Blogs

The Lindsays of Balcarres began with the rediscovery of some dusty photograph albums at the home of the author’s late father in Fife. The wealth of images within, unexplored for over eighty years, provided the perfect way to present the fascinating untold stories of the family and their lives. From a photography perspective it starts with daguerreotypes, through to collodion and more recent silver-gelatine prints. 

The family, which traces its roots back to the time of Charlemagne, almost lost everything after siding with the Stuarts, but fortunate marriages, colonial endeavours and industry enabled them to create a new fortune and reclaim their position as the Premier Earls of Scotland. This renewal coincided with the birth of photography in the 1840s, which encouraged the family to capture moments of their leisure pursuits and the part they played in the events of their time. The collection serves as a social history, recording the rapidly changing industries they were involved in and the relationships with their staff on which their way of life depended.  Some of the earliest daguerreotypes in the family archive point to the enduring affinity that would develop between photography and the country house. It is the perfect medium for a family so deeply involved in both fine art and the latest technology.

The reader will encounter a gallery of colourful characters, including Elizabeth Lindsay, who married the 3rd Earl of Hardwicke in 1782 and became Vicereine of Ireland; her great-nephew, Robert, who joined the Guards at the outbreak of the Crimean War and carried the Queen’s Colours to the heights of Alma, earning him the first of two citations for the Victoria Cross; and his brother-in- law, Alexander, the 25th Earl of Crawford and his polymath son Ludovic (shown on the front of this book), who together rebuilt the family library, Bibliotheca Lindesiana, into one of the world’s finest.

James Ludovic, known intimately as ‘Udo’ as a young man and latterly Ludovic, was surely one of the family’s most intriguing figures of the last two centuries, both in his pursuits and appearance. Amongst his many achievements, he saved the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh by giving the entirety of his scientific library, along with all its apparatus, to the observatory on condition that the government continued to fund its operation. His legacy continues to this day – the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh plays a vital role in the United Kingdom’s part in the European Space Agency while undertaking projects linked to NASA and observatories around the globe.

Ludovic Lindsay’s painstaking restoration of these remarkable family photographs and archival research mean that a chronicle of his forebears’ lives, told through three hundred hitherto unpublished images, is for the first time possible.

The Lindsays of Balcarres: A Century of an Ancient Scottish Family in Photographs
Ludovic Lindsay
Pimpernel Press
£60.00
ISBN 978-1-910258-57-6
Published 7 October 2021

This book tells the story of Stephen Markson who rose from messenger boy at The Times to the top of his profession as senior staff photojournalist for that paper. The book tells the stories behind the pictures, images and anecdotes that give a tantalising glimpse of the danger and glamour, tragedy and celebrity, seen through the lens of a talented photographer for whom every day was different and every frame counted.

Stephen has compiled an intriguing collection of stories and images from the golden era of Fleet Street, when budgets were limitless, deadlines were tight and getting the film from the camera to the darkroom was often a challenge in itself. His determination saw him and his resourcefulness is apparent in many of the notes that accompany his iconic photographs.

His life was far from ordinary, with experiences ranging from being shadowed by the KGB and threatened by the IRA to hoodwinking Maggie Thatcher and dancing with Elton John. The book will appeal to anyone with an interest in recent history, journalism or photography and particularly in the drama and atmosphere of images shot on black and white film.

Fleet Street Exposures: Diary of a photojournalist
Stephen Markeson
ArtCircus Books, 2021 
£30.00, 168pp
ISBN 978-1-914424-16-8
See: www.stephenmarkeson.com

Peter Domankiewicz has written a blog in which he suggests, and cites evidence, that William Friese-Greene was a supporter of women's rights. Friese-Greene was active when such issues were very topical and the subject of wide debate and in a lecture he gave to Bath Photographic Society in 1890 he stated: '‘Now the next subject I shall connect with this paper, or at least the movement or movements of photography, is the ladies. . .’. 

