view + comment on Flickr

view + comment on Flickr

Anna Atkins (1799-1871) is represented in the Commons by her Photographs of British Algae, found as a set in the New York Public Library’s Flickr stream. Atkins studied science as her father’s assistant and made illustrations of shells for his 1823 translation of Lamarck’s book on the subject. She collected botanical samples, and through both her father and her husband came to know William Fox Talbot, inventor of the negative/positive process. By about 1841 she had access to a camera, but she’s best known for her 1843-45 cyanotypes (sunprints) of algae specimens. She collaborated with another woman, Anne Dixon (1799-1864), on other albums of botanical cyanotypes.

Fucus nodosus (1843-53), New York Public Library

Mary Dillwyn (1816-1906) was also acquainted with William Fox Talbot through family networks: her older brother John Dillwyn Llewelyn (himself a photographer) married Talbot’s cousin Emma. Mary was using a small camera in the early 1850s, and made a specialty of rather informal portraits for the time. After she married a clergyman in 1857, she gave up photography. Her work is to be found in the LIGC-NLW (National Library of Wales) Flickr stream, including this self-portrait from 1853.

Mary Dillwyn M.D. 1853 [self-portrait], LIGC-NLW (National Library of Wales)

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), who was raised in India, only started taking pictures at age 48, in 1863, when someone gave her a camera as a gift. Through her sister, she knew Tennyson and other writers and artists, and drew from their work in her subjects and poses. Cameron was also forward-thinking enough to get each of her images registered with the copyright office. She continued to make photographs when she moved back to Ceylon in 1875, but it was hard to get the necessary supplies there. The George Eastman House and the National Media Museum Flickr streams both include examples of Cameron’s work.

Ophelia Study No. 2, 1867, George Eastman House

Baby “Pictet”, 1863, National Media Museum

Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake (1809-1893) wasn’t herself a photographer. She was an art critic who wrote one of the first and most influential essays about photography as an art form, in 1857, declaring that “[p]hotography is intended to supercede much that art has hitherto done, but only that which it was both a misappropriation and a deterioration of Art to do.” She was married to Sir Charles Eastlake, the first president of the Royal Photographic Society. A Hill and Adamson portrait of Lady Eastlake (an early subject of photography as well as an early supporter) c. 1845 can be found in the Flickr stream of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Hill and Adamson, Lady Elizabeth (Rigby) Eastlake, 1809-1893. Writer, c. 1845, National Galleries of Scotland

The Commons is busting with activity with various institutions preparing for Common Ground! You’ve got until 16 September 2009 to VOTE.

Heard around and about The Commons:

• The Commons: Using the Web to Unlock Little Mysteries of the Past, is a very good write-up by Philip Bump, a technology and communications consultant in New York City. He illustrates the article with an example from the Commons.
• A History of Our Own, Representing Communities and Identities on the Web (SAA09: Session 202), a summary of Andrew Flinn’s session at the Society of American Archivists’ recent conference, by Jeanne Kramer-Smyth. She wraps the Commons into her final thoughts about the session.
• Did you know that the Getty Museum has audio tours you can listen to on your mobile phone? Check this one out.
• Smithsonian Museum Day is Saturday, 26 September 2009! Enjoy free general admission for you and a guest to hundreds of museums and cultural venues throughout the United States.
• How did you witness history on September 11, 2001? Share your story with the Smithsonian Institute’s September 11: Tell Your Story.
• Take This Job & Shoot It! by Catherine Shteynberg, Smithsonian Photography Initiative, discusses photography and the documentation of labor through the years.
• Here Comes the Revolution? Marvin Heiferman, Smithsonian Photography Initiative, reports on the new open source initiative for photographic technology that’s happening at Stanford University.
• The Powerhouse Museum is preparing a new exhibition From Earth to the Universe with Photographic Astronomer David Malin, featuring photographs showcasing the beauty and mystery of our Universe. Catch the previews on their blog.
• The new high-definition restoration of The Wizard of Oz was made possible in part because of George Eastman House’s safekeeping of the original materials!
• There is still time to check out the Field Museum’s Water exhibition, and Marisa Naujokas, Chicago Environmental Health Examiner, tells you why you should visit. Hurry! It closes 20 September 2009.
• The hugely popular and inspirational BP Portrait Award returns to Edinburgh and to the National Galleries of Scotland, beginning 12 December 2009.
• Love Letter Update, from the Australian War Memorial. Learn more about a mysterious love letter from a young French woman to her soldier sweetie.
• Here’s an Animal Mummy Update from the Brooklyn Museum.
• The National Media Museum posts their Film Guide – yay, go watch a good flick with them!
• Hey cool, the Getty has a Dorothea Lange photograph in their collection. Let’s tweet them to get that into the Commons with the other Lange images!

Overheard on Twitter

Paula Bray
A lightcycle goes down under
to visit the Powerhouse Museum

…turns out the #lightcycle has made it to Sydney where @paulabray and @erikajoy are cooking up something http://yfrog.com/5hfersj – Brooklyn Museum tweet

Read more about the NYPL’s plight at the Daily News.

Heard around the Commons:

• Vet du hvor bildet er tatt? Last week, the Swedish National Heritage Board asked for help identifying a photo in the Commons. Within 24 hours, the location was determined … and they got a write up on the news!
• Pirates land in Chicago, a photo essay in the Chicago Sun-Times of the Field Museum’s “Real Pirates”.
• The Field’s dead geese help solve mystery of plane in Hudson, an article by the Chicago Tribune.
• Enter the Don McCullin competition at the National Media Museum: Win a signed hardback copy of the book Don McCullin by commenting on one of the photos Don curated for the museum’s Flickr stream.
• Check out the photos of the opening night of 1984, with John Hurt, at the National Media Museum.
• Celebrate the 1,000th Tyrrell image in the Powerhouse Museum’s Flickr stream!
• Valour is explained by the Australian War Memorial.
• Installing the Summer Shows, insight into the behind-the-scenes work at the George Eastman House.
• I Do Solemnly Swear … Got photos of the 2009 U.S. Presidential Inauguration? Share them with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
• Picