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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members.

The RIBA's British Architectural Library is the leading library in the United Kingdom for the study of architecture and architectural history. It provides a service to practicing architects, students, architectural historians, and the general public, and has extensive collections of drawings, manuscripts and photographs, as well as books and periodicals. 

A digital image cataloguer is required to assist in extending the Library's online digital image database which currently encompasses 60,000 images. Duties will include researching background information on, and cataloguing, a wide range of visual material thereby increasing its educational and financial potential.

Candidates should be highly organised and have experience of research either within a work or educational environment together with good writing skills and a keen visual awareness. An ability to work quickly and accurately both as part of a team and on your own initiative is essential. A degree in architectural history or a demonstrable in-depth knowledge of the subject is essential. Familiarity with computer systems such as Excel and Access is desirable, as is a basic knowledge of recognised library standards.

If you would like to apply for this position, please complete and send a covering letter and CV, Applicants Statement and Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form to Human Resources Department RIBA 66, Portland Place London W1B 1AD or to recruitment@riba.org. 

Interviews will be held in late October 2011.

Location: Central London
Salary: £21,173 FTE - 
Hours: Part-time, 28 hours per week
Closing date: 14 October 2011

Details including full job description and application can be found here.

Good luck!

Astrid Kirchherr, born in 1938 in Hamburg, showed early interest in dress designing and photography. She was introduced to the Beatles at the Kaiserkeller Club there by her-then boyfriend Klaus Voormann, who later designed the cover for the Beatles' album "Revolver." Kirchherr began taking photos of the pre-fame Beatles. The photos were characterized by the stunning professional look they gave to the group.
Now the 73-year-old snapper is selling her entire Beatles collection – over 600 photos complete with copyright and negatives at Guernsey’s auction house in Manhattan, between 24th and 25th September, 2011.

Details of the lots can be found here.

Victoria's leading museum is seeking a Collection Registration Officer to assist with the registration of images and audiovisual material in the State Collection, within the History & Technology department of Museum Victoria. This position offers an exciting opportunity to work with items of historical significance. The position is based at the iconic Scienceworks Museum, Spotswood and is full time for a fixed term until 31 October 2012.

The primary responsibility of the Collection Registration Officer will be to assist with the enhancement, management and accessibility of Museum Victoria's State Collection by physically and electronically registering priority sections of the History & Technology Images and Audiovisual Collection. Notable skill sets required for this position include: 

• Sound knowledge of and experience in museum disciplinary and collection cataloguing frameworks. 
• Sound knowledge of and experience in assisting with the management of historically significant items in museum collections. 
• Sound knowledge of and experience in using electronic collection management databases in museums, especially EMu. 
• An affinity for the history of photography and image making.

The Frick Art Reference Library was founded in 1920 to serve “adults with a serious interest in art,” among them scholars, art professionals, collectors, and students. The Library’s book and photograph research collections relate chiefly to paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints from the fourth to the mid-twentieth centuries by European and American artists.

The Photoarchive comprises more than one million study photographs and other reproductions divided into national schools and representing more than 37,000 artists trained in the Western tradition. The photographs record paintings, drawings, sculpture, and illuminated manuscripts.

This collection has been systematically built through purchases and gifts from photographers, museums, scholars, and dealers in the United States and Europe. More than 56,000 original negatives were created for the Photoarchive between 1922 and 1967 in a pioneering project to photograph works of art in private homes and small public collections throughout the United States, historic monuments in remote areas of Italy, and works sold at London auctions between 1921 and 1932.

Through this two-year project, the Frick digitized 15,000 endangered negatives within the larger collection of 60,000 Library negatives and developed the interface to make the images freely available online. The negatives were the products of photography expeditions during the first half of the twentieth century to Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In many cases the images record early states of the works of art, prior to restoration or deterioration, and in some instances, they remain the only record of a work that has been subsequently lost or destroyed. 

With this new online access to the Frick Photoarchive research database records and the digital image archive, the Frick is now poised to incorporate a growing number of documented images from its visual resource holdings. These images complement other visual resources contributed by the NYARC partners, thereby ensuring that a broader community of researchers will have access to these unique collections.

