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Photographic history course brochure

Posted by Michael Pritchard on March 11, 2009 at 8:00

De Montfort University, Leicester, has launched the course brochure for it's new full-time MA course titled Photographic History and Practice which starts in October 2009. The university is currently recruiting students for what is the only course of it's type within Europe or the United States. A scholarship is available to fund, in part, one place. Full details are due to be announced shortly and will be posted here. DMU has been active over recent years in making four online photographic databases available which have received international recognition. As exclusively announced the university has been given Kodak's research library which includes nineteenth and twentieth century journals which will further augment the primary source material available for students and for further research. The course brochure can can downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.

Photography: Object to Idea conference

Posted by Mark Haworth-Booth on October 9, 2009 at 7:46

Photography: Object to IdeaA conference at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London,organised by Zelda Cheatle, curator of the Tosca Fund CollectionSaturday 3 October 2009This is a revised version of a speech by Mark Haworth-BoothMy name is Mark Haworth-Booth ands I am Visiting Professor of Photography at the University of the Arts London. I will soon be chairing the closing Q&A panel on collecting but Zelda has asked me - as a way of letting you know where I’m coming from - to say a few words about my current projects.Among the delegates here today I see some movers and shakers in British photography who have been involved with the medium even longer than I have – for example, Sue Davies, founding director of The Photographers’ Gallery and Colin Ford, founding director of the Department of Photography & Film at the National Portrait Gallery and then of the Media Museum. I wonder if they share my views about certain ways in which photography has changed since we got involved some 40 years ago. To begin with, a conference like this, full of well-informed, articulate and imaginative speakers on photography, would have been an extremely rare event in 1969. Last week I gave a lecture at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. My topic was ‘The Reality Effect: questions of photography and truth’. I first gave it as my inaugural lecture as Visiting Professor of the UAL at the London College of Communication in, I think, 2003. Some delegates here heard it then. It opens with wonderful remarks by the war historian Geoffrey Best that ‘the historian is a citizen too’ and that ‘history is a form of justice’. My lecture is like the cabbage and potato soup that peasants keep going not only from day to day but year to year. I have updated it regularly and given it at the University of the Third Age, local amenity societies and so on. Everyone has a stake in the truthfulness or otherwise of photographs. My lecture confesses to the many times I have been mistaken about photographs, especially by photographers I have worked with closely – Don McCullin, Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams. It then moves back into the past to consider Roger Fenton, Camille Silvy and (because of the most recent allegations made about the Falling Militiaman, 1936) Robert Capa. As time has gone by, the lecture has got darker and darker. It now takes in the black arts of propaganda of the Bush era and the recent attack on civil liberties in the UK – for example, the 2008 law making it illegal to photograph police officers. It also asks if, as photography has become accepted as an art medium - and under pressure from historical analysis, postmodern theory and our familiarity with digital manipulation - the medium has lost some of its reality. It is good, of course, that we are not naive about the reality of photographs, but I believe a desensitization has also occurred. Photographs of fatal car crashes – for example – can be shown and commented on as artistic works. Despite this, as the photographs from Abu Ghraib and the G20 demonstrations this year have shown, photography remains not only a credible but an essential witness with serious political cinsequences. I commend Paul Lowe’s OPEN-i ‘webinar’ series which discusses such issues as authenticity in photojournalism. Much of my lecture now centres on war and I was impressed by the intellectual boldness but also the curatorial care with which Julian Stallabrass presented images of war in his timely Brighton Biennale on the subject. My lecture closes with a new book by the Israeli writer Ariella Azoulay titled The Civil Contract of the Photograph. My lecture can be accessed as a podcast at the website of the Art Gallery of Ontario.I have two lectures lumbering towards publication. ‘Reyner Banham and photography’ will appear soon in The Banham Lectures from Berg. Banham showed that it is not necessary to write ponderously to be taken seriously. His books have the same accessibility and wit as his journalism. We had a fine demonstration of these qualities from Geoff Dyer this morning but I must say that all of the talks have been refreshingly jargon-free. The other lecture in the press concerns Camille Silvy and the art of art reproduction – I gave it first at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and then again in this lecture theatre in June. My main current project is the first retrospective of Camille Silvy. I first encountered Silvy’s name and work at the V&A’s exhibition ‘From Today Painting is Dead’ in 1972. I was not interested in nineteenth century photographs at the time but Silvy’s River Scene, France (1858) changed all that. Five years later I became responsible for it and around 300,000 other photographs as photo-curator at the V&A and in 1992 the Getty published my monograph on the River Scene. My new Silvy exhibition and book, Camille Silvy (1834-1910): Photographer of Modern Life, will mark the centenary of his death. I am working on this with Jeu de Paume, Paris, and the National Portrait Gallery, London – it will be shown at the NPG from July to October 2010. I have been astonished by the richness of material Silvy – so it seems - arranged for me to discover. There are the precious prints in the V&A, which have been there since 1868. Then the 12 volumes of Daybooks of his London studio which were bought by the National Portrait Gallery in 1904. Then the boxes of proof sheets, also at the V&A, provenance unknown. Then the collection of unpublished photographs kept by Silvy’s descendants from generation to generation, including letters, business documents, his scrap-book, the unique catalogue of his studio sale and even a dress that appears in cartes de visite of his wife. I am publishing the sale catalogue in the autumn issue of History of Photography and I am thrilled with the handsome book being prepared by the NPG. Silvy’s descendants speak of their act of preservation as ‘le devoir de mémoire‘ – the duty of memory. My experience with Silvy shows that there are still great treasures to be discovered and studied. This conference has shown the same thing. It is a time of great promise for the new generation of curators, including Simon Baker, recently appointed curator of photography and contemporary art at Tate.Today we have had more than a glimpse into a fascinating, many-sided, collection of great richness. This is the moment to thank Mehmet and Zelda for devising a wonderful day of reflection on, and exploration of, the Tosca Fund collection - and also to applaud the speakers who have entertained and informed us so well. Thank you.

