Blogs

We cordially invite you to the lecture from the cycle Collegium historiae artium, which will be given by Anthony Hamber (independent photographic historian, London) on the topic of The 1840s: Transformations in Reprographics.

In January 1839, when the photographic processes of Daguerre and Talbot were announced, there was an existing, mature, and extensive printing and reprographics industry in all industrialised countries. The most significant printing process was that of lithography. Almost immediately there was a wave of experimentation in developing a photomechanical process. Those experimenters were primarily scientists and did not form part of the existing reprographics industries. Photographic historians have tended to repeat the same list of experimenters, primarily from France, Austria, and the United Kingdom. Emerging evidence suggests that during the 1840s – described as a comparative “gap” in scholarly research – photomechanical experimentation was in fact more widespread. This paper examines the speed of the distribution of news of Daguerre’s and Talbot’s processes and discusses a number of the photomechanical experiments that followed. A key consideration examined is why the contemporary printing and reprographics industries did not adopt photography during the 1840s to develop commercial photomechanical processes and accompanying services. A short case study underlines how one individual, with much experience in transfer lithography, played a crucial role in the late 1850s in the development of photozincography at the UK’s national cartographic agency (Ordnance Survey).

The 1840s: Transformations in Reprographics
24 April 2024 at 1630 (CET); 1530 (BST)
Lecture by Dr Anthony Hamber
Hosted by Institute of Art History, Prague
Details and Zoom link: https://www.udu.cas.cz/en/akce/the-1840s-transformations-in-reprographics

Known as one of the pillars of 20th-century fashion photography, Norman Parkinson dazzles the world from the 1930s to the 1980s with his sparkling inventiveness. He gives new impetus to celebrity portraiture, photographing the most prominent artists and celebrities, including Audrey Hepburn, Jerry Hall, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and Jane Birkin. His long association with Vogue and extensive work for Harper’s Bazaar, Queen, Town & Country and other international magazines earn him worldwide recognition.

Celebrated for the liveliness, spontaneity and humour of his photographs, as well as for his use of outdoor locations around the globe, the British photographer helped change the static, posed approach to fashion photography with his impulsive, imaginative style. 

The exhibition features 79 of Norman Parkinson’s best-known images, as well as recent discoveries from his remarkable photographic portfolio and a selection of 56 covers of major magazines shot between the 1950s and 1970s. Several magnificent pieces from the McCord Stewart Museum’s Dress, Fashion and Textiles collection are also on display: 10 high-end dresses and ensembles made between the 1930s and the 1970s by French designers Christian Dior, Jacques Griffe, Jean Patou, Louis Féraud and Guy Laroche, Italian André Laug and British designers Digby Morton and Hardy Amies, plus four creations by Quebec milliners Fanny Graddon and Yvette Brillon.

The exhibition, shown at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Centro Cultural de Cascais in Portugal, is curated by Terence Pepper OBE and co-curated by Iconic Images.

Norman Parkinson: Always in Style
19 April-2 September 2024
McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal
https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/exhibitions/norman-parkinson-always-style/

Image: Young Velvets, Young Prices, Hat Fashions, American Vogue, October 1949 © Iconic Images / The Norman Parkinson Archive 2024

One of Roger Fenton’s (right) more popular images from the Crimean War is entitled Council of War held at Lord Raglan’s Head Quarters the Morning of the successful Attack on the Mamelon, Portraits of Lord Raglan, Maréchal Pélissier, and Omar Pacha (below). It was originally shown under this title at an exhibition of Fenton’s Crimean pictures held in Pall Mall in London in November1855 according to the official catalogue. In the image, Lord Raglan, Omar Pacha, and Aimable Pélissier, the Commanders-in-Chief of the British, Turkish and French forces respectively, sit around a small table looking at a map seemingly discussing military operations. Omar Pacha and Pélissier are in full military uniform while Raglan wears a sun hat and civilian clothes. The title of the photograph suggests that they were adding the final touches to an attack that was to take place on Russian positions later that day.

