Edinburgh University, School of Literature, Language and Cultures, Celtic and Scottish Studies

2nd Year Lecture  -  March 3 2014

Ethnographic Photography and Postcards in Scotland

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

This talk was subsequently given to Colinton Literary Society on February 4, 2015 under the title

Old Photographs and Postcards of Scotland

For further details on any of the topics below, please see these pages:    Ethnographic Photography      Ethnographic Postcards

1

PHOTOGRAPHY

Early History

Page 1

2

PHOTOGRAPHY

Cameras and  Photos

Page 2

3

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic Societies

Page 3

4

PHOTOGRAPHY

Professional
Photographers

Page 4

5

POSTCARDS

Early History

Page 5

6

POSTCARDS

Postcard Use

Page 6

7

POSTCARDS

Publishers

Page 7

8

POSTCARDS

Views of Scotland

Page 8

 

Ethnographic Photography and Postcards in Scotland

Page 2

PHOTOGRAPHY

Types of
Cameras and Photographs

 

  • We'll look at the periods beginning:

  • -  1835

  • -  1851

  • -  1880

  • -  1900

  • -  2000

_________________________________

From 1835

Photogenic Drawing, Calotypes and Daguerreotypes

Photogenic Drawing

  • Talbot described his first experiments as photogenic drawings.

    They used no camera at all.  He just placed leaves, ferns and other objects on his photographic paper and exposed it to light.  The result was a negative image.  The example below is dated Feb 8, 1836.

    Photogenic Drawing (Talbot)

    Shadowgraph of a leaf fern produced by Talbot in 1836

    ©  Reproduced from the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television collection,
    by courtesy of the Science and Society Picture Library.   Click here for link to web site.

    Cameras

    Later, Talbot used very simple cameras.  These were small wooden boxes with lenses.  Note the small sizes.  The measure on the right is 3 ins.

    Cameras used by Talbot  -  1835 to 1839

    ©  Reproduced from the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television collection,
    by courtesy of the Science and Society Picture Library.   Click here for link to web site.

  • Exposures of an hour or more would normally be needed with these cameras.  It was not practical to take portraits!

  • The Calotype was an 1840 development of Talbot's  original discovery.

  • A Calotype might sometimes require an exposure of as little as ten seconds but often it would need a minute, or perhaps ten minutes, depending on the light.

Hill & Adamson

  • Here is a calotype of taken by Hill & Adamson

  • Their partnership began in 1843, but lasted for only four years.  Adamson died in early 1848:

'Edinburgh Ale'

James Ballantyne, Dr George Bell & David Octavius Hill

"Edinburgh Ale"

©  Reproduced by courtesy of Edinburgh City Libraries and Information Services

Daguerreotype

See also 'Further Notes'

    Daguerreotype 1  -  Photographer not named ©

  • This was the main process used for portraits in the 1840s, but the photos were expensive.  Here, the image can be clearly seen, but on tilting the photo a few degrees, the image almost vanishes leaving what appears to be almost clear glass.

  • The Daguerreotype process needed skill and was dangerous.  It required a highly polished silver plate to be exposed to:

  •  iodine fumes before the photograph was taken

  •  fumes from heated mercury after the photo had been taken.

    _________________________________

    From 1851

    Collodion Negatives

  • The collodion process required photographers to:
          -  coat their glass plates in the dark THEN
          -  within about ten minutes, while the surface of the plate was still wet
          -  take the photo and develop the plate. 

  • So for outdoor photography dark tent or other form of portable darkroom was needed.

  • Here is a view of The Scott Monument, taken by George Washington Wilson of Aberdeen.  The vehicle beside the lamp post is his horse-drawn darkroom parked outside the temperance hotel where he was staying in Princes Street.

    Princes Street

    Princes Street looking to the west, by George Washington Wilson.  His photographic van is in the foreground of this picture.

    ©  Queen Mother Library - University of Aberdeen

Cartes de Visite

  • The collodion process was much cheaper than the Daguerreotype, so more photographers became established, and were able to sell to a wider public.  The normal size of portrait right up to about 1900s were:

  •  cartes de visite (mounted on card 4.125ins x 2.5 ins) from the mid-1850s

  •  cabinet prints (mounted on card 6.5ins x 4.25 ins) from the mid-1860s.

