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The National Media Museum, Bradford, has appointed Jo Quinton-Tulloch as its Head of Museum. Jo Quinton-Tulloch is currently the Head of Exhibitions at the Science Museum in London. She will take up her post in Bradford in September 2012. Jo has worked in museums for 18 years and has a wealth of experience in establishing successful exhibitions and programmes at the Science Museum, and also at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, in Falmouth.

Making the announcement, Heather Mayfield, Deputy Director of the Science Museum, said: “I am delighted that Jo has agreed to take on this role, in London and Falmouth she has led the delivery of world class exhibitions and programmes working with audiences, artists and curators. I look forward to seeing her using the National Media Museum collections in new and exciting ways.”

Jo will focus on building on the National Media Museum’s cultural programme and reputation, ensuring future success by maximising the impact of its vibrant exhibitions, events and activities. Her priority will be to ensure optimum public access to the National Collections held and cared for in Bradford, through the Museum’s displays, digital delivery and research.

In addition she will work with the Science Museum and National Media Museum to deliver the upcoming £4 million Media Space project. The Media Space will see the two institutions join forces to launch a major new permanent gallery in the Science Museum alongside a unique shared exhibition programme in Spring 2013.

Jo said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to work with such a significant collection and build on the existing programme to further establish the National Media Museum as an important cultural destination, locally and nationally. It’s a very exciting time to be part of the Museum and I’m looking forward to joining the team in September.”

The Head of Museum appointment has been made after Colin Philpott stepped down as Director of the National Media Museum following a senior level restructure of the parent organisation in December 2011.

Jo Quinton-Tulloch Biography

Jo Quinton-Tulloch has been Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at the Science Museum since 2004. During this time she has been responsible delivering exhibitions from small temporary shows such as Penicillin, to an up-grade of the Space gallery, through to the multi-million pound, award winningAtmosphere permanent gallery and associated climate changing programme.

Jo manages the innovative Art Programme which delivers artists’ projects in the Science Museum, including artist residencies and temporary exhibitions. She also oversees the programme of ‘Live Science’ activities which allow the public to meet scientists and take part in experiments on gallery, and the contemporary science team who deliver up-to-date news and programmes across many platforms.

Jo’s career in museums started when she joined the Science Museum as a part-time Explainer in 1994 while completing a Masters in Science Communication at Imperial College. During this time she was also a lecturer and joint course organiser for the Museum module of the MSc in Science Communication, Imperial College, and the Diploma in Science Communication, Birkbeck College.

She has worked at the Boston Museum of Science, USA, and between 2000 – 2004 she left the Science Museum to set up a brand new institution – the National Maritime Museum Cornwall. Jo was responsible for the development and delivery of all galleries at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, and also established a framework for the collections management, documentation and restoration programmes, as well as managing the delivery of the Education, Special Exhibition and Lecture Theatre programmes.

Jo completed the Museum Leadership Programme at the University of East Anglia in 2001 and is about to attend the Museum Leadership Course run by the Getty Foundation in USA.

Bonhams Oxford is offering part of the photography collection of Harry Wills who died in 2011 aged 90. Wills was born and raised in Birmingham and was one of the earliest collectors of photographs and photographic equipment in Britain. He was a founder member of The Royal Photographic Society's Historical Group in 1972 and part of the first generation of British collectors and photographic historians. Pete James paid generous tribute to Wills in his obituary published in the April 2012 RPS Journal.

Although the provenance of the material in the material is not given by Bonhams the lots includes much of early British and Birmingham photographic interest as well as some of Wills' own photography (shown right). The photographs include material from W H F Talbot, Samuel Smith, Harold White, an extensive collection of topographic albums, cartes de visite and ambrotypes as well as early and rare photographically illustrated books.

The sale begins at 10.30am on 26 June and is on view from 23-26 June. 

For more information about the lots see: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20138/

The fate of the rest of Wills' extensive photography collection and his equipment  collection has not been disclosed. 

