview

Image: Ken Hill FRPS, Welsh Moor, Bromoil print, c.1980s.

As Collections Assistant (Data,) you will prepare, conserve, digitise and catalogue historic photographic material from the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP_

The National Collection of Aerial Photography – ncap.org.uk – is one of the largest collections of photography in the world, a centre of excellence and standard-setter for the custodianship of historic aerial photography. NCAP holds over 30 million
aerial images that record key moments in history and places throughout the world.

Part of Historic Environment Scotland, NCAP sits within the Marketing and Engagement Directorate. Now at risk from environmental and historic deterioration, the DOS and ACIU Projects are preserving and digitising our collections using collaborative robots (cobots).

As a Collections Assistant (Data), you will prepare and conserve historic photographic material for digitisation to prescribed standards and will ensure that sufficient record is available for digitisation using robotically-operated digitisation workstations. You will load, unload and program workstations and prepare records for return to remote storage upon satisfactory completion of digitisation. You will undertake geospatial cataloguing, associated image processing, and quality assurance to prescribed technical standards. Key responsibilities and duties will include;
Process and conserve historic photographic material to NCAP record handling standards so as to minimise risk of damage during digitisation and storage.

• Create digital images using cobots and scanners, handling original aerial photography, and associated records, for the DOS and ACIU Projects.
• Ensure the quality of digital images produced meet NCAP standards for the creation of digital surrogates.
• Undertake post-processing work including renaming, cataloguing and metadata to NCAP standards.
• Work to and meet production targets and deadlines.
• Maintain and update administrative records associated with the digitisation workflow, notably process tracking systems.
• Adherence to established standards, practices and procedures is essential; thoughtful and informed modifications are welcomed.
• Working across several teams, positive collaboration and cooperation is essential.
• Frequently moving relatively heavy boxes of archival material is required, as is at times working in a climate-controlled/cold room.

See job details here

Read more on the National Collection of Aerial Photography here: https://ncap.org.uk/

Image: Muirhouse; Edinburgh; Midlothian; Scotland, 1991

Sotheby's have just posted the lot entry for a full set of Franklin daguerreotypes which will be sold by online-only auction next month but can be viewed in London before the auction closes. The lot which is estimated at £150,000-200,000 will be subject to an export licence if it sells overseas. 

Lot details are here:

£150,000-200,000

As Michael Pritchard knows, I've been interested in these specific daguerreotypes for a while but am not an expert in daguerreotypes. While the details provided by Sotheby's raise some questions in my mind I hope that they might remain in Britain so that people can see the full set (Scott Polar Research Institute's set lacks two of the images) in person as well as online. 

Travel, Atlases, Maps, Photographs & Natural History
Online, 7 September 2023 •10:00 BST

On view: 15-19 September 2023

Lot 265 https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/travel-atlas-maps-photographs/studio-of-richard-beard-a-set-of-14-daguerreotypes

and auction details are here:  https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/travel-atlas-maps-photographs

Russell Potter has a blog post here about their history and context https://visionsnorth.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-newfound-franklin-daguerreotypes.html