EXCLUSIVE: Niépce in England - a major conference

Posted by Michael Pritchard on March 9, 2010 at 21:00

The National Media Museum, Bradford, and Getty Conservation Institute, have announced a major international conference on recent advancements in scientific, art historical, and conservation research relating to the photographs which Joseph Nicéphore Niépce brought to England in 1827. The conference will take place in Bradford from 13-14 October 2010 and additionally will provide a unique opportunity to examine three Niépce plates out of their frames.

This two-day conference will present the results of new, unpublished research and scientific investigations, which have been undertaken during the NMeM and GCI Collaborative Research Project. In the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the National Media Museum are three plates by Niépce and the conference will address the research and conservation of these photographic treasures, and will discuss future conservation measures that would provide for their long-term protection and preservation. The reason why Niépce brought these plates to England, and their subsequent history, will also be outlined more fully than previously published.

A copy of the announcement brochure is available here: Niépce First Announcement.pdf

Aims and objectives

The conference will examine:

• Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and his work

• The first six photographs brought to England by Niépce in context

• Scientific investigation into the three Niépce photographs in the NMeM collection

• Dating and conservation of the original frames

• Conservation and preservation issues related to the Niépce plates

The speakers have yet to be formally announced.

Registration

Attendance to the conference is limited. All registrations will be handled on a first-come, first served basis.

Formal registration for the Niépce in England conference will take place in May 2010. To register initial interest, contact the NmeM at rsvp.nmem@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk. The museum will hold your details on file and email you registration information in May 2010.

The cost is:

• Regular registration (does not include dinner) £90

• Student registration at reduced rate £70

• Wednesday evening dinner £22

Information

For more information, contact the museum via email at rsvp.nmem@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk and it museum will respond to your query accordingly. If you would like to make contact by post, please send correspondence to:

Niépce Conference

c/o Cultural Events Organiser

National Media Museum

Pictureville, Bradford

West Yorkshire BD1 1NQ United Kingdom

The magic lantern, optical projection and early film - lecture series

Posted by Michael Pritchard on October 7, 2009 at 20:30

The Magic Lantern Society & The University of Westminster will present a second series of six evenings of optical magic at the old Polytechnic, fortnightly from Thursday 12 November – Thursday 10 December 2009, and from Thursday 28 January – Thursday 25th February 2010, at The Old Cinema, University of Westminster 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW. The Programme Thursday 12 November @ 7pm Phantasmagoria-mania ‘Professor’ Mervyn Heard An exploration through the playbills and other ephemera of the bizarre ghost-show entertainment known as the phantasmagoria as witnessed in London and the provinces at the turn of the 18th century. Mervyn Heard is a magic lantern showman and the author of ‘Phantasmagoria : The Secret Life of the Magic Lantern’. He is also Chairman of the Magic Lantern Society www.heard.supanet.com Thursday 26 November @ 7pm Lavater – The Shadow of History Simon Warner The noted physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801) returns for one night only to reclaim his place at the centre of European culture, armed with magic lantern, silhouette apparatus and a curious tale of photographic experimentation in his Zürich cellar. Simon Warner is a photographer and video artist with interests in the history of photography and visual media. With a NESTA Fellowship he has created a series of impersonations of key figures in European culture and took part in the Arts Council England touring exhibition Alchemy (2006-7). www.simonwarner.co.uk Thursday 10 December @ 7pm Grappling with Ghosts: Staging ghost effects in the modern theatre. Paul Kieve Hours in dark theatres, expensive quotes from Pilkington’s glass, ill tempered Opera singers in Hamburg and perhaps the world’s first ghost doves. This talk explores the fascinating tale of how the original impractical Dircksian Phantasmagoria of the 1850‘s came into its in the 1860‘s and how, even with huge advancement in stage engineering and lighting, is still spookily difficult to stage. Paul Kieve is one of the UK’s most prolific designers of theatrical illusions (The Lord Of The Rings, Zorro, The Invisible Man). He is the only magician to appear in and consult on the Harry Potter movies and is the author of the internationally published book Hocus Pocus. His current projects include Zorro at The Folies Bergere in Paris and the forthcoming musical ‘Ghost’. www.stageillusion.com Christmas Break Thursday 28th January @ 7pm Visualising the Marvellous: G. A. Smith and his film 'Santa Claus' (1898) Dr Frank Gray G. A. Smith (1864-1959) was one of the great early film pioneers. A stage mesmerist and an associate of the Society for Psychical Research, his six 'spooky' films of 1898 represent his fascination with the 'other side' and his close association with late Victorian paranormal culture. Dr Frank Gray is the Director of Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton and a specialist in late Victorian cinema. www.brighton.ac.uk/screenarchive/ Thursday 11 February @ 7pm Geared to the Stars – Victorian Astronomy through the Magic Lantern Mark Butterworth Lectures on astronomy were a common form of popular entertainment in the nineteenth century. With an original Victorian magic lantern projector and delicate, hand painted glass slides from the 1840's, Mark Butterworth recreates one of these illustrated lectures. Using complex and intricate mechanical "rackwork" slides to illustrate astronomical concepts, it gives an introduction to mid-19th century astronomy. Mark Butterworth researches astronomical history and specialises in understanding how popular astronomy was presented to the general public in the 18th and 19th century. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. www.markbutterworth.co.uk Thursday 25 February @ 7pm From Anorthoscope to Zoopraxiscope – an A-Z of Victorian animated cartoons Stephen Herbert Moving image 19th-century ‘toys’ – philosophical instruments for the drawing room, intended to promote intellectual discussion and provide amusement for adults as least as much as for children – come to life with this illustrated talk. Stephen Herbert is a Visiting Research Fellow, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, Kingston University London. www.stephenherbert.co.uk Admission is free, commencing 7pm sharp. As this series of talks is entirely free it is advisable to come early, Tickets will be issued from 6pm. For further online information about the talks visit : www.magiclantern.org.uk

Camille Silvy, 1834-1910

Posted by Mark Haworth-Booth on January 28, 2010 at 16:50

Just to add a little more to the Silvy thread: Camille Silvy died on 2 February 1910, so next Tuesday is the centenary of his death. A number of Silvy aficionados I know will be raising a glass in his memory on that day. Please join us virtually. The Silvy centenary retrospective runs at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 15 July-24 October.Mark Haworth-Booth