The School of Art History possesses an international reputation for high-quality research and outstanding teaching. St Andrews is ranked as one of the top five places in the UK to study the history of art in 2011 by The Guardian, Independent and Times university guides. The most recent Research Assessment Exercise in 2008 rated 75% of the research by the School’s staff as world-leading or internationally excellent; this rating reflects the School’s sustained commitment to research-oriented postgraduate teaching.

Postgraduate students make a vital contribution to the research culture of the School. Art History is keen to expand its postgraduate research community, as current postgraduate enrolment is not commensurate with the School’s reputation. In light of this, there is potential that the department will not make a strong showing when it is assessed in Research Excellence Framework 2014, the new system for measuring the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. Research postgraduate figures will certainly be included in the assessment criteria for this exercise.

In addition, the School of Art History is currently losing postgraduate students, as well as the work they would have achieved at St Andrews, to competitor institutions because of a lack of funded postgraduate places. To correct this situation and improve its competitiveness, the School wishes to offer six PhD scholarships in areas identified as research strengths: History of Photography, Sculpture, Mediaeval and Renaissance Studies and Art in the Modern Period.

The overall cost for six studentships at £12,000 a year for three years will be £216,000.The operations budget of the School is insufficient to provide postgraduate funding, except for an occasional fee waiver. The availability of scholarships, therefore, will be dependent on dedicated fundraising. These scholarships would be competitively awarded, thus ensuring admittance of high-quality candidates and therefore best value achieved.

Successful recruitment of high-calibre postgraduate students will be a worthwhile investment for the School of Art History and the University. First, a more impressive postgraduate enrolment will enhance the School’s research profile and improve the department’s performance in the Research Excellence Framework, resulting in an increased share of the distributed research funds. Second, a department that is known to have a large, active and lively postgraduate research community is more attractive to other prospective students.

The study of Art History at St Andrews has achieved an excellent reputation. Investment in postgraduate scholarships in Art History will ensure that this tradition of excellence, high-quality research and outstanding teaching continues for centuries to come.

For further information, check out the blog here.

On Tuesday 3 April 2012, the Library of Birmingham launched Reference Works: a major photography commission in which four leading photographers will make visual responses to the current Central Library building and to the build, transition and relocation to the new Library of Birmingham.

Established by Birmingham City Council to reflect and record this momentous event in the city’s cultural history, the project – supported by the Arts Council - represents the largest and most significant photography commission ever undertaken in Birmingham. The resulting works will go on display in the new Library of Birmingham when it opens in 2013.

The four commissioned photographers are Michael Collins, Brian Griffin, Andrew Lacon and Stuart Whipps. Three of the artists will focus on the buildings and their contents, while one, Brian Griffin, will focus on portraits of people linked to the building project. The work of all four photographers will be shown in the first exhibition in the new Library of Birmingham Gallery in September 2013. There will also be a related exhibition of photographs drawn from the Library’s internationally renowned archives charting the history of Birmingham’s libraries and an accompanying book. Some of the work will also be presented on digital displays and interactive screens built into the fabric of the new Library of Birmingham..

The Library of Birmingham is also working in partnership with Birmingham City University to manage and deliver a mentoring programme linked to the large scale commission. Five new and emerging artists will be mentored by the leading photographers and project managers over an 18 month period to enhance their professional practice, knowledge and skills. The young photographers will also make individual bodies of work about the old and new library buildings that will be exhibited in conjunction with the main gallery show.

Brian Gambles, Assistant Director of Culture at Birmingham Library and Archive Services, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to launch this commission which will record a great moment in Birmingham’s history, celebrating the new library building and the people who make it happen. These new photographs, taken by illustrious artists, will serve as a great record for the people of Birmingham for generations to come. We are also pleased to be able to nurture new photographic talent through our collaboration with Birmingham City University, and we look forward to welcoming visitors through the library’s doors to see the photographs of all these artists on show in 2013.”