The attack on the Russian-held White Works and Mamelon by the French and a position known as the Quarries by the British took place late in the afternoon of 7 June 1855. The image’s title indicates that Council of War was taken that morning. However, this was not the case. Fenton in his letters home wrote that on 5 June 1855 he had breakfast with Pélissier and arranged to take his likeness at the British army headquarters early the next morning. Fenton also reported that he intended to ask Omar Pasha to be there as well so that he could also take his portrait. This arrangement was confirmed by William Romaine, who was the Deputy Judge Advocate with the British army in the Crimea. He wrote in his journal on 6 June 1855 that Pélissier had arrived at British headquarters at 6.00 h that day with ‘a box full of finery’ in order to have his portrait taken by Fenton. He also reported that Pélissier, Omar Pasha and Raglan came out of the headquarters’ building at 10.00 h where a small table with a map had been placed and had their portraits taken in a group. Fenton took other pictures of Pélissier and Omar Pacha posing in their ‘finery’ at British headquarters on the same day.

The above information provides very strong evidence that Council of War was taken on the morning of 6 June 1855 and not 7 June 1855. It also reveals that Fenton arranged for Omar Pacha and Pélissier to be at British headquarters on the morning of 6 June 1855 for formal portraits and this was the main reason for their visit and not to discuss pending operations. Indeed, individual portraits of the two wearing the same ‘finery’ as in Council of War exist and these were presumably taken at the time.

The actual detailed planning session for the attack on the Mamelon, the Quarries and other Russian positions on 7 June 1855 is reported to have taken place on 4 June 1855 with seventeen French and British officers, many who were artillery and engineering experts, participating. Fenton must have realised on the morning of 6 June 1855 that he had a unique photo opportunity with all three Allied leaders at the same place at the same time. Why then was the wrong information on the day of the photograph and an impression created that those photographed were in the process of planning the forthcoming assault given in the picture’s title? One can only speculate that it was meant to heighten public interest so as to promote sales of the image at the London exhibition.

A Royal Collection Trust’s press release for its recent Roger Fenton exhibition read: -

The Council of War (June 1855) shows the three commanders of the allied armies planning their successful assault on the Russian fortifications at Mamelon on the morning of the attack. The photograph of Lord Raglan, Maréchal Pélissier and Omar Pasha became one of Fenton's best-known portraits …………..In August 1855, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal that she had viewed some of Fenton's work, commenting that the portrait was 'one, most interesting, of poor Lord Raglan, Pélissier & Omar Pacha, sitting together on the morning, on which the Quarries were taken’.

Victoria may not have been amused had she known at the time that she had been misinformed about the date!

This contribution to the blog was written because the facts concerning Council of War should be known by all Crimean War photo-historians. More information for those who are interested can be found in the article: Jones, D.R. (2017) The Council of War. The War Correspondent 35 (2), 34-36.

Finally, by an amazing coincidence, today is the 164^th anniversary of Council of War as well as the 75^th anniversary of D-Day!

To mark the 120th anniversary of Kingston-born photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s death, this new exhibition presents a magnificent panorama of San Francisco that Muybridge photographed in 1878.The panorama is over five metres, and is one of the highlights of Kingston Museum’s world-class Muybridge collection.

The exhibition also features three modern panoramas of the city by American photographer Mark Klett, British artists Tom Pope and James Doyle, and American historian Nick Wright. It also displays different scenes of Kingston from the nineteenth century to the present day.

San Francisco in Kingston: Muybridge and Panoramas
10 May-2 November 2024
Thursday-Saturday, 1000-1700. Admission free 
Kingston Museum
https://www.kingstonheritage.org.uk/

An exhibition of photographs by renowned British photographer John Bulmer has broken all recent visitor records at Hartlepool Art Gallery – and now those important images have found a permanent home there. Over 12,000 people have so far seen the exhibition – ‘John Bulmer - Northern Light’ - which runs until Saturday, 4 May, and captures the fortitude of Hartlepool people during the hardship of the 1960s.

Thanks to a substantial award from the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the support of John Bulmer himself, Hartlepool Borough Council has been able to purchase the images for Hartlepool Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Angela Thomas, Hartlepool Art Gallery Curator, said: “The response from visitors to the exhibition has been phenomenal. People have left lots of comments on our comment cards, sharing their memories of the scenes in the photographs and identifying people they recognise. I’ve never known a response like it. 