Popular Optical Media - prize essay competition

Posted by Michael Pritchard on April 20, 2009 at 9:33

The Projection Box has announced details of it's 2009-2010 Essay Awards which carry a first prize of £250 and publication of the winning essay in the journal Early Popular Visual Culture. The award, now in its third year, aims to encourage new research and thinking into any historical, artistic or technical aspect of popular optical media, including: photography, early cinema, panoramas and dioramas, the magic lantern, shadow theatre and optical toys, and to promote engaging, accessible, and imaginative work. Essays of 5000-8000 words should not have been previously published and may be co-authored. They should be submitted in English. The deadline for entries of 30 January 2010 and full details and application form can be found here: www.pbawards.co.uk.

Forth Bridge: Evelyn George Carey

Posted by michaelg on June 19, 2009 at 0:36

Evelyn George Carey Forth Bridge | Testo di Michael Gray & Angelo MaggiFederico Motta Editore | Milano 2009 | 144pp 260 x 290 mm | Duotone | Hardback | Italian & EnglishQuoting from the text:"The building of the Forth Bridge was marked and controlled through photography; the official photographer: Evelyn George Carey, a young engineer and personal assistant to the designer, Benjamin Baker worked on the project over a period of eight years between 1882 to 1890. His pictures capture, clearly and lyrically, the scale, tensions and inherent dangers of such a project.""In a sense, the scale and importance of Carey’s achievement has yet to be fully appreciated. The body of work created by this young engineer-photographer between 1882 and 1890 as an employee of Fowler & Baker stands as an exemplar for all photographers working within this increasingly complex ever evolving domain. The photographs are pre-eminently sequential, tracing and recording the progress of the bridge’s construction, with an informed and critical eye. According to Patrizio, “Carey’s photographs are the visual expression of a very particular engineering ambition which is fully understood by the photographer.” The later, modernist fascination with such structures may be understood through a study of his series as a whole; the Forth Bridge shows, in Michael Baxandall’s terms, ‘a kind of expressive functionalism’ "University of Venice, Department of Engineering | Ordine degli Ingeneri di Padova | National Archive of Scotland

Early British Infra Red Photography

Posted by Michael Pritchard on August 14, 2009 at 6:30

Donald Stewart is looking for information on early uses of, and references to, infra red photography. In particular, and in his own words: "I'm trying to get information on early British infra red photography, experiments or practice but other than its use in astronomical studies"...Please comment here so that he can pick up any feedback.

Scott Polar Research images online

Posted by Michael Pritchard on March 11, 2009 at 8:00

The collections held by the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, are among the richest in the world for the study of polar environments. Work began in April 2007 on the Freeze Frame project to capture and preserve its archive of historical images in digital form. This launched on 4 March 2009 and includes some of the most iconic polar images by Herbert Ponting, through to daguerreotypes and modern prints and slides.Click here to visit the website. Over 20,000 photographic negatives and positives from 1845-1960, representing some of the most important visual resources for research into British and international polar exploration are represented. The work is still on-going so, for example, some of the earliest material from 1845 has yet to be added to the site. The digitisation of related documents - information from personal journals and official reports from expeditions on which these photographs were taken - will provide historical and cultural context for the images. The Freeze Frame project is developing an online database of freely available visual and textual resources to support learning, teaching and research into topics relating to the history of Arctic and Antarctic exploration and science. Through a series of interpretative web pages and e-learning resources the project will provide access to hidden collections for all educational levels. We will encourage users to discover polar environments through the eyes of those explorers and scientists who dared to go into the last great wildernesses on earth.