Pete James, Head of Photographs at Birmingham Library and Archive Services, said: “We’re really excited about Reference Works, which is the largest and most significant photography commission project yet undertaken in Birmingham. The differing approaches employed by the four commissioned photographers will give a richness and diversity to the project, enabling current and future generations to explore this historical moment from a variety of creative perspectives. The new works by Michael Collins, Brian Griffin, Andrew Lacon and Stuart Whipps will be tremendous additions to our collection. We are confident that the work will be significant not only to us, but to other photography institutions and collections at home and abroad, and that touring the show will help cement Birmingham’s place as an international centre for photography.”

Reference Works has been made possible with the help of a £62,000 grant from Arts Council of England and partnership support from Birmingham City University. Further sponsorship for the project has come from Capita Symonds, Carillion, Mecanoo and The Flash Centre, Birmingham.

The commission is led by Birmingham Library and Archives Services’ Photography Department who have a successful record commissioning contemporary photography, curating exhibitions, developing private and public sector partnerships, and managing the institutions massive historical photography archive. In 2006 the archive was awarded Designated Status by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in recognition of its national and international importance. The department has an established track record of commissioning and acquiring new creative photography about the city and this project is another example of this vital work.

At a recent auction a Victorian walnut cased table top achromatic stereoscope by Smith Beck and Beck complete with approximately 260 card mounted slides and 10 glass slides, was the subject of a frenzied bidding war between numerous telephone and internet bidders. It was sold to a New Jersey America buyer for £6900 almost seven times the upper estimate at Dee Atkinson & Harrison in Driffield. 

Dr Lynn Pearson is researching the image shown here which has been attributed to W H F Talbot and does not appear to have been previously reproduced. The image shows Collins's Brewery in Water Lane, Richmond, probably 1840s.It is in the David Parry collection, part of the Brewery History Society collection, so it is just the cutting, stuck on a card with a few details about the brewery. Nothing to say where either the photo or the cutting came from. Parry has added a caption saying the photo is by Fox Talbot. 

Is any reader about to confirm the attribution?

As BPH reported in 2009 De Montfort University had been given the remaining portion of the Kodak Research Library which had been based at Kodak Ltd's premises at Harrow. The company's archives are at the British Library. At an informal ceremony this week attended by Sam Weller and Chris Roberts both formerly of Kodak De Montfort University's Kimberlin Library showed off the Kodak library newly installed in its purpose-built Special Collections area. 

The Kodak material is particularly strong in runs of British, European and American photographic journals.As one would expect it also includes some limited material relating to Kodak but the majority of Kodak's own publications are held as part of the Kodak Historical Collection at the British Library,  The DMU material has been catalogued and is available through the online library catalogue. The library's catalogue search facility can be found here. Use 'Kodak Collection' in the keyword field to browse all titles or search for specific titles.  

It is worth giving some context to the material that is now at DMU. Chris Roberts was actively involved in saving the library from being dispersed or destroyed. He notes that the material at DMU is only a small fraction of what had originally been at Kodak in Harrow, as an urgent decision had to be taken regarding what to 'rescue '.  He writes: "I had only a short time to move selected books from the Library to the Archive before the remainder was thrown away! You can imagine my horror in seeing the notice that the Library was to be first offered to members of the Research Laboratory and the remainder disposed of.  It all happened quite quickly. Hope Kingsley helped me to move the books and although I offered whatever we had to the Universities of Westminster and Middlesex they did not have the finance or the room for any more books." Roger Taylor promoted the interest of DMU and this resulted in the agreement between the BL, DMU and Kodak. Sadly this is not an usual story - many company libraries have been destroyed and photo-historians should be grateful that as much was saved as possible. 