  • Victorian photograph albums were produced to hold these two sizes of print.

    Carte de Visite

    Alex Ayton jun  -  Carte de Visite  -  No 3  -  front  ©      Alex Ayton jun  -  Carte de Visite  -  No 3  -  front  ©

  • Exposures of several seconds were needed for early cartes de visite, so:

  • sitters were often supported by stands, or took positions they could easily hold for several seconds.

  • sitters would be unlikely to be smiling or showing expressions such as surprise.

Ambrotype

  • Collodion plates could also be used, mounting the negatives against a dark background to produce Ambrotypes.  These would usually be mounted in small cases:

Ambrotype

Thomas Buist with wife and daughter  -  1857

The early Fife and Edinburgh Photographer, Thomas Buist  -  photographed with his wife and daughter in 1857

©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to Frances Culham, Bedfordshire, England

Ambrotype in a Union Case

The case is made from shellac and sawdust, then moulded

Ambrotype in Union Case - hand tinted
©  Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

Union Case designed to hold an ambroype photo - Outside, showing the front and back of the opened hinged case

©  Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

  • Tintype Photos

    Tintype photos were similar to ambrotypes, but were on metal, often very inexpensive and produced by itinerant photographers.  Some can be found unframed, others framed as for Ambrotypes.

  •  
    • Albumen Prints

      See also 'Further Notes'

    • From the 1850s onwards until near the end of the century, Albumen prints were produced.  These were a yellowish colour and tended to fade.

    • Here is one of the Forth Bridge under construction. in the 1880s.

    Photograph of the Forth Rail Bridge under construction in the 1880s  -  by John Patrick

    © Ray Norman

________________________________

1880 to 1900

Amateur Photographers

  • One of the most significant developments of the late 19th century was the move by photographers from the wet collodion to the dry collodion process.

  • Hand-held cameras became popular, and were marketed to amateurs, particularly by Kodak.  In 1885, Kodak invented the roll film.  In 1888, Kodak coined the slogan "You Press The Button and We Do The Rest."

  • Cameras from the 1890s  -  The Regular Kodet

    ©  Reproduced by courtesy of Edinburgh Photographic Society

  • The dry collodion plates were pre-coated, and did not need to be processed immediately.  They were also 'faster' so could be used by amateurs using cameras without a tripod.

Stereo Views

  • Stereo views first appeared in the 1850s, but there was a revival of interest  in the 1890s and early 1900s with some of the larger companies producing many sets of views around the world.

Stereo Viewer  -  and view of Grassmarket and Edinburgh Castle

Stereo Viewer  -  and view of Grassmarket and Edinburgh Castle

©  Copyright: peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

Looking down the Mound towards Princes Street

Stereo View looking down the Mound towards the National Galleries and Princes Street  -  Underwood & Underwood

©  Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

The Forth Bridge

Stereo views by Keystone View Company  - The Forth Bridge and Pipers by Keystone View Company

©  Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

Other Printing Methods

 

  • Other methods of printing began to be used instead of albumen

  • Silver Bromide paper came into use and remained popular in a variety of finishes throughout the 20th century

  • Carbon and Platinum and several other processes were used in order to produce prints that would not fade.  Platinotype materials became too costly, so very few were produced after 1914.

    Platinotype  Print

    D & W Prophet - Dundee + St Andrew Square, Edinburgh

    Platinotype Print of a Family  -  by D & W Prophet

     ©  please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk

    Photogravure  Prints

    See also 'Further Notes'

  • Thomas Annan took many photos of the slums of Glasgow before they were demolished.  Archibald Burns carried out  similar project for Edinburgh.  Here are some of Annan's prints, later reproduced as photogravures:

  • Photogravure - 1

    Thomas Annan

    Photogravure by James Craig Annan, taken from Thomas Annan's photographs of the Old Closes and Streets og Glasgow

    ©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to Fine Art Dealer Paul Cava

    Photogravure - 2

    Thomas Annan

    Photogravure by James Craig Annan, taken from Thomas Annan's photographs of the Old Closes and Streets og Glasgow

    ©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to Fine Art Dealer Paul Cava

    Photogravure -  3

    Thomas Annan

    Photogravure by James Craig Annan, taken from Thomas Annan's photographs of the Old Closes and Streets og Glasgow

    ©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to Fine Art Dealer Paul Cava

________________________________

1900 to 1999

  • The bromoil printing process was introduced in 1907.  It remained popular with pictorialists until the mid-20th century and is still practiced by a few.  A bromoil print involves replacing the emulsion on a print with an oil-based pigment, using a hard, flat brush.  The result is a soft artistic image.