The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton and Antarctic Photography

Posted by Michael Pritchard on October 5, 2009 at 20:37

2 October 2009 – 11 April 2010, The Queen's Gallery, Edinburgh This exhibition of remarkable Antarctic photography by Herbert George Ponting and Frank Hurley marks the 100th anniversary of Captain Scott’s ill-fated journey to the South Pole. Ponting’s extraordinary images record Scott’s Terra Nova expedition of 1910-13, which led to the tragic death of five of the team on their return from the South Pole. Hurley’s dramatic icescapes were taken during Ernest Shackleton’s Polar expedition on Endurance in 1914-16, which ended with the heroic sea journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Presented to King George V and today part of the Royal Photograph Collection, these sets of photographs are among the finest examples of the artists’ works in existence. Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) set sail for Antarctica on Terra Nova in 1910, determined to be the first to reach the South Pole. His team included Herbert Ponting (1870-1935), the first official photographer to participate in a polar expedition. Ponting was already a well-known and successful travel photographer when he was introduced to Scott in 1909. As the ship sailed south from New Zealand, Ponting began work immediately, recording the first icebergs encountered in December 1910 and scenes on board. He photographed as much as possible during his time in Antarctica, producing around 2,000 glass plate negatives between December 1910 and March 1912. A selection of his pictures of the expedition crew, wildlife and spectacular landscape is included in the exhibition. Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) had travelled with Captain Scott on an earlier voyage to Antarctica, before leading his own unsuccessful attempt to reach the South Pole in 1907-9. In 1914, galvanised by the achievement of the Pole and Scott’s death, he made a bid to cross the southern continent on foot. Among his team was the Australian photographer Frank Hurley (1885-1962), who joined Shackleton’s ship Endurance in Buenos Aires. Hurley photographed activity on board, even climbing the rigging to obtain the best viewpoints. When the ship, crushed between ice floes, began to disintegrate in October 1915, the photographer spent almost three days on the ice, determined not to miss the final moments of the vessel. His images of Endurance listing into the frozen depths are included in the exhibition, along with photographs of Shackleton’s rescue party as it set sail from Elephant Island. Also included in the exhibition are the Union flag presented by King George V to Shackleton, which the explorer carried with him throughout his epic journey; Polar medals; and books from the Royal Library, including a unique example of Aurora Australis, the first book to be printed in the Antarctic. There is a lecture series accompanying the exhibition. Details here: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=74 The exhibition microsite is here: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/HOTGA/

Bamforth slide catalogue launched

Posted by Michael Pritchard on April 20, 2009 at 9:00

The Magic Lantern Society has launched The Illustrated Bamforth Slide Catalogue a searchable DVD and accompanying booklet which records and illustrates the lantern slide sets of the Bamforth company. James Bamforth and Company was the leading producer of Life Model lantern slide set between 1890 and the early 1900s and the DVD describes 1400 slides listing around 20,000 individual slides of which 4003 are illustrated. The DVD includes reproductions of Bamforth catalogues and slide readings and the booklet gives a wider contextual history of the company and its output. James Bamforth estanlished his Holmforth photographic studio in 1870 producing portraits and began the production of magic lantern slides in the early 1880s by the late 1890s production had grown to an industrial scale. The firm also co-operated with the Bradford-based Riley Brothers company and after 1902 published an extensive series of postcards. An office was established in New York. The firm also produced cinematograph films. After 1915 the company concentrated on postcard production and in 1918 the film business mnoved to London. The firm ceased to operated in 1993. The DVD has been produced in an edition of 350 and may be obtained from the Magic Lantern Society via its website or through the honorary secretary: Mike Smith, The Magic Lantern Society, South Park, Galphay Road, Kirkby Malzeard, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3RX. It costs £25.

Early Popular Visual Culture

Posted by Michael Pritchard on August 6, 2009 at 21:00

The latest issue of this journal (Volume 7, Issue 2 July 2009), carries a paper by Julia F. Munro, titled 'The optical stranger': Photographic anxieties in British periodical literature of the 1840s and early 1850s, pages 167-183. The abstract reads: An examination of periodical literature from the period of the invention of photography in 1839 and onwards reveals that the reception of the medium on the part of the Victorians was characterized by an ambivalent response of enthusiasm as well as anxiety, an ambivalence that grew increasingly insistent despite familiarity with the medium as it became popular in the early 1850s. This article examines in depth the representations of photography in a selection of fictional and periodical texts from the 1840s and early 1850s, in order to trace the development of the anxieties about photography and to elucidate how such anxieties evolved in light of the medium's growing ubiquity. In serving as a space in which Victorians expressed their ambivalence, the texts provide valuable insight into the Victorians' negotiation of photography and the visual culture within which the medium operated. The various photographic anxieties the author considers include the troubling association of photography with the magical, the unease felt towards the photograph as memorial, and the concerns regarding the medium's agency and the perfect photographic copy it produces. The latter two qualities of the medium prove to be central concerns that underlie the other expressions of anxiety voiced in regard to photography. More on the journal can be found here: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713735038~link=cover