The blog can be read here: https://www.bristolideas.co.uk/read/friese-greene-protofeminist/?fbclid=IwAR3CmLidCZjL4CjWDRS23dHTNoIQh2m6bFlyHemtT_ozVkY7DRfx2qm9tr0

The 33rd Annual Daguerreian Society symposium will take place from 15-17 October. The event will include a virtual fair featuring 19th and 20th century photographs, books, and ephemera including images from the highest levels of the art to vernacular snapshots, collectible books, historical images, and a broad range of historical photographic material. It is a show for collectors, curators, galleries, and dealers. 

There will be expert panel discussions and (virtual) tours of exhibitions and collections. The full talks programme will be announced shortly. 

This is an excellent opportunity for curators and historians to reach a receptive -- and enthusiastic -- audience.  With the symposium now a month away, the Society is inviting proposals for Zoom presentations and/or video tours of 19th century photography exhibitions and collections. 

The Daguerreian Society is a non-profit organization devoted to 19th century photography, headquartered in the US but welcoming members from around the globe.

Details and registration here: https://www.daguerreiansociety.org/events/2021-daguerreian-society-virtual-symposium/

For more than 60 years the Department of Photography and Film at Salisbury provided education for professional photographers and cinematographers. Starting in 1956 with part-time courses at The College of Art it developed to become one of the country’s leading provincial centres.

With over 200 pages of illustrations, stories and a chronological narrative The Right Exposure published in 2021 uses an eclectic mix of fact and ephemera to tell the fascinating story of this hugely influential department.

It will appeal to students past and present, local historians and anyone interested in education for photography and filmmaking.

It can be ordered from the Blurb bookshop in printed form or as a PDF.

https://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/invited/9315657/47b1abf71c7bc97a4db5bf7caee2cc6f1e64c6f8

The Museum of Fine Art Houston is the final home for Julia Margaret Cameron's 'Norman' album. The album was the subject of an export licence deferral in 2018 but UK institutions were unable, or unwilling, to match an independent valuation of £3.7 million (see links below) and an export licence was granted. The album had been the subject of an earlier export licence application in 2013 when the album had been offered for sale at the Maastricht Art Fair. The application was withdrawn. The purchaser had been unknown until recently.

Malcolm Daniel, Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography, at MFAH, revealed the news to BPH and in his Photography Newsletter  He writes: 'In my last letter, I spoke about two important acquisitions...and I hinted at a third, even more major acquisition that I couldn’t yet speak about. Now I can share that news with you—an acquisition that I described for the Trustees as the single most extraordinary item that I’ve proposed for acquisition in more than 30 years as a photography curator—an album of 75 photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron, one of the greatest portraitists in the history of photography—in my opinion one of the greatest in any medium...This album is exceptional in the number of startlingly perfect prints, no doubt because Cameron took great care in the selection of existing prints or the printing and toning of new prints for this very special presentation album. In a single stroke, with this acquisition the Museum can now claim one of the greatest collections of Cameron’s photography in the world.'

The album has found a worthy home where it will be properly cared and made available to the public and for study for by an empathetic and knowledgeable curator. 

Read the MFAH newsletter  MFAH%20Photography%20News%2053.pdf

See previous BPH posts about the Norman album here: 

https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/export-licence-deferred-on-cameron-s-norman-album

https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/export-of-cultural-objects-2018-19-julia-margaret-cameron-s-the-n

Ffotogallery is recruiting a new director to take over when David Drake steps down at the end of the year. The gallery is one of the UK’s leading organisations for contemporary photography and lens-based art. Based in Cardiff, Wales’ capital city, the organisation commissions and presents outstanding and diverse work from Wales and the world, supports the development of artists, and showcases exciting new work developed in Wales.

Since its formation in 1978, Ffotogallery has been at the forefront of new developments in photography and lens- based media in Wales and beyond, encouraging public understanding of photography and a wider appreciation of the role it plays in our understanding of the world around us.

We’re looking for a creative, ambitious individual to take on the role of Director, and to provide artistic and strategic leadership for the organisation.