“So we’re thrilled that, thanks to the generous support of Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund and John Bulmer himself, these photographs will become part of our permanent collection. “By acquiring these images, we will ensure they are preserved for future generations to look back at that moment in time before much of the local landscape changed beyond recognition.”

Leanne Manfredi, National Programmes Lead at the Victoria and Albert Museum, said: “The Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund supports the purchase of a wide range of material for the permanent collections of non-nationally funded organisations in England and Wales. We are delighted that this collection of photographs by John Bulmer has been acquired by Hartlepool Art Gallery and featured in the current exhibition John Bulmer: Northern Light. They will benefit audiences for years to come.”

John Bulmer said: “I’m so glad the photographs will have a permanent home in the town where they were taken. I’m honoured that Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund have supported the purchase and would like to thank all involved.”

Born in 1938, John Bulmer is best-known for his pioneering colour photojournalism in the Sixties, when he worked for, among others, the Sunday Times magazine. In the winter of 1962-63 he visited Hartlepool for Image magazine, taking more than 40 photographs. At the time of his visit, during a bitterly cold winter, Hartlepool was suffering from mass unemployment. Gray’s shipyard had just closed with the loss of 1,400 jobs and the future looked bleak.

His images record the town before it changed, but also the daily life of men and women who were out of work and gathering sea coal from the beach, waiting in the dole queue or visiting the labour exchange. Despite the hardships people were facing, John Bulmer’s photographs convey a sense of resilience, humour and even optimism.

Northern Light / John Bulmer
Hartlepool Art Gallery
until 4 May 2024
Tuesdays to Saturdays 10am – 5pm
Free entry
https://www.culturehartlepool.com/art-gallery/

Images: (top) John Bulmer pictured at the Northern Light exhibition. (lower) Hartlepool Art Gallery Curator Angela Thomas and John Bulmer at the exhibition. Photography: Dave Charnley Photography.

The Colin Ford lecture recognises the significant role that Colin Ford CBE has made to British photography since the 1970s, as a curator, museum director, and scholar. This event celebrates Colin's knowledge, scholarship and long-standing interest in Julia Margaret Cameron. 2024 also sees the 150th anniversary of Cameron's Annals of My Glass House (1874) which is held in the RPS Collection at the V&A Museum, London.

Letters from Life presents live readings from correspondence between Julia Margaret Cameron and Lord Alfred Tennyson, William Thackeray, GF Watts, Sir John Herschel and Anne Thackeray Ritchie, including newly discovered letters.

Created and introduced by Kathleen McLaughlin, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

The texts will be read by Lynne Truss, Timothy West CBE and others to be announced.

Letters from Life
Monday 13 May 2024, 6 – 7.15 pm
Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre, Weston Library, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG
Registration is free, but must be made via the Bodleian Library at the link here 

While arranging a visit to the photographic archive of Central Library I discovered that they have a great many photographs which are not accessible because they have not been catalogued. There are not sufficient members of staff to catalogue them, especially in these straitened times. "You are just the sort of person we need to help us catalogue our photographs"

I now spend just one morning a week cataloguing photographs. I have just completed recording the contents of a box of 3 1/4" glass slides of Notts churches by Alfred J. Loughton. A new photographer to me but there is a website ajloughton.co.uk. He isn't a Frederick Evans but the images are interesting.

Could you spare half a day to help your local library?

The PHRC conference 2024 is now open for registration. There have always been unacknowledged or under-acknowledged forces that operate around photography. Some of them are human, like family members, camera assistants, darkroom personnel, curators, editors and the like. Others are non-human, like algorithms, chemicals, equipment of various sorts and transportation. The explosion of AI has pushed the field of photography studies to once again consider the practices surrounding photographs, but has at the same time neglected existing assistants like the skills force, the editors, image technicians, programmers, curators, and historians that enable and narrate photographic making. In the face of so many assistants, the primacy of the photographer as a central person through whom we understand photography recedes.

In this PHRC 2024 conference, speakers will consider the role and agency of human and non-human assistants in the making, collecting and dissemination of photographs. The papers to be delivered will employ diverse methodological perspectives that not only enlarge the notion of the photographic assistant, but also consider the role of those assistants (or that assistance) in the formation of photographic practices, images, archives and histories.