In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes Before the Digital Age

Posted by Michael Wong on March 7, 2010 at 18:16

For those BPH-bloggers interested in the technological developments in photographic processes from the origins of the medium until the advent of digital photography, there is an interesting book just published in Jan 2010. Written by Sarah Kennel with Diane Waggoner and Alice Carver-Kubik, the book is a compilation of essential information about the predominant negative, positive, and photomechanical processes in use since 1839.

It offers concise technical descriptions of the processes and their common uses, and is illustrated with museum-quality illustrations (some at high magnification to show print characteristics) and diagrams indicating the basic structure of each negative or print process.

The guidebook is organized alphabetically for convenient reference and includes a time line with the major dates of use for each process over the past 170 years, an extensive glossary, and an index of variant names. The 104-page softcover book features 57 color illustrations and 27 diagrams, and is available through Amazon.co.uk (ISBN-10: 0500288704).

More importantly, an exhibition (of the same name) to complement this book is currently being held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC until 14th March 2010 - you still have time to fly there ! Refer to the 'Events' section for a very interesting overview of the exhibition and an independent review.
Click for a podcast interview with curator Sarah Kennel.

Michael Hallett / Stefan Lorant Archive

Posted by Pete James on March 9, 2009 at 10:26

Birmingham Library and Archive Services and pleased to announce the acquisition of the The Michael Hallett / Stefan Lorant Archive. This body of material relates to the specific area of picture journalism (modern photojournalism) collected by Michael Hallett between 1990 and 2007. It represents the most significant collection of ephemera and publications relating to Stefan Lorant outside of the United States.Within this archive there are two sub-areas: the first relating to Stefan Lorant, acknowledged as the godfather of photojournalism and the second relating to photojournalists active between the late-1920s and now. Both provided the raw material for numerous published articles, the former becoming the research for Hallett’s Stefan Lorant: Godfather of Photojournalism (Scarecrow Press, 2006) the latter for Being There (Scarecrow Press, in preparation).The Lorant Archive includes material relating to, as well as copies of books that Stefan Lorant wrote and the magazines that he edited. It includes some rare items such as the only known complete dummy of the magazine Lilliput; bound copies of the first 2 volumes of Weekly Illustrated 1934-1935 (Lorant edited the first 22 issues in vol 1., and 3 volumes of photocopies of predominantly original documents produced by Stefan Lorant ca.1996 (Volume 1: Chronology, Awards, Films, Articles, Books, Reviews.; Volume 2: Articles on Stefan Lorant; Volume 3: Articles written by Stefan Lorant).The Michael Hallett Archive material relating to photojournalists active between the late-1920s and now includes Interviews with influential documentary photographers who were part of an alternative agenda that was occurring independently and was enriched by Lorant’s patronage. This included those who were working in the medium from the late-1920s to others who continue to practise today. Some of these are survivors from Lorant’s editorial era who not only provide a source of history in their own right, they validate, or otherwise, Lorant’s recollections. This group includes Lucien Aigner, Cornell Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Tim Gidal, Carl Mydans, Hanns Hubmann and Gordon Parks, all whom are now dead. The other photographers interviewed - a generation apart from Lorant - include Eddie Adams, Eve Arnold, John Chillingworth, Elliott Erwitt, David Hockney, David Hurn, Mary Ellen Mark, Steve Pyke, George Rodger, Willy Ronis, Sebastião Salgado, Humphrey Spender and Tom Stoddart. A third category encompasses those unknowingly influenced by Lorant but where nevertheless a connection can be shown and these include Martin Parr and Roger Mayne. Along with these interviews there are extensive notes as well as the radio quality recordings on which the articles were based.The acquisition was supported with a grants from the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and The Friends of the National Libraries.

Florence Declaration – Recommendations for the Preservation of Analogue Photo Archives

Posted by Nina Lager Vestberg on December 8, 2009 at 12:28

I want to share with all network members this important initiative from the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut (apologies for cross-posting):"The Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut wishes to generate a greater understanding of the inescapable value of photographs and analogue archives for the future of studies in historic, human and social sciences. Only integration between the analogue format and the digital format can guarantee the correct conservation of the photographic heritage for future studies and at the same time the implementation of digital instruments. Representatives of both the photographic collections and academic research are therefore called on to support and respect the following recommendations."Everyone who has not yet read and signed this declaration is encouraged to do so by visiting:http://www.khi.fi.it/en/photothek/initiativen/index.html

Points of View at the British Library

Posted by Michael Pritchard on August 5, 2009 at 20:32

Points of View: Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs 30 October 2009 - 7 March 2010 . Admission free. • New exhibition unlocks treasure trove of images from the dawn of photography • Over 250 rarely-seen images trace development from gentleman's pursuit to mass pastime • Social document, art form – and a window onto the spirit world… 170 years since its invention, photography remains the main technology through which we understand and record the world. Camera phones are now ubiquitous, but in its infancy, photography was an expensive, elaborate and experimental pursuit. Points of View - the British Library's first ever major photographic exhibition - will examine the development and influence of photography, from its invention in 1839 up to the growth of a popular amateur market in the early 20th century. Rarely displayed items from the British Library's photography collection will show how photography has played a critical role as the primary means of visual expression in the modern age. See www.bl.uk/pointsofview. Among the 250 exhibits are: An oak tree in winter by William Henry Fox Talbot c.1842-43 Talbot's calotype process, which he announced in 1840 and patented the following year, produced a paper negative from which unlimited prints could be made. This example illustrates the expressive artistic possibilities of the process in one of his most accomplished studies. (Calotype negative and salted paper print) The hippopotamus at the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, London by Don Juan Carlos, Duke of Montizon, 1852 The arrival in 1850 of the hippopotamus Obaysch from Egypt - the first to be seen in England - caused immense excitement and doubled the number of visitors to the zoo in that year. Obaysch was joined by a mate in 1854 and survived until 1878. This is one of many natural history studies by the Count of Montizon exhibited at the Society of Arts Photographic Exhibition in 1852. (Salted paper print from a collodion negative) Dictyola dichotoma by Anna Atkins, 1843-53 Between 1843 and 1853, Anna Atkins produced nearly 450 ‘photograms' of specimens of algae, issued in a small edition as British algae. Cyanotype impressions. This is one of only 12 copies that still survives today. The vivid blue of the cyanotype process contributes to the abstract beauty of cameraless images. ( Cyanotype) X-ray photograph of frogs by Josef Maria Eder and Eduard Valenta, c.1896 Wilhelm Röntgen's discovery of x-rays in 1895 brought a new dimension of hitherto invisible structures into photographic visibility. While a risky craze in amateur x-ray photography soon subsided, what was to become a tool of immense practical utility also revealed a world of startling beauty. (Photogravure) Portrait of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, by Lady Alice Mary Kerr, c.1870 Alice Kerr's photographs are largely unknown apart from the rare examples in the British Library collections, but her intense and compelling portraits - particularly this study of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt - merit comparison with the work of Julia Margaret Cameron. (Albumen print) Printing Kodak negatives by daylight, Harrow, by an unknown photographer, 1891 This scene of the factory production of prints at Kodak's Harrow factory illustrates the growth of amateur photography in the last decade of the 19th century. The company's motto of ‘You press the button, we do the rest,' ushered in a new age of popular photography in the 20th century. (Gelatin silver print) The exhibition explores the dramatic transformations in world order during the 19th century that shaped much of the world we live in today. It will draw on the British Library's rich photographic collection of over 300,000 images – including the daguerreotype and calotype, negatives, X-ray photographs and spirit photography. Describing the exhibition the British Library's Head of Visual Materials, John Falconer commented: “Points of View explores the development of photography in the 19th century and how it quickly became a common part of daily life and a major commercial industry. Today we can't imagine life without photos but its invention in the 19 th century opened up a new world of visual communication and personal expression. Drawing on the unique collections held in the British Library, this exhibition examines the growth of the medium from the viewpoint of how and why it was used in the 19 th century, in fields as diverse as travel, portraiture, war, science and industry.” The accompanying events programme will offer a rich mix of performances, talks, family events and more. Highlights so far announced include: Imagining The Impossible (Saturday 31 October) - a Halloween special on the weird world of spirit photography. The Wonderful World of Early Photography: A Discovery Day (Saturday 7 November) - an event for all the family packed full of workshops, talks, demonstrations of the Camera Obscura, Magic Lantern and Pinhole cameras and advice clinics on your own photography collections. A Village Lost and Found (Wednesday 11 November) - photography collector and world renowned musician Brian May and photo historian Elena Vidal introduce the stunning 3D world of 19th century stereograms. Late at The Library: Victorian Values (Friday 20 November) - a photography themed, and burlesque flavoured night of performances, sideshows, music and slightly twisted Victoriana. Professor Heard's Peerless Victorian Magic Lantern Show (Sunday 29 November) - a brilliant introduction to an entertainment massively popular before the advent of recorded sound and moving image. Capture Kings Cross (27 February 2010). A mass participation event, creatively photographing the area around the British Library and the Kings Cross development. The British Library will be offering a range of learning activities to accompany the exhibition, including workshops for secondary and further education students, and guided tours for those in higher education and adult groups. An accompanying book, Points of View: Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs, will be published by the British Library in November 2009. It will feature over 150 colour illustrations including photographs from many of the most celebrated names in 19th century photography such as Francis Frith, Felix Teynard, Samuel Bourne and Peter Henry Emerson, as well as numerous lesser known names who made significant contributions to the medium. The book will be published by the British Library in November 2009, available in hardback at £29.95 (ISBN 978 0 7123 5081 5) and paperback at £15.95 (ISBN 978 0 7123 5082 2 ) with 176 pages, 270 x 220 mm, over 150 colour illustrations. Available from the British Library Shop (tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7735 / email: bl-bookshop@bl.uk) and online at www.bl.uk/shop as well as other bookshops throughout the UK.