Please see the Job Pack for more details of the role, along with further background information about Ffotogallery.

See: https://www.ffotogallery.org/channel/opportunity-cyfarwyddwr

In December 1920, The Strand Magazine published a series of sensational photographs taken by two young girls from Cottingley that allegedly showed real-life fairies dancing at the bottom of their garden. Their authenticity was vouched by no less a person than world-famous Sherlock Holmes creator and spiritualist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The images immediately triggered a fierce public debate: were they evidence of the existence of otherworldly nature spirits, of the technical craft and duplicity of their creators, or of the suspect nature of photography itself? The cameras used to produce the pictures, along with Elsie Wright’s famous 1983 “Confession” letter, are today held in the collection of the National Science and Media Museum.

In this talk, Professor Christine Ferguson, Chair in English Studies at the University of Stirling and Principal Investigator on the Media of Mediumship project, discusses what these objects can tell us about the long-standing relationship between technological innovation and alternative spiritual belief in modern Britain.

This talk will be delivered in hybrid format: bookings can be made to attend in person, or to watch online. All Media of Mediumship events are free and open to the public.

‘Fairies Photographed! The Cameo Camera and the Case of the Cottingley Fairies’, Professor Christine Ferguson
Part of the Café Scientifique series 
National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
Free, Online (available) and live (sold out) 30 September 2021, 1830-2000 (BST)
Booking information can be found here: https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/whats-on/cafe-scientifique

Tennants Auctioneers will be auctioning the library, pictures and camera collection of Eric Hosking OBE Hon.FRPS FBIPP (1909-1991), in its forthcoming Books, Maps & Manuscripts sale being held on 24 November 2021.

The collection is being sold by Eric Hosking’s son David, who is himself a professional photographer and collaborated extensively with Eric. Until recently he was with his wife Jean co-director of the Frank Lane Picture Agency, overseeing the management and licensing of Eric’s photographic archive. The collection contains a set of 30 original signed photographs by Eric Hosking, which are being sold in small groups to benefit the Eric Hosking Trust, with every group being offered with a complimentary copy of Eric Hosking’s Classic Birds (1993), each one of 1,000 copies signed by David Hosking. There are also signed copies of Eric Hosking’s own books including Which Bird? (1998), Just a Lark! (1984), Wildlife Photography (1973), Antarctic Wildlife (1982), and Eric Hosking's Waders (1986), together with items such as Guy Mountfort’s Portrait of a Wilderness. The Story of the Coto Doñana Expeditions (1958), inscribed by Mountfort and Viscount Alanbrooke to Hosking, who was the photographer on the expedition and whose photographs illustrate the book. Most books in the library contain Eric Hosking’s owl bookplate, recalling the famous incident in which he lost an eye to a tawny owl at the age of 28.

Eric Hosking is a name which will require little introduction for ornithology enthusiasts. The first professional bird photographer, he photographed over 1,800 species, and his pictures have appeared in some 800 books, including the popular New Naturalist series, of which he was photographic editor. His technological innovations include the use of flash photography for birds, and the invention of an electronic trigger-mechanism for ultra-high-speed photography of birds in flight. He was also the first to photograph owls in the wild, and famously lost an eye to a tawny owl at the age of 28, an event which proved no measurable hindrance to his career. The incident later inspired the ingenious title of his autobiography, An Eye for a Bird (1970), the foreword to which was written by HRH Prince Philip.

Eric Hosking's centrality to the world of ornithological publishing is captured by a variety of outstanding presentation copies of books now up for sale, by figures including Peter Scott, Roger T. Peterson, Denis Healey (a keen amateur photographer) and David Attenborough, many with highly personalised and admiring inscriptions. Further highlights include excellent copies of Godman's Monograph of the Petrels (1907-10; estimate £1,500-£2,500), Legge's History of the Birds of Ceylon (1880; £1000-£2000), and J. G. Millais's Mammals of Great Britain (1904-6), inscribed by Millais for the illustrator G. E. Lodge, and subsequently inscribed by Lodge for Hosking (£300-£500).