The Kodak Collection in the Special Collections areas is open to members of the public usually between Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to 4pm or by appointment. The library archivist is Linda Butt who can be reached on +44 (0)116 250 6392 or email: lbutt@dmu.ac.uk. 

De Montfort University's Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) celebrated it's first anniversary on Thursday. Professor Elizabeth Edwards, the Centre's Director, gave her professorial lecture and launched her new book The Camera as Historian: Amateur Photographers and Historical Imagination, 1885–1918.

Durign the evening Gerard Moran, Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities, announced that Professor Stephen Brown had been awarded a £390,000 AHRC two year research grant to look at  'fuzzy photographs'; Elizabeth Edwards had been awarded an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award with the British Museum and that Kelley Wilder had been appointed a visiting professor at the University of Zürich. 

The Centre has also launched the first issue of its newsletter - a copy can be downloaded here: PHRC Newsletter No 1 April 2012  

More on the PHRC and its activities can be found here.

Photo right: Roger Taylor, Elizabeth Edwards, Kelley Wilder and Stephen Brown cut the first birthday cake of the PHRC.  Below: Visitors, students and staff gathering before Elizabeth Edwards' professorial lecture. © Michael Pritchard. 

Terry King & Hands-On Pictures in Richmond have a number of upcoming workshops: Niepce and Wedgwood on 12 & 13 June focuses on making prints on metal using asphaltum also known as ' bitumen of Judea'.  It will use two different methods, the first will produce a straight photograph in asphaltum, the second will produce an image using asphaltum which will result in a plate having the  same qualities as 'The First Photograph' in the 'Harry Ransom Center' in Austin. The group will experiment  by combining  asphaltum and aquatint to produce an image in ink on paper and will also make prints onto leather in the style of Thomas Wedgwood as described in his 1804 paper to the Royal Institution. The cost of the workshop will be £250.

Cyanotype and Cyanotype Rex Terry King and the team at Hands-On Pictures will be running two two-day workshops, the first on 6 & 7 June and the second on 12 & 13 July, covering the beauty of tone and gradation that can be got from the straight cyanotype process on a number of materials. The group will also pursue toning techniques and Terry King’s cyanotype rex process, a development that allows split toning into subtle blues, greys and ochres.  The philosophy of the workshops is that we should use the simplest methods to achieve the best effects in picture making. The cost will be £250.

Platinum and Palladium. In July Terry King and the team at the Hands-On Pictures studio in Richmond are giving two different Platinum and Palladium workshops, one using digital negatives and the other film negatives from large format cameras. Each workshop is limited to six people. The most beautiful photographic prints have been made using the platinum process. The tactility and subtlety of these prints, made on fine art papers, transcend what is possible with other processes. The first workshop from 10 30 AM to 5 30 PM on 7 & 8 July will cover making large format film negatives exposed and developed to produce the wide density range needed to produce the beautiful contrast and gradation for which the platinum print is renowned. The workshop will include taking photographs on large format cameras. The cost will be £250. The second workshop, will be from 10 30 AM to 5 30 PM on 28 & 29 July. The group will make digital negatives together with Peter Moseley. We will adjust curves to give negatives of the necessary density range to produce platinum prints similar to those produced from film. The negatives will be made from scans or digital files which students may bring them. The cost will be £250.

More information is at: www.hands-on-pictures.com or email: terryaking@me.com

Birmingham's Ikon Gallery is proposing a new museum of photography in the city centre's Curzon Street station building. The proposal document states: 'The Curzon Street railway station building, with its impressive classical entrance facing into the centre of Curzon Square, will become Birmingham’s new Museum of Photography, drawing from the extensive collection of the new Library of Birmingham. As well as temporary exhibitions, it will provide displays of local history especially reflective of the people of Birmingham'. Realisation of the scheme would take place over ten years and would also see the relocation of a national art collection as part of the project.