January / St Andrews Library

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 24, 2009 at 20:21

There's doesn't seem too be too much happening in the UK now other than the events already posted. One website which is worth taking a look at is http://special.st-andrews.ac.uk/saspecial/ which will take you to the University of St Andrews Photographic Archive. Lots of fascinating material from Sir David Brewster to Valentine and later material, too. Recommended! Please feel free too add anything to this site that is relevent to the overall subject area of British photographic history. Remember, this isn't a one-man show - the more contributions the better and there are some very illustrious members... Michael Pritchard

Ifor & Joy Thomas Guildford

Posted by rita tait on December 2, 2009 at 17:59

My husband photographer Jack Tait & I are involved in research concerning the highly acclaimed teachers at Guildford School of Photography in the 1950s. I shall give all details if anyone out there is interested in helping with a project that gives long overdue honour to this pair who were so important in the history of photography teaching in the UK.

English Heritage aerial survey

Posted by Michael Pritchard on January 18, 2009 at 12:22

Although not strictly history of photography, more the photography of history, English Heritage has identified almost 1,000 new archaeological sites along the North East coast, including ship wrecks, wartime defences and remains of medieval salt factories. A team of English Heritage-funded archaeologists examined thousands of aerial photographs of the coastline, stretching from the Scottish border to Whitby, and pieced together the most up-to-date record of the wealth of historical sites scattered along the coast. Click here to read more.

History of Photography teaching post

Posted by Michael Pritchard on June 17, 2009 at 7:12

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Design: Photography History Specialist (1fte or 0.5fte) at Middlesex University. Full details available here: http://www.mdx.ac.uk/aboutus/staffjobs/docs/ARTS208.pdf

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Note: this page contains paid content.