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NMeM London Presence a step closer?

A fundraising reception was held at the Science Museum on 25 May to introduce a new exhibition space for photography planned there. Mark Haworth-Booth in his blog noted that "My former colleague Charlotte Cotton is its artistic director. Her speech included a choice expletive - 'We just want to fxxxxxg get on with it' - which was very much in character and appropriate."

Amateur Photographer has followed up BPH's blog posting and its report is here: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Science_Museum_hosts_NMM_photography_fundraiser_news_298855.html

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George Washington Wilson (1823-93), was a pioneering Scottish photographer born in the North East of Scotland. He went to Edinburgh and then London in the 1840s to train as a portrait miniaturist. He became established in Aberdeen in the 1850s as an ‘artist and photographer’, and quickly made a name for himself as one of Scotland's premier photographers among the middle classes and landed gentry. He soon moved into landscape photography and, thanks to the proximity of Balmoral, developed a royal connection (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) which remained throughout his career.

With his photographer’s tent, his glass plates and chemicals and Dallmeyer camera, he made numerous forays into the scenic heart of the Scottish highlands and islands, as well as many other sites on the UK mainland (as far south as the English Channel) and even parts of Northern Ireland. Throughout, Wilson demonstrated technical and commercial acumen, and claimed to have sold over half a million pictures by 1864. At the time of his death in 1893, the company he founded employed 40 staff and had become the largest and best known photographic and printing firm in the world.

Over 40,000 of Wilson's photographic plates still exist today, largely due to the meticulous washing and chemical treatments he insisted on. Aberdeen University is in possession of some 38,000 of these, which were donated by an Aberdeen photographer, the late Archibald J.B. Strachan, in 1958; details of which can be found here.

A new book entitled "Destination St. Kilda From Oban To Skye And The Outer Hebrides" (ISBN-10: 1907443037) by Mark Butterworth has just been published today. It documents the travel through the Western Isles to St Kilda in 1885 by George Washington Wilson and Norman Macleod. They took many photographs along the way and their collection of pictures, ‘From Oban to Skye and the Outer Hebrides’ was shown in magic lantern lectures throughout Scotland. In 2004 Mark Butterworth purchased the set, complete with the original lecture notes.

The images and text in this book come from this double set of lantern slides which was produced in the late 1880's. Individually hand coloured onto the glass plates, these images capture the Western Isles and their way of life in evocative details. Published here for the first time as a complete set, many of the images, particularly of St Kilda and its inhabitants are iconic, well known among enthusiasts of Western Isles history. However, these contemporary hand coloured slides are rarely seen and present a new light on life in the Western Isles, produced fifty years before colour photography came to Scotland.


Photo: Queen Victoria on 'Fyvie' with John Brown at Balmoral, by George Washington Wilson, 1863; medium: carte de visite, size: 9.20 x 6.10 cm; from the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland

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Whether you love or loath Google's Streetview, the internet search engine giant has teamed up with We Are What We Do to launch a 'historical photography' website which allows consumers to "pin" old pictures of towns and cities on contemporary photographs. The site, entitled Historypin, lets users share their archive photos by loading them up to a specific location on Google Maps or image on Google's modern Street View.

Users will also be able to search either by name or postcode and then scroll back through time to see photos from different periods in history layered over their modern-day locations. Pictures have been provided from various national archives, as well as contributors including Selfridges, Marks & Spencer, the Royal Albert Hall and Arsenal FC. The result is a fascinating snapshot of the changing face of local streets and well known landmarks and will provide a new perspective on historic moments.

The site has ambitions to become the world’s largest user-generated archive of historic images and stories. A short introduction can be found here.

You never know - someone out there may have a gem of a photo you have been searching for !
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NMeM visitor numbers 2004-2010

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has published visitor numbers for the National Media Museum, Bradford for the 2009/10 financial year. These are reported below alongside recent years. Should anyone require earlier years I have them on request.

2004/2005

2005/2006

2006/2007

2007/2008

2008/2009

2009/2010

April

55,337

46,336

56,619

44,108

57,610

57,205

May

43,371

43,021

51,718

54,781

54,629

59,486

June

42,189

48,413

41,333

52,288

45,785

40,128

July

62,513

52,969

53,077

69,922

62,899

59,631

August

68,717

60,720

77,285

72,779

91,451

52,963

September

47,199

40,702

45,239

47,845

44,711

36,402

October

65,258

61,797

64,638

67,901

69,337

47,306

November

57,009

49,996

53,777

65,563

41,252

47,628

December

51,329

42,716

50,997

58,213

47,305

45,314

January

44,656

42,133

49,245

57,224

44,520

36,612

February

54,421

64,793

68,002

64,235

63,663

56,222

March

66,992

61,835

65,099

82,998

49,789

67,940

Financial Year Running Total

658,991

615,431

677,029

737,857

672,951

606,837

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NMeM job: Exhibitions Organiser

The National Media Museum has a diverse and engaging programme of displays and temporary exhibitions, which are seen by thousands of visitors every year. You’ll help make sure they’re delivered on time, budget and to the highest standards by successfully co-ordinating project teams and other stakeholders.

Required Skills:

If you’ve worked before in a similar role at a gallery or museum, this is a great opportunity to develop your skills further. It calls for experience of managing projects and developing interpretation, supported by a good understanding of delivery procedures and various display techniques. Of course, you’ll also need to be a great team player, with sound IT skills, excellent attention to detail and the ability to communicate well at all levels.

Award winning, visionary and truly unique, the National Media Museum embraces photography, film, television, radio and the web. Part of the NMSI family of museums, we aim to engage, inspire and educate through comprehensive collections, innovative education programmes and a powerful yet sensitive approach to contemporary issues.

The post is fixed term until 12th July 2011

Application Instructions:

Interested? Please send your CV and covering letter to recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

For a full job description please email: recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Closing date: 10th June 2010

Interviews: 16th June 2010

We regret that we can only respond to successful applicants.

No agencies please

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