To complement his library, Eric Hosking also built a fine collection of pictures by leading 20th century wildlife artists including Archibald Thorburn, Keith Shackleton and C. F. Tunnicliffe. The sale of his photographic equipment provides an unmissable opportunity to own a remarkable array of high-quality cameras, lenses and other apparatus by manufacturers including Contarex, Hasselblad and Zeiss, and will give skilled users the chance of recreating his photographic feats. 

Offered together in a single sale, Eric Hosking’s library, pictures and camera collection will evoke the life's work of a true pioneer and represent a major event in the year’s auction calendar.

An illustrated catalogue will be available on the Tennants website leading up to the sale: www.tennants.co.uk

For further information please contact Dominic Somerville Brown (books@tennants-ltd.co.uk)

Brian Iddon is leading a project to restore the grave of Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966) at Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, north Wales. Coburn's grave is an poor condition and the plan is to restore the grave and to produce an interpretation plaque at the graveyard in north Wales. The local stone masons have quoted £1122 for the work. The Universal Order which was the beneficiary of his estate has given permission for the restoration and has made a significant donation, along with several others. The balance is now sought. 

Anyone interested in supporting this initiative can reach Brian by email at: brianiddon53@gmail.com. 

Once the work has been undertaken a formal commemoration will be arranged. 

Coburn is a key figure in early twentieth century photography and significant collections of material are held in the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A Museum, London, and at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library in Manchester. 

A picture of the grave can be seen here: https://historypoints.org/index.php?page=grave-of-alvin-langdon-coburn-llandrillo

To coincide with the 150th anniversary of Thomas Annan's Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow, photographer Frank McElhinney re-traces Annan's footsteps with a photo trail along the same streets where Annan made the original photographs. Annan's famous street studies of this historic area of Glasgow are shown in the windows of modern businesses along High Street and Saltmarket, taking the viewer on a journey through history.

One hundred and fifty years ago Thomas Annan published a series of thirty-one photographs of the old streets and closes of Glasgow. They are recognised as perhaps the world’s first attempt at what we now call social documentary photography. An 1866 act of parliament had approved the clearance of Glasgow’s overcrowded and epidemic prone slums. With the exception of one photograph made in the Gorbals, all of the rest were made in and around the High Street and Saltmarket. It was once assumed the photographs were commissioned by the City Improvement Trust, but there is no real evidence of this. It is more likely that Annan began the series on his own initiative motivated not just by a speculative commercial imperative but by a desire to highlight the slowly improving condition of Glasgow’s poorest residents. The title of the work suggests architecture was the principal subject but the photographs are teaming with life, full of men, women and children. Annan’s photographs give us a privileged insight into the living conditions of our forebears as no other city, with the possible exception of Paris, has a comparable archive from such an early period in the history of photography. - Frank McElhinney

Find out more and associated events here: https://www.streetlevelphotoworks.org/event/thomas-annan-photo-trail

Helen Trompeteler is giving a talk Prince Albert. Patron of early photography. She will discuss the integral role that Prince Albert played in the advancement of photography. Alongside Queen Victoria, Prince Albert’s support for the new medium was a cultural and social catalyst – furthering opportunities for creativity, experimentation, and the exchange of photographic knowledge.

During his lifetime, Prince Albert cultivated a collection of some 10,000 photographs by pioneering nineteenth-century photographers such as Frances Sally Day, Roger Fenton, Oscar Gustav Rejlander, Charles Thurston Thompson, and George Washington Wilson. The Royal Collection is relatively unique in that there is such strong primary material in the Royal Archives that illuminates our understanding of the development of the collection. Many of the photographs and documents presented in this talk are part of Prince Albert: His Life and Legacy (albert.rct.uk). 