The Photographer's Assistant
Photographic History Research Centre
17-18 June 2024
Hybrid event, Online and at De Montfort University, Leicester.
Open for registration and programme here: https://photographichistory.wordpress.com/annual-conference-2024/

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum at the University of Exeter has announced that it has received a £104,456 grant each year for the next five years from Research England’s Higher Education Museum and Galleries Collection Fund.  The awards recognises and supports the unique and significant contribution that the museum makes to the wider research community and enables this to grow.

The funding will be used for more staff to allow more cataloguing of the museum’s ever-growing collection. It will also enable greater digitisation of the collection so people can enjoy it remotely and give the opportunity to expand the museum’s successful stipend scheme for researchers.

The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is the leading moving image museum in the UK and is home to one of the most significant such collections in the world. It was formed from the collection of the renowned director Bill Douglas and his friend Peter Jewell and many donations have been added since. Experts from around the world come to examine the 90,000-strong collection at the University of Exeter’s Streatham campus. It is also a public museum, free and open to all.

Museum Curator Dr Phil Wickham said: “Our mission is to follow in Bill Douglas’s footsteps and preserve these wonderful objects for the future and give the public and those researching the history of moving image access to them. Our collection – and interest from experts – has grown significantly in the past decade. People entrust their own collections to us because they know we will take very good care of them, and because they will be available for others to study and see.

“We are thrilled to have been given this funding from Research England. It will allow us to continue building this unique resource and further extend our reach to scholars, students and the public. It will allow us to take on further staff and support to enable further digitisation and cataloguing to open up the collections further, and initiatives to support visits from external researchers.”

More than 1,000 items are on display in the museum galleries. The collection is accessible to all and covers three centuries of moving image history, including over 23,000 film books; 1,500 stereoscope cards; 650 magic lantern slides and 23 magic lanterns. There are more than thousands of items relating to stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe, shadow puppets from around the world, an original 1896 Lumière Cinématographe, books signed by Thomas Edison and annotated by his inventor W.K.L Dickson, as well as many items used by ordinary film fans that makes the museum a people’s history of the moving image. In addition to objects the collection includes a significant library and archive. 

 See: https://www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/

Photographs: © Michael Pritchard, October 2022

The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford has announed that it will re-openin two phases in 2025 following 'unforeseen delays' during its £6m Sound and Vision capital redevelopment.The museum will now reopen to visitors at the start of Bradford’s City of Culture year, with the new Sound and Vision galleries launching later in 2025.

The museum closed in June 2023 to undergo a £6 million transformation bringing in two new permanent galleries, a new passenger lift and an improved entrance. During the lift's excavation contractors discovered an unexpected make-up of ground that has led to delays.

Commenting on the change Jo Quinton-Tulloch, the director of the National Science and Media Museum, said “While the impact of this delay in the short term is frustrating, our Sound and Vision project will future proof the museum for decades to come,” said . “Our new Sound and Vision galleries will completely transform the museum’s visitor offer by showcasing our incredible collections and ensuring visitors can find stories that resonate with them". She added: the additional passenger lift is “a crucial part of our transformation that will enable us to welcome many more visitors in 2025 and beyond. “Despite extensive survey work before the excavation commenced, our contractors encountered an unexpected make-up of ground at the base of the lift, which took much longer to excavate than anticipated. Whilst the impact of this delay in the short term is frustrating, our Sound and Vision project will future proof the museum for decades to come.”

Designed by gallery architects, AOC (Agents of Change), the new galleries will showcase the museum’s core collections through the four key themes of Innovation, Identities, Storytelling and Everywhere, to lead visitors on a journey through the explosion of sound and image technologies, and the impact on our lives. The latest design renders illustrate some of these themes and the key moments and stories that visitors will be able to explore throughout the galleries.  

In the section on Identities, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in an interactive space with ‘sound showers’, a mixing desk and dance floor to evoke the shared experience and thrill of live performances and gigs. A key moment in Storytelling will take visitors through the long history of creating animation from flipbooks and stop motion to digital illustrations through the stories of beloved fictional characters such as the March Hare from Alice in Wonderland. Local radio station, Bradford Community Broadcasting (BCB) will also feature in the new galleries in Everywhere, where an interactive studio space will tell the story of how sound and image technologies have enabled local community representation in broadcasting and give visitors the chance to be a radio DJ.   