    Bromoil

    Dunure Castle, Ayrshire  -  J M Whitehead

    Dunure Castle, Ayrshire  -  Print Title "Ruins Old in Story"  -  by John M Whitehead

    ©  Reproduced with acknowledgement to  Ed Romney

    Documentary Photography

  • Here are a couple of documentary photos taken in the St Leonard's district of Edinburgh.  The location of the second of these photos (below) has still to be identified.

Early-November 1927

East Crosscauseway

St Leonard's District -  1920s

©   Reproduced with acknowledgement to David Gordon, Old Town, Edinburgh

1920s

Where is it?

And here are a  more 'where is it?' photos

St Leonard's District -  1920s

©   Reproduced with acknowledgement to David Gordon, Old Town, Edinburgh

Family Photographs

See also 'Further Notes'

  • Photography became more popular, but in the first half of the 20th century it could be costly.  There were still many people and families who had no camera and relied on studios like Jeromes.

  • Many people remember going to Jerome to have their photo taken 'beside the pillar' on birthdays, at end of term and on other occasions.

Jerome Studio  -  Leith Street, Edinburgh: 1934 to 1970

Jerome's Studio, 79 Leith Street, Edinburgh

Later in 20th Century

  • Photography became more affordable.  More people and families began to own their own cameras that they used for for black and white prints, and later for colour prints and slides.

  • As the century progressed, cameras became smaller and easier to use.  Even the Press replaced their old heavy glass plate cameras by 35mm models.

  • Cameras continued to add new features and become automatic.

________________________________

2000
and beyond

Digital Photography

Many photographers have moved to digital photography since 2000.  What is the impact of digital photography likely to be?

  1. More models of camera becoming available (including mobile phones featuring cameras) over a wide range of prices. 

  2. More photographers.  No need for concern over the cost of film being used, so more photos will be taken.

  3. More experimenting, as photographers are able to take photos and view the results at short notice, without having to be concerned about the cost of film.

  4. More images being manipulated.
    -  Some photos will be changed to correct or improve the brightness, contrast, etc. as might have been done in the darkroom previously.
    -  Other photos will be changed for artistic effect, e.g. by use of Photoshop filters.

  5. In some cases, reality will be altered, e.g. by 'cloning-out' unwanted items from the picture, or by combining two or more photos, perhaps taken in different parts of the world.

  6. Manipulation was possible in pre-digital days.  But it's far easier to do now.

  7. Restored images can be produced from damaged prints, using Photoshop

  8. Less long-term archiving of family photos, as photos may be viewed then forgotten or deleted, rather than put in albums and labelled.

  9. More outlets for sharing of photos around the world,  e.g. on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many web sites.  Trends on these outlets might influence the type of photo  being taken, such as more 'selfies'.

 

________________________________

End of Page 2

 

Edinburgh University, School of Literature, Language and Cultures, Celtic and Scottish Studies

2nd Year Lecture  -  March 3 2014

Ethnographic Photography and Postcards in Scotland

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

This talk was subsequently given to Colinton Literary Society on February 4, 2015 under the title

Old Photographs and Postcards of Scotland

For further details on any of the topics below, please see these pages:    Ethnographic Photography      Ethnographic Postcards

1

PHOTOGRAPHY

Early History

Page 1

2

PHOTOGRAPHY

Cameras and  Photos

Page 2

3

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photographic Societies

Page 3

4

PHOTOGRAPHY

Professional
Photographers

Page 4

5

POSTCARDS

Early History

Page 5

6

POSTCARDS

Postcard Use

Page 6

7

POSTCARDS

Publishers

Page 7

8

POSTCARDS

Views of Scotland

Page 8

 

 

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