This image archive, which may be accessed via the Web site of The Frick Collection (www.frick.org), was made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Henry Luce Foundation. The official press release can be found here.

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.

As Sales and Service Manager, you will implement the service strategy to ensure that we provide a consistently exceptional visitor experience while meeting sales and income targets for retail and cinemas. You will have full responsibility for sales and service in our Meet and Greet areas, in the Box Office, our cinemas (including IMAX) and Galleries 1 and 2. 

A strong track record of motivating, leading and developing a team in a competitive commercial environment is essential. You will be able to control costs, enhance sales and beat targets, while at the same time promoting best practice in Health & Safety.  Building strong relationships with other departments, senior management and external stakeholders, you will provide direction, decision-making and drive. 
The key to your success will be your skills in team building. You must be an inspired communicator, with the ability to organise, improve efficiency and give your team a shared sense of purpose. Adaptable and resourceful, you will thrive during peak periods and ensure that every individual performs to the best of their ability.

£24,000 p.a. 
Full time permanent, to include some evenings and weekends

Closing Date: 2nd October 2011

For further information or to apply for this position, please click on this link here.

Another job is also available at the NMeM as Audience Researcher to conduct audience research to support the development of exhibits, galleries, resources and website relating to the Life Online project. Life Online is an exhibition devoted to exploring the history, social impact and future of the internet. This permanent exhibition will open in March 2012.

Salary starts at £17,000 per annum, pro rata and the closing deadline for appplications is 25th September 2011. Details can be found here.

Good luck!

A rare set of photographic albums of the Dutch East Indies by the pioneering Victorian photographers, Walter Woodbury and James Page, will be auctioned off at a forthcoming sale in early October in Bonhams London.

The Lot features 248 images and is believed to represent one third of the Woodbury & Page studio's total photographic output. It including portraits of notable Indonesian figures, ethnographic studies, Dutch colonial life and topographical views from Sumatra to The Moluccas. It is estimated to sell between £40,000-£50,000.

Details of this lot, including a full description of the albumen albums, can be found here.

Walter B. Woodbury (1834-1885), a Mancunian by birth, is the earliest known photographer of the Dutch East Indies. Aged 18 Woodbury emigrated to Australia in the hope of making his fortune in the Australian gold-fields. However, he was sidetracked by his passion for photography and became one of the leading exponents of the wet-plate process. He went on to hone his skills whilst living in Melbourne and, in 1854, won a medal at the Melbourne Exhibition which resulted in his decision to turn to photography professionally. Whilst in Melbourne he met his future associate, James Page, another British expatriate photographer, and both agreed to leave Australia in 1857 for Batavia and established their studio, Woodbury & Page, in the same year. After mastering the use of wet collodion plates in tropical conditions, Woodbury & Page went from strength to strength. Their work was acclaimed in The British Journal of Photography who reported that it was the first "to show the beauties of tropical scenery ever introduced to [England]" (BJP, 18 September, 1885, p.596) and, in 1859, their photographs were marketed in England by Negretti & Zambra (scientific instrument makers to the Queen). After a short spell back in the UK, Woodbury returned to Java in 1860 and travelled extensively throughout the central and west of the country with Page and his brother, Henry James Woodbury (1836-1873). By 1861 the studio was moved to new premises and renamed Photographisch Atelier van Walter Woodbury where it remained until the company was liquidated in 1908. In 1863 Woodbury returned to England with his Javanese wife and, for the next 12 years, went on to invent prolifically (taking out patents for, amongst other things, optical kaleidoscopes, photographic apparatus and even musical railway signals). His breakthrough came with his patent for the Woodburytype in 1864, the photomechanical printing process which became the most commonly used method to illustrate fine books between 1870 and 1900.

Captain Francis Light established a British settlement on this little island back in 1786. Formerly known as Prince of Wales Island, it was a thriving entrepot of the 18th and 19th centuries and is often remembered for its trade connections for the British with the Far East.

This coming weekend (16th-17th Sept), Think City Sdn Bhd and the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) will be organising an international conference with 25 overseas Speakers, entitled Penang & the Indian Ocean (PIO), looking into the state’s early history, amongst other topics.

Aptly named Fugitive Images, Andrew Jarvis from the University of Cambridge will be speaking on how the work of photographers from 1840 to 1867 can be used to shed light on broader patterns of the local community’s activities at the time.

Photo: An old postcard showing rickshaws plying along Campbell Street in Penang from the book Penang – Postcard Collection 1899-1930. — Postcard image courtesy of Malcolm Wade.

Well, not him directly, but, The Penllergare Trust.  And also, it's a lottery grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810-1882), the 19th Century horticulturist and early photographer, who married the first cousin of Henry Fox Talbot, set up home at Penllergare which he inherited from his maternal grandfather. The grant will go towards restoring the Grade II listed landscape to its former glory - and create five jobs.  The site is home to an astronomical observatory, built by Llewelyn, which will also be restored. The money will also help help run community events, open days, guided walks and photography competitions.

Who says it doesn't pay marrying into noble families, even though it takes more than 130 years to reap in the rewards!  Well done to The Penllergare Trust for successfully securing the bid!

You can read the rest of the news article here.

I would draw reader's attention to the series of free photographic history seminars being held at the University of London on Saturdays between October and December: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/xn/detail/2680769:Event:37545?xg_source=activity

For anyone based in the Midlands then there is a different series of free seminars being held at De Montfort University: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/photo-history-seminar-series-in-leicester 

To accompany the 10-part BBC television series as mentioned in an earlier blog here, The Francis Frith Collection announced that it will also be publishing a book focussing on the achievement of the Victorian photographer Francis Frith, who in the 1860s embarked upon a colossal project — to photograph every town and village in the United Kingdom.

The photographic record of Britain compiled by the Frith company is one of the first and most comprehensive pictorial records of Britain. 'Britain's First Photo Album' will feature a selection of superb images from the Frith archive taken in the second half of the 19th century showing how the country appeared in Frith's lifetime, which will be contrasted with modern photographs taken by John Sergeant of the same locations in the present day. History is brought to life as each chapter of the tie-in book, focuses on four storylines inspired by vintage Frith photographs, with John Sergeant journeying around Britain meeting people with a connection to these photos from the past.

'Britain's First Photo Album' (w/t) will be released in February 2011, RSP £20.

The 50 photographs – mostly black and white – are drawn from across NLI’s collections, and range from formal studio portraits featuring children of the landed classes taken in the 1880s to more candid shots of city kids taken in the 1960s. Small Lives shows Irish children not just in the context of their own lives but also in the context of Irish history, incorporating major events such as Michael Collins’ funeral in 1922, the Eucharistic Congress in 1932 and the Arranmore Disaster in November 1935 – events which were an important part of 20th century Irish social and political life.

As well as photographs, the Small Lives exhibition features a number of illustrations dating from the 1830s. These illustrations, housed in NLI’s Prints and Drawings Department, demonstrate how children were depicted before photography. They show how line drawing could suggest movement – something which photography could not do in the 1800s, when the technology was still in its infancy.

You can read the official press release from Aoife O’Connor, the exhibition curator, here, and details of the exhibit here. If you can't make it to Dublin, there is an interesting selection of photos from the exhibition that can be found on this site here too.

Photo: Walking Home.

Format: Glass Negative

Size: 10 x 13 cm

Date: circa 1904

NLI Ref.: CLAR35

Reproduction rights owned by the National Library of Ireland

Explore the history of dogs in photography at the Kennel Club Art Gallery with a unique display of vintage images depicting man’s best friend from the 1850s to the 1950s. ‘Photography Going to the Dogs’ is the latest exhibition to come to the hidden Mayfair treasure, the Kennel Club Art Gallery. The charming exhibition will take visitors through 100 years of dog photography and explores the companionship between dogs and their owners from the Victorian era into the mid 20th century.

Images include historical photography from Crufts, Victorian cartes des visites, cabinet cards, original glass negatives and a collection of vintage cameras and stereoscopes will also be on display, along with images from the Libby Hall and Alan Cook collections.

Luisa Pontello, Assistant Collections Manager at the Kennel Club Gallery said: “We are looking forward to the exhibition, as there is simply no other like it. We believe that it will be fascinating for anyone with an interest in dogs or photography.

“Thanks to the invention of photography in the 19th Century, followed by a popular pastime for collecting postcards in the early 20th Century we are able to offer visitors a step back in time. Thanks to the Victorian public’s enthusiasm for photography and their clear love of dogs we have an absorbing exhibition we are delighted to open free of charge to the public.”

Opening Times
The exhibition will run until 13th January 2012. The Kennel Club Art Gallery is open Monday – Friday from 9.30am – 4.30pm by appointment only. Telephone 020 7518 1064 or e-mailartgallery@thekennelclub.org.uk to book an appointment.

Facebook Event for 'Photography Going to the Dogs'

See a few images from the collection on Flickr

The Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, invites applications for fellowships in support of research using the Center's archive, fine print, and rare book collections. Our goal is to promote new knowledge about photography, photographic history, and photographic theory. Fellowship applications are evaluated within this context.

The Center for Creative Photography is the largest institution is the world devoted to documenting the history of North American photography. At the heart of the Center are the archives of over 200 photographers, scholars, galleries, and organizations, comprised of 4.5 million items and complemented by an unparalleled collection of over 90,000 fine prints. In the new Laura Volkerding Study Center, researchers will be able to study items from the fine prints collection side-by-side with negatives, transparencies, correspondence, and other manuscript and visual materials.

Fellowships are awarded for projects that require an extended period of research in the collections of the Center. Awards in amounts up to $5,000 will support two to four weeks of study at the Center.

• Miton Rogovin Research Fellowship, which awards up to $5,000 to support research into the art and career of Milton Rogovin (1909-2011) and socially concerned photography.
• Josef Breitenbach Research Fellowship, which awards up to $5,000 to support research into the art and career of Josef Breitenbach (1896-1984) and as his work and archive relates to other works and archives in the Center's collections.
• Edward Weston Family Research Fellowship, which awards up to $5,000 to support research on the art, career, and influence of Edward Weston (1886-1958), his family, models, and friends.
• Ansel Adams Research Fellowship, which awards up to $5,000 to promote new knowledge about photography and the history of photography.

Qualifications

Scholars from any discipline are encouraged to apply. Pre-doctoral applicants must have completed coursework and preliminary examinations for the doctoral degree, and must be engaged in dissertation research.

Application process

Send a cover letter, curriculum vitae of no more than four pages, and a brief statement detailing the candidate's research interests and how they will be advanced by study of the Center's archives and print collection.  Attention will be given to the candidates' statement concerning the value of the Center's holdings in investigating those interests. Please visit the Center's website www.creativephotography.org for more information about collections. Applicants may also address questions about the collections to the Head of the Laura Volkerding Study Center, Leslie Clames calmesl@ccp.library.arizona.edu. 

Applications should be emailed to: Cass Fey, Curator of Education, cass@ccp.library.arizona.edu.

Applications must be sent via email by November 15, 2011

Selection Process

Selection is based on the quality of the proposed research and its relationship to the Center's collections. Decisions will be announced by email on or before December 31, 2011. Residencies must be scheduled with the Volkerding Study Center Staff. Fellowships recipients and their research projects will be announced in the Center's publicity.

Full details can be found here.

The National Archives of Norway has published a large collection of photographs from both private and public archives on Flickr. The archives span from 1860 to modern times.

All photographs have been published to the Flickr Commons, meaning they are distributed without copyright restriction. Flickr users are openly invited to provide annotations to the growing collection in an attempt to bring further meaning to the images.

The archives depict may unique aspects of Norweigan history, including “royalty and celebrities, photos of beautiful Norwegian nature and scenery, documentation of industry, historical events like World War II or the Nordic World Ski Championships of 1966, and Norwegian development during the last century”.

Aberdeen Lord Provost Peter Stephen today launched the city's new online home for thousands of historic photographs and records at the Central Library. The 'Silver City Vault' makes the Aberdeen Local Studies archive available free to remote users for the very first time.

Online visitors can do everything from tracing an Aberdeen ancestor to glimpsing Victorian life through old photographs, many of which were captured in stunning detail by renowned photographer George Washington Wilson.

The resource contains over a thousand images of the city – including long-vanished buildings, the construction of famous landmarks, businesses which have come and gone, trams on Union Street, and horse-drawn carriages waiting at the Castlegate to take passengers down to the beach. The collection also features hundreds of images of people, landmarks and special events, such as royal visits to the city.

In addition, the website contains over 40,000 index records for events like marriage notices and newspaper obituaries and more than 10,000 articles from local journals covering individuals, organisations and events. And family historians can now search for their Aberdeen ancestors among the 30,000 personal names in the Local Studies Combined Index, with entries ranging from obituaries and notices of marriage in the Aberdeen Journal to lists of 'paupers' in the parishes of the city, chiefly drawn from the Victorian period.

The official press release can be found here, and the archive, created with the help of funding from the Scottish Government's Scottish Library and Information Council, is located here.

The National Museum of Science and Industry's new head of commercial development sees the National Media Museum and its sister museums as 'gigantic gold mines' ripe for commercial development. At a time of museum staff redundancies and increasing pressures on hard-pressed curatorial teams the National Museum of Science and Industry has restructured and expanded its commercial development b2b team. 

Following the appointment of former Classic Media and Ragdoll executive, Anya Hollis as head of commercial development at the Science Museum, the nine-strong team has also added a further three managers. Carin Grix is senior licensing manager; Brenda Conway is senior creative manager; and Jeremiah Solak is senior image library manager. The NMSI group - which includes the Science Museum, The National Railway Museum and the National Media Museum - is also now looking for a senior licensing executive.

Hollis stated: "The museums really are gigantic gold mines. With only eight per cent of items on show at any one time, we have thousands of fascinating objects and images from which to build amazing licensing and publishing programmes. We have had huge success with the Science Museum and Flying Scotsman brands, and now with the new team in place, I am really looking forward to the coming months and the new developments we have planned for Brand Licensing Europe."

For the full report see: http://www.licensing.biz/news/7799/NMSI-reveals-new-structure

Entitled ‘Visiting the Past: Images of the Mistley, Manningtree and Lawford', this new publication is a collection of photographs from the early 20th century and offers a glimpse into the history of three parishes.

Compiled by history buff Bob Horlock, of Shrubland Road, Mistley, and Mike Fryer, Bean, Dartford, who helped with the book’s design, the book has more than 100 photographs from Mr Horlock’s personal collection and donations from museums and history groups. But the major debt of thanks goes to a professional photographer from Leytonstone called Alf Musto, who at the start of the 20th Century would stay with Bob’s relatives in Mistley. (According to Horlock, three of these Musto “present” albums sold on eBay for £1,500 a few years ago!)

There are images of children on the beach in about 1890 and smoke billowing from the busy EDME malt extract works. Crowds celebrate the coronation of King George V, and the Manningtree Volunteers of the Essex Regiment turn out in uniform. Staff from the new Co-operative store in Lawford pose for a picture on what could be opening day in about 1907, and there’s a photograph of three of the 113 German submarines that surrendered at Harwich in November, 1918.

A news article can be found here. The book launch will be held at Stour Sailing Club, Quay Street, Manningtree, between 11am and 2pm on Saturday, 10th September. Copies should also be stocked by Townsends shop in Manningtree High Street and Mistley Post Office. It can also be ordered directly from Bob on 01206 393 708 or by email at bobhorlock@onetel.com. Or you can try the Amazon link on the right.

Photo: Author with ‘Visiting the Past: Images of the Mistley, Manningtree and Lawford'. Copyright Harwich & Manningtree Standard.

Leicester's De Montfort University Photographic History Research Centre is holding a series of seminars in Culture of Photography during the Autumn 2011 term on Tuesdays from 4–6pm in the Edith Murphy Building 1.08. Admission is free and open to anyone. The series comprises:

• October 18th. Professor Gillian Rose (Open University) ‘The question of method: where next for visual culture studies?'
• November 8th. Professor Darren Newbury (Birmingham Institute of Art and Design) 'Travelling Photographic Histories: From 1950s Cape Town to Britain, andBack'
• December 6th. Professor Patrizia Di Bello (Birkbeck College, University of London) ‘The ‘Camera-Medusa’: stereoscopic photographs of statuettes’