In a newly reconfigured part of the galleries which has opened up a double height space, artist Nayan Kulkarni has been commissioned to create an interactive installation called ‘Circus.’ Visitors will be invited to enter a room that comes to life using a captured live feed of themselves, like a chamber of mirrors, encouraging visitors to engage with broadcast technologies and see how image manipulation has changed over time.  

The museum has shared some of the designs that can be expected when it reopens next year, including an interactive space with ‘sound showers’, a mixing desk and dance floor to evoke the shared experience and thrill of live performances and gigs. Elsewhere, the artist Nayan Kulkarni has been commissioned to create an interactive installation called Circus, where visitors will enter a 'chamber of mirrors' room filled with a captured live feed of themselves.

“Our new gallery designs reveal how the spaces will be dynamic, interactive and inspiring, underlining how all areas of our collection from photography to videogaming are embedded in every aspect of our lives,” said Quinton-Tulloch. “Visitors will be able to see the first ever photographic image, have a go at being a sound engineer, step inside the studio of a local radio station and enter a live art installation. We’ve also worked closely with local communities to ensure we’re telling stories that are relevant to Bradford, showcasing the creativity and diversity of our home city. We look forward to welcoming visitors back into the museum and into our new Sound and Vision galleries in 2025.”

See: https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/about-us/sound-and-vision-project
and FAQs: https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/closure-FAQ

The first part of the Directory of Travelling Photographers. Part I: 1841-1881 is now available online via the Romany and Traveller Family History Society website. The intention is to produce a second part for 1882-1901 later this year, and to add further details as they emerge. The primary aims of the publication are to create greater awareness of the role of travelling photographers within the wider community, and to assist with correlation of photographs to photographers.

The idea of creating a Directory of Travelling Photographers was inspired by RTFHS member Chy Hersey’s searches for ‘van dwellers’ in the British Newspaper Archive, connected to an interest in the family history and social history of Romanies and Travellers in the British Isles. As Chy began to gather references, many were of ‘travelling photographers’ – and it soon became evident that relatively little had been researched and documented about this occupation or the lives of the individuals who followed it, even though there were considerable numbers of them even within 20 years of the invention of photography.

There was obviously pioneering work to be done and Chy took up the challenge. The Directory is the result – and now Chy has allowed the RTFHS to make it available online to benefit those who have Romany or Traveller ancestors who give their occupation as ‘photographer’ in historic documents as well as people with a broader interest in the history of photography.

The Directory has a short introduction with notes on search methods and related resources, followed by listings in chronological order. Brief details are given, usually of first reference, together with source of information.  Entries can also be searched for surnames, locations, etc. The lists include some related details which place the lives of travelling photographers in context, such as their family links, area and methods of travel, perils and misfortunes.

Directory of Travelling Photographers. Part I: 1841-1881
Resarched and compiled by Chy Hersey
Published by Romany & Traveller Family History Society (R&TFHS)
Free to download on: https://rtfhs.org.uk/directory-of-travelling-photographers-1841-1881/

Cartomania was a photographic phenomenon that seized the public imagination at the beginning of the 1860s. Small portraits, dubbed cartes de visite, were avidly exchanged with friends and family, quickly earning a reputation as ‘the paper currency of social intercourse’. Compiled into albums and prominently displayed in the home to peruse, assess and discuss, this first explosion of commercial portraiture proved a wildly popular craze, particularly once celebrities embraced the new format.

Paul Frecker’s lavishly illustrated account brings fresh insight into the careers of the enterprising men and women who established studios and into the lives of those who passed before their cameras. With unparalleled depth of research and evocative prose, he vividly brings to life the photographers and many of their subjects. From reigning queens and visiting sultans to grieving mothers and nefarious criminals, all life lies within. Whether dressed in their best or in fancy dress, Cartomania’s devotees and their often extraordinary stories are laid bare in this fascinating view of mid-Victorian society.

