My Research

and the

EdinPhoto Web Site

Scope of Research

1. I have explored Edinburgh’s unique position in the history and development of photography since 1839, asking:

- Who were the early and prominent photographers in Edinburgh?

- What interests and expertise did they have, both as amateurs and professionals?

- How were they influenced by each other and by Edinburgh’s photographic societies?

Research by Others

2. The photography of Hill & Adamson has been well documented by Sara Stevenson. Books and booklets have been written on other Edinburgh photographers including the Yerbury family, Thomas Begbie, John Moffat and William Carrick.

My research includes a far broader range of photographers, many prominent during their lifetimes but almost forgotten now.

Source Material

3. My source material includes:

- BJP, other early photographic journals

- Contemporary newspapers and trade directories

- Minutes, reports, and 1,000 items of correspondence of PSS

- Minutes, transactions, journals, bulletins, exhibition programs and correspondence of EPS

- Photographic collections: V&A, RPS, NMPFTV, NGS, ECL, MoE, ECAC, EPS, Yerbury.

(Please see the end of this page for all abbreviations)

- My personal collections: cartes-de-visite, stereo views, cabinet prints, postcards by Edinburgh photographers.

Booklets

4. My research 1995-2001 is recorded in booklets.

a) Edinburgh's Photographic Societies in the 19th Century

- a booklet that was included in a package of items sold to EPS Members in 2000

b) Professional Photographers in Edinburgh, Leith and Portobello - 1840 to 1940

- a booklet published by the Historical Group of the RPS in 2001

c) Edinburgh Photographic Society Wednesday Meetings - 1861 to 1999

- one of several unpublished booklets, used when I set up this web site.

Web Site

5. All the above, in more depth, and the results of my ongoing research are now recorded on this web site, www.edinphoto.org.uk.

- I can instantly share the research with an international audience, and get feedback. Currently [Mar 05] there are about 140,000 sessions (400,000 page-views) from 160 different countries per month.

I have been contacted by almost 100 descendants of early Edinburgh photographers and have been able to include material they have provided on the web site.

- Many thousands of pages and images can be held on the site, and easily accessed through its Index pages, Links, Search.

Links enable me to bring together different aspects of a photographer’s work - studio address, exhibition photographs, processes used, prices charged, lectures to photographic societies

Photography
on the EdinPhoto web site

6. The site includes the following sections, and has comprehensive index pages for each:

- Early Photography – Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Edinburgh Calotype Club, Photographic Journals, British Photographic Societies, Early Photographic Processes, …
(700 pages)

- Photographic Society of Scotland – established in Edinburgh,1856 - Members, Meetings, Exhibitions, …
(150 pages).

- Edinburgh Professional Photographers – Studio addresses, Dates, Biographical Notes, Cartes-de-visite, Stereo Views, ….
(1,200 pages)

- Edinburgh Photographic Society –established 1861 – including: Members, Premises, Finances, Excursions, Exhibitions, Groups, Meetings, ….
(1,000 pages)

- Bibliography, Acknowledgements, Other Web Sites
(60 pages).

Photography
on the EdinPhoto web site

7. The site has other sections (4,000 pages) that help to set the history of photography in Edinburgh into a broader context. These include:

- History of Edinburgh

- Edinburgh Today

- Engravings

- Postcards

- Maps

- My Photos, including my ongoing documentary project, photographing 'People at Work in Edinburgh since 1990' . This is my own contribution to the history of photography in Edinburgh.

Use of EdinPhoto

web site

8. NMPFTV, Edinburgh City Library and members of SSHoP have told me that they frequently consult the site and refer others to it.

NLS intends to take copies of this site periodically to ensure that it remains accessible as hardware and software change over time.

Peter Stubbs - Edinburgh - March 2005