Source magazine spoke to Peter James in its latest issue (Spring 2012) . James, Head of Photographs at Birmingham Central Library welcomed the proposal. However, according to Source which also spoke to Ikon's deputy director Deborah Kermode, the Ikon proposal would see Birmingham Central Library divested of its photography collections which would move to the new museum. At which point James might be less welcoming of the idea especially as the new Birmingham Library due to open in Summer 2013 will be giving the photography collections better storage conditions and a greater prominence than hitherto.   

Source magazine has more on this - click here.

Update: Helen Stallard of Ikon has contacted BPH to update the report above. Helen advises that the Ikon proposal is not to divest Birmingham Central Library of its photography collection. Ikon looks forward to the opening of the new Library of Birmingham which will provide much improved environmental conditions for photographic storage. She notes that the Libray's photography collection "does not have a dedicated gallery, which is where the partnership between the Library and Ikon primarily will bear fruit. The proposed museum of photography will provide a showcase for the collection, freely accessible to the general public".

Ikon is taking the first steps in a long proces with many issues of management and strategy to be resolved. She says: "It is our conviction that the success of the project overall will arise out of vital partnerships and good will (in abundance) between the various institutions involved".  

BPH looks forward to reporting on progress over the coming years.

I am trying to clarify copyright for an image taken in 1946 by Philipps and Smith of 15 St Mary's Street,Southampton, Hampshire.  Any information about this photographic studio would be much appreciated.

A one-day symposium on pivotal role of one family in nineteenth century life. From the history of science to literary criticism, this interdisciplinary event explores the Dillwyn family’s contributions to: Anti-Slavery and transatlantic trade, nineteenth century science and ground-breaking early photography, feminist literature and pioneering industrial fiction, nation-building politics and the relationship between science and culture. 

Speakers include Professor Prys Morgan, Professor Chris Evans and Professor Iwan Morus.

22 June 2012, National Waterfront Museum, Swansea

See: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/events/dillwyn-day-science-culture-society-1

I was just wondering if anyone knows of anything planned for this anniversary. I am doing my PhD in the one off image through photographic history from Talbot and Daguerre right up to the present use of Instax film.  It would be good if there were any workshops or programmes relating to my thesis.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), in cooperation with the Vatican Library, is pleased to announce the publication of a book on the previously unknown and major collection of photographs at the Vatican Library. Authored by SFMOMA's Senior Curator of Photography Sandra S. Phillips, The Papal Collection of Photographs in the Vatican Library provides the first public look into this extraordinary collection. The book studies and reproduces over 100 photographs, and focuses on the period of the mid-19th to early 20th century, ending with pictures made around the time of World War II.

The Vatican Library is among the oldest continuously operating libraries in the world. In the 19th century, after the medium was invented, photographs gradually entered the Library's holdings and were specifically directed to the Papal Addresses, a collection of items, mainly correspondence, sent to the Pope. Today this collection includes thousands of pictures; many of the objects are not single photographs but are included in albums, portfolios, and other groupings, often in elaborate formats. The bindings and covers are sometimes intricately designed in semi-precious materials, though there are also many examples of simpler, more vernacular presentations. The collection has recently been relocated to the Department of Graphic Arts after the recent renovation of the Library. 

Most of the photographs in this collection would be termed "vernacular" pictures—images not made with specific artistic intent but rather to convey information. They were sent to the Pope to inform him of events outside the Vatican that he could not witness himself. The most important pictures were taken in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time of great transition within the church and profound historical change in the world. The political map of Europe was shifting, and a movement developed to create Italy as a modern nation. After protracted struggle, the Italian state was formed in 1870, which incorporated the Pope's historical territories. With the inception of modern Italy, the Pope remained in the Vatican until the final agreement between Italy and the Vatican was signed in 1929, granting the Papacy authority over its own state.