Cartomania: Photography and celebrity in the nineteenth century
Paul Frecker
September Publishing
£40, hardcovers
ISBN: 978191461362
Preorder: https://septemberpublishing.org/product/cartomania-hb/

BPH reported on the transfer of Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert's archive to St Andrews University in 2022 and a smaller gift to the School of Scottish Studies Architecture in 2021 (links below). Jeremy has added some further information about his archive on his website. 

It notes: As a proud Scot, and with a knowledge of the important contribution of Scots photographers to the world of photography, it was Jeremy’s wish that his collection of work, spanning the 30-years of his career to date, be held by a Scottish institution ensuring its accessibility to researchers, historians and the wider public.

Jeremy’s photographic collection consists of approximately 20TB of digital photography, comprising the RAW files of almost 1-million images all with captions, dates and keywords embedded. The edit of this work consists of approximately 20,000 images, including digitised versions of the most important stories from the work shot on film.

The collection also holds approximately 7,000+ pages of negatives newly housed and organised into archival boxes. Accompanying this are boxes of contact sheets, boxes of work prints and finished prints.

Boxes of tear sheets from his editorial career, with examples of his images as used in newspapers and magazines exist, as does the miscellanea of his 30-year career as a working photographer in Scotland and Asia.

Read more here: https://www.jeremysuttonhibbert.com/sutton-hibbert-archive-st-andrews

See: https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/jeremy-sutton-hibbert-gifts-1-million-photographs-to-st-andrews and https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/school-of-scottish-studies-archive-acquires-sutton-hibbert-photog

To commemorate the centenary of Dorothy Bohm’s birth, Beam Editions has published a new book that takes a fresh look at the work of one of the most prolific and admired female photographers of the second half of the 20th Century. This is a rare opportunity to acquire an original print of an image that will feature in the volume – all sales will contribute to the production of the book. A special edition copy of the book forms part of this offer which is only available until 10 April.

The launch of the book will coincide with the upcoming exhibition of her work at the Photographers Gallery, London in Spring/Summer 2024. It features an introduction from Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photographs, Victoria & Albert Museum, a biographical essay by art historian Monica Bohm-Duchen and short texts by a wide range of notable contributors, each focussing on a single photograph.

Dorothy Bohm at 100. A life in photography
Hardcovers, approx 200 pages
Original print from the volume available until 10 April
Details: https://www.beameditions.uk/dorothy-bohm

The European Society for the History of Photography has published PhotoResearcher with papers from last year's conference on the darkroom. The issue is introduced by Sara Dominici, the conference convenor and includes nine papers presented during the two-day conference. The issue can be purchased in print on as a download

PhotoResaercher, no. 41 2024
The Darkroom. Chemical, Cultural, Industrial
Guest edited by Sara Dominci
European Society for the History of Photography
€21
Details: http://www.eshph.org/journal/photoresearcher-no-41-2024/

The latest issue of The Classic preview the AIPAD photography show in April and Robert Hershkowitz's exhibition of French Calotypes at Photo London in May. Alongside these are interviews with Timothy Prus of the Archive of Modern Conflict, Matt Butson of the Getty Archive who discusses Stefan Lorant, and Antoine Romand, the Paris-based photography expert. Two features look at the Etherton Gallery in Tuscon and a discussion of the framing of photographs in the nineteenth century. 

As usual The Classic can be downloaded for free or copies are available at selected fairs and venues.

See: https://theclassicphotomag.com/the-classic-11/

This talk will reflect upon Dr Amy King's doctoral research undertaken at the Sainsbury Research Unit, University of East Anglia, exploring the photographic archive of Upoto, a Baptist Missionary Society station established in what was the northern Congo Free State in 1890.

Her thesis was titled: Visual Testaments: Re-collecting the Photographic Archive of the Upoto Mission 1890 - 1915. This research project drew upon the unusually rich photographic sources connected with the missionaries who were stationed there in order to interrogate the historical evidence they contain. Methodologically she was interested in how this visual evidence worked with and against different kinds of textual and material sources which have survived from Upoto outside of Africa. Her research was concerned with the kinds of unique historical evidence that photographs contain, and what visual sources can contribute to our understanding of the past.