Helen Trompeteler is a curator and writer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a committed advocate for the civic role of special collections as catalysts for contemporary dialogue and cultural exchange. Helen has eighteen years of experience leading exhibitions and partnerships for internationally significant collections, including the Royal Collection (2016-20) and the National Portrait Gallery, London (2002-16). Further roles include board member of Four Corners (2017-present), the Museums Association Transformers leadership program (2018-2019), and the Josef Breitenbach Research Fellowship at the Center for Creative Photography (2016). trompeteler.com

Prince Albert. Patron of Early Photography
Saturday, 11 September 2021, 1:30 pm (EST) | 1830 (BST) | 1930 (CET)
Hosted by the Daguerreian Society, $25 donation 
Register: https://www.daguerreiansociety.org/the-daguerreian-society-talk-series-2021/

Emerging artists reflect on the current context of Hong Kong through the theme of light in an exhibition curated by Monica Allende for Seen Fifteen and Safehouse 2 this Photo London week in the capital and then showing until 25 September.

Each artist offers varied interpretations of light while exploring the possibilities of the media of photography, film, performance, and pinhole camera to bring attention to the city’s transforming social climate.

The exhibition, titled ‘Light’ features artists Caleb Fung, Liao Jiaming, O’Young Moli, Julian, Tang Kwong San, Yuen Nga Chi, Wong Wei-him and Catrine Val.

“While the notion of ‘Light’ is intrinsically related to photography, determining tone, mood and atmosphere in the process of image making, it also allows for artistic interpretation, whether it is about the dawn of life, or light as a symbol for reason, enlightenment and knowledge and the capacity of humans to develop on a rational level. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, light allows us to see the shadows on the wall. If humans were to leave the cave and venture outside, the light of the sun would let them see the world around them. Light, therefore, means knowledge” commented curator Monica Allende 

Seen Fifteen Gallery

Studio DG1 The Bussey Building, 133 Copeland Rd, London SE15 3SN

Safehouse 2

137 Copeland Rd, London, SE15 3SN

 Opening Times: Thursday-Sunday 11am-5pm

Open during Peckham 24: Late Friday Opening 6pm to midnight Saturday 11am to 6pm Sunday 11am to 6pm

see: https://www.peckham24.com/exhibitions-2021

The V&A museum has announced The Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project, a major new curatorial programme to support women in photography. The Project, funded by Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and the Parasol Foundation Trust, encompasses a new curatorial post alongside acquisitions, research, education and public displays, aiming to foreground and sustain women’s practice in contemporary photography and highlight the role women have played throughout the history of the medium.

The Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography – a new curatorial position, endowed for 25 years – will lead the Project’s activities. Recruitment for the role begins today and details of the role can be found here.

The Project furthers the V&A’s mission to nurture contemporary artists and share the museum’s collections, knowledge, and expertise in photography. Through commissioning women to create new work, acquiring photography by women artists, devising women-led displays, and organising talks, educational programmes and events, the Project’s ambition is to support contemporary women artists, develop programming, and investigate the roles of women photographers within the V&A collection. International in scope, there will be a particular emphasis on digital art, and the digital distribution of resources and information via social media. The Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography will also develop a significant online presence for the Project, including a dedicated Instagram account to highlight works by women artists, which will launch in early 2022.

The Project is made possible through a major gift from Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and the Parasol Foundation Trust, a philanthropic trust established in 2004 that supports educational, health, culture and heritage initiatives. In addition to the Trust’s support of the Project, Gallery 97 at the V&A will be named The Parasol Foundation Gallery. This gallery, a space for displaying contemporary photography, is part of the V&A Photography Centre Phase Two development.

Duncan Forbes, Head of Photography at the V&A, said: “We are thrilled to launch this programme in support of women photographers at the V&A. It allows us to focus resources over a sustained period and to celebrate the creativity of women artists across the photography collections. The opportunity to bring work by contemporary photographers into dialogue with the V&A's rich historical archive is particularly exciting. The programme arrives at an energising moment for photography at the museum with the forthcoming expansion of the Photography Centre in 2023. We are very grateful to the Parasol Foundation Trust for its enlightened support.”

Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol said: “I’m delighted to be working with the V&A to create the Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project. We’re aiming to celebrate the achievements of women in photography and inspire the next generation of women photographers to fully express their creativity and achieve their potential. Our focus on digital art and social media will open up participation and help us connect with the widest possible audience.”

The V&A was the first museum in the world to collect photographs, beginning with its founding in 1852, and continues to collect and commission new work today. Phase One of the V&A Photography Centre opened to critical acclaim in 2018, sharing the breadth of the V&A’s world-leading photography collection, and Phase Two – with four new gallery spaces – will open in 2023.

The next 18 months will be a busy time for photography at the V&A. On 6 November 2021 the existing Photography Centre will be entirely rehung with two new displays. Maurice Broomfield: Industrial Sublime will open in Room 100, The Bern and Ronny Schwartz Gallery, and next-door, Known and Strange: Photographs from the Collection in Room 101, The Sir Elton John and David Furnish Gallery. The V&A will also be recruiting the second Curatorial Fellow in Photography, supported by The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation in 2022.

See ParasolCuratorofWomeninPhotography-JD-Sept21%20%281%29.pdf and the link here to apply. Applications close 8 October 2021.

On 18 September 2021 the Dialogue Foundation will organise the third edition of the Dialogue Vintage Photography Festival. As in 2019 the Festival will consist of a fair with dealers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and France.

In addition to the fair there is also have a lecture program which is put together by Maarten van den Heuvel, curator of the photography collection of the Leiden University. The theme of the lecture program is "NEW HORIZONS - PHOTOGRAPHY AFTER THE RESET", it will include talks by - among many others - Mattie Boom of the Rijksmuseum, Willemijn van de Zwaan of the Fotomuseum in The Hague and photo restorer Clara von Waldhausen.

Furthermore, there will also be workshops on collodion and cyanotype printing, an exhibition and presentations of highlights from Dutch photo collectors.

The full program can be found here https://www.dialoguevintagephotography.com/

The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art has published a short film interviewing Wilfried E. Keil who was Rome Fellow at the British School Room from April-June 2021. During this time he used the BSR's extensive photographic archive to closely examine Robert Mcpherson's original photographs. He made a number of discoveries including an unknown photographic technique, new provenances and even a nineteenth-century thumbprint.

Watch this film to find out more about the importance of experiencing source material up close and personal. This project was supported by a Rome Fellowship. Find out more about the PMC Fellowships & Grants programme at https://www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk/... Find out more about the British School of Rome at https://www.bsr.ac.uk/

See the film here: https://youtu.be/hup8aRQifdQ

Etc Fairs has announced the return of the Bloomsbury Photograph Fair, running alongside the Bloomsbury Book Fair on Sunday, 10 October from 0930-1500 at the Holiday Inn, Coram Street.

The Bloomsbury Book Fair will be taking place as usual in the Booker and Turner Suites, with the Photograph Fair will be held in meeting rooms on the first floor. Exhibitors lists and further details will be published shortly. 

https://etcfairs.com/2021/09/02/bloomsbury-photograph-fair-is-back/

To celebrate the 130th anniversary since the Kodak factory opened its doors in Harrow, Headstone Manor Museum is launching a digital exhibition showcasing its history as well as the many faces of the people who worked there. Through oral histories and memories, this exhibition will highlight historic moments in Kodak’s history in Harrow. A film will be available to view in this exhibition featuring recent oral histories recorded in 2021.

See: https://headstonemanor.org/events/kodak-in-harrow-celebrating-the-130th-anniversary/

Slow Color Photography explores the remarkable science, art, and aesthetics of two of the German Empire's most ambitious photographers who created colour images using the Lippmann process around 1900: Doctor of medicine and anthropologist Richard Neuhauss (1855-1915) and physicist Hans Lehmann (1875-1917).

Slow Color Photography
until 30 January 2022
Preus Museum, Horten, Norway
See: https://www.preusmuseum.no/eng/Discover-the-Exhibitions/Current-exhibitions/Slow-Color-Photography