PHRC | Photographic History Research Centre at De Montfort University
On the third Thursday of every month, we proudly host the Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) Takeover—a day when academics and students from the Centre (based here at DMU) share their expertise and insights on our remarkable photographic collections.
This month, we’re thrilled to feature Professor Kelley Wilder, Director of the PHRC, as she explores one of the pamphlet manuals from the Robert White Collection. Read on to find out more.
The box called ‘miscellaneous’ or ‘unknown’ always catches my eye in the archive (this probably happens to you too). Today’s blog starts with a small pamphlet from an ‘unknown’ manufacturer, titled, Why When and Where of Photography and a few hints on How from the Robert White collection, in a box containing photography and camera instruction manuals (the White Collection, although not fully catalogued has been box-listed). The title alone was enough to capture my attention…
Bound with a single staple, the pamphlet is about 12.5 cm high.
…but there was also a negative folded inside the front cover.
Knowing I would be told ‘what to do with this negative’ on p. 14, it was too enticing to ignore.
Film negative with Ensign advertisement ‘For Perfect Pictures Use Ensign Speedy Films’.
The first few pages extol the values of taking up photography as a hobby, along with some truly hyperbolic statements about human nature and the taking of pictures. The anonymous author even longingly wishes that Samuel Pepys had illustrated his famous Diary with photographs to illustrate life in 17th century Britain (you can read some excerpts of Pepys’ Diary here: https://www.pepysdiary.com/).
pp. 2-3: On the left of the text is a halftone image by J. Constantin.
As you read through the pamphlet it becomes clear that this is an extended advertisement for taking up the hobby of photography, and for the photography journal The Amateur Photographer. Thanks to the Kodak Collection, Special Collections holds a run of The Amateur Photographer from 1884 - 1908. This periodical has been published under several titles over the years, so the run does, in fact, go up to 1961. You can learn more about this title on the DMU Library catalogue where many of the rare books and periodicals are listed.
Left: The Amateur Photographer on the shelves in DMU Special Collections reading room. Right: Front cover of The Amateur Photographer, Jan-Jun, 1902.
The journal, if you aren’t already familiar with it, reads something like Pepys’s Diary, chronicling the day-to-day inventions, news, advice, exhibition reviews and much more from the first issue in 1884. Open any single issue to a random page and it gives you a snapshot into photography of the time.
Suggestions for snow photography in The Amateur Photographer 16 January 1902.pp. 52-53.
But, you’re asking me, what about that negative? Well, p.14 of the pamphlet tells the reader that the negative is a free gift to help the reader (us) understand what a ‘good’ negative should look like. It also tells us that prints or enlargements from the negative can be submitted to a competition for ‘cash, apparatus or materials’. It is also an embedded advertisement for Ensign films, encouraging photographers to become familiar with the Ensign brand, and linking it to quality photography.
pp. 14-15 of the pamphlet advertising The Amateur Photographer.
In the last paragraph, demonstrating typical marketing strategy, the text mentions The Amateur Photographer no less than 3 times, using all caps for emphasis, encouraging no doubt our agreement with the final statement, taking up the last page,
THE BEST WAY TO LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY IS TO READ THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER.
The final page of the pamphlet with a decoratively typeset advertisement for the periodical.
It’s also a great way to learn photographic history. Thanks to our excellent Special Collections, the journals can be browsed in person in the reading room. If you are there, do take a moment to peek into the Robert White collection and its amazing ephemera.
Thank you, Kelley, for another fascinating focus on the photographic collections. If you would like to view any of the items in our collections, please visit our website to book an appointment. Don’t miss next month’s PHRC Blog Takeover!
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