Her doctoral thesis interrogated the visual strategies through which mission work at Upoto was represented for audiences in Britain in the late nineteenth century and the tensions between the public narratives of evangelical work and more privately documented experiences. It also examined the diverse, complex and evolving relationships between British missionaries and local Bapoto and Bangombe people at Upoto as the Christian community was established.

Her original study of the missionary archive from Upoto has generated new insights into the presence, actions and experiences of Congolese people who lived at Upoto during a period of immense social and cultural upheaval brought by colonialism".

You are warmly invited to the first of our Spring series of 'Opening the Angus' online seminars, when Dr Amy King will be speaking about her work using the marvellous photographic archive of the Baptist Missionary Society, which is held in the Angus Library.

The Photographic Archive of the Upoto Mission, Congo Free State: Some Reflections on Using Visual Sources to Expand Mission Histories
Dr Amy King
Hosted by Centre for Baptist Studies and The Angus Library. The Centre works in partnership with the Angus Library and Archive at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, and with the Baptist Historical Society
Online, 11 April 2024 at 1930 (BST)
Free, register here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/RdiEJKhzXNnT

ImageL Portrait of Harry and Jessie White and their child, illustration in Harry White, Missionary to the Congo (Roberts 1901, opposite page 1).

Topfoto, the remarkable historical picture agency and archive founded in 1927, has revealed a reimagined brand identity to welcome the next chapter of this nearly 100-year young firm.  

Defined by a vast legacy and pioneering attitude, the Topfoto brand embraces both our impressive heritage and trailblazing spirit. The profound challenge of generative AI means this is the exact moment to show why and how we are amongst the best independent photographic archives in the world, passionately committed to authenticity, exclusive collections and commercial thinking on our clients’ behalf. 

The new home page includes a short video clip of the Topfoto Archive based in Kent, UK - topfoto.co.uk

The Dutch National Archives has announced that the Archive's photogeraphy collections including the Spaarnestad Photo Foundation will close to users effective from April 1, 2024. The Spaarnestad collection, which consists of approximately 15 million photos, will be preserved as a collection in its entirety. 

The National Archives has been working with the foundation since 2010 and has the collection in its possession. Until now, the services surrounding the collection were provided by Spaarnestad Photo, which is no longer sustainable. More than 1 million photos are accessible via the National Archives' image bank. About 400,000 photos are digitally available and downloadable to everyone. This remains the case.

The Dutch Archives states that the closure was necessary for the bulk of the collection - some 800,000 photographs - because copyright and/or image rights apply to them. The National Archives is currently in discussions with an external party to provide the services previously provided by the Spaarnestad Photo Foundation in the short term. 

Spaarnestad Photo provided services for the Spaarnestad collection, so that (copy)rights holders received payment for image use. A solution to the issue of copyright payments is currently being worked on. Part of the payments for images went to Spaarnestad to cover costs.  Even though the foundation will cease to exist on 1 April 2024, the collection will be preserved in its entirety.  The NA is currently considering next steps for specific services to museums, media, publishers and other external users.

The Dutch national Archives  manages 15 million photos, with more than one million online. The photo collection provides an overview of events from the period between 1865 and 1990. Of these  more than 400,000 high-resolution photographs are available for use for free. The National Archives has relinquished its copyright for most of these photographs and they can be used freely, including in commercial publications.

The closure has prompted an outcry from historians and users and claims that the Archive's photography collections have a low priorities with a lack of trained staff to support them.  

Spaarnestad Photo Foundation runs one of the world’s largest photographic archives, managing a collection of over 13,000,000 images, specializing in Dutch life dated from 1867 through until the digital era. It is undoubtedly the richest visual resource documenting how Dutch people lived and breathed in the mid to late 19th and entire 20th centuries. In the collection you can find art, culture, festivals, inventions, fashion, food, housing, traffic, healthcare, business and finance imagery and much, much more.

Working hand in hand with the Nationaal Archief of the Netherlands, the complete physical collection is recognized as a national heritage. Since 2011 the photo collection has been rehoused and is conserved at their depot in The Hague, while Spaarnestad Photo handles the professional usage.

See: https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/nieuws/de-spaarnestad-collectie

https://spaarnestadphoto.nl/spaarnestad-photo

Image: Fotocollectie Spaarnestad Onderwerpen / 477067_006