Many photographs reflect this dynamic period, many of them made outside Rome and beyond the borders of contemporary Italy. Pictures were sent to the Pope to show him the effects of devastating political events in the Near East and Europe: the damage to churches during wars, the emigration of peoples, and the persecution of members of the Catholic faith. There are other, perhaps less momentous events that are equally fascinating, such as a portrait group of American Indians in Minnesota in the late 19th century; the great building projects of churches and schools in the United States and Europe; and descriptive images of life and landscapes in the Americas and Asia.

Some of the pictures in the collection are by known figures, many renowned in their own country, such as the Italian Gioachino Altobelli and the Swiss Adolphe Braun, or further afield, Henrique Klumb of Brazil and Samuel Bourne of India. Others must have been made by members of the clergy, such as the extraordinary photographs of Carthage, near modern Tunis; pictures of the ancient ruins and the Arab inhabitants made by Father Alfred-Louis Delattre; or the documentation of the construction of the statue of Christ at Monte Carcovaldo overlooking Rio de Janiero, made by a still unknown photographer. There are other photographs that would be expected in the Papal collection, like the documentation of the Shroud of Turin, as well as some wonderful surprises, including remarkable records of the North Pole flights of the Italian explorer Umberto Nobile in the 1920s.

The official press release can be found here.

I first joined the forum not long after it began, wanting to know more about the wet collodion process for the novel I was researching. Members of the forum were very helpful - thanks to everyone who responded.  Soon afterwards I did a one-day course in London, taught by Mark and France Scully Osterman, and held at the studio of artist Minnie Weisz.

I'm happy to say that the novel, two years in the making, will be published this week. The Painted Bridge is set in London in 1859 and features an idealistic young photographer inspired by the work of the real-life Dr Hugh Diamond, who made the arresting portraits of patients at the Surrey Asylum in the mid-19th century.

I had more help more recently from forum member Sean McKenna - who very kindly allowed us to use his camera during the filming of a short trailer for the book. We were delighted when Sean said he'd like to make a collodion portrait of the actress, at the end of the shoot. 

This beautiful image was the result.

If anyone's interested, there is more about The Painted Bridge on my website.

Discover more about the stories behind some of the hidden gems from the RIBA Library's extensive collection of unique 19th century photographs.

As part of a new series of intimate talks at RIBA, 66 Portland Place, view original material at close hand and hear from one of the curators about the role and the development of architectural photography in the second half of the century.

Focus on... talk with Valeria Carullo, RIBA Library Photographs Collection. Details can be found here.

Came across this in a national paper (and feeling patriotic) and thought might be useful to share the insights of the curator's thoughts behind the NPG exhibition "The Queen: Art and Image" as reported here.

The exhibition details can be found here.

The Photographers' Gallery in London re-opens to the public today after a major refurbishment and rebuilding programme. Speaking to BPH at the launch yesterday Brett Rogers, Director, said that the refurbishment has exceeded her expectations.

The building has been extended and the first major exhibition over two floors is Burtynsky's Oil which runs to 1 July. The new space does full justice to the large format colour prints.

An extended print room, bookshop and cafe add to the venue and the latter seems set to to become a great meeting place for photographers. 

See: http://www.photonet.org.uk/

I am seeking any  information on Basil Green a London photographer in Manchester st W 1951-1954 who took a portrait of Australian writer  Patrick White. I am wondering if he might be the same as the very hip Basil Green the founder of 'Vince' Menswear in the late 1950s. 

Gael Newton

Life Online,at the National Media Museum, Bradford, is designed by NRNDesign  The gallery is designed to explore the social, technological and cultural impact of the Internet. This permanent gallery traces the history of the Internet, looking at how it has changed people's lives and tracking the latest trends online.
 The gallery covers two spaces within the National Media Museum; a permanent exhibition on the ground floor and a changing temporary exhibition space on level 7. 
The permanent exhibition tracks the history of the Internet, from the first experimental messages to the rise of modern social networking. A range of interactives explore the story of the Internet, whilst a timeline of objects showcases the evolution of Internet and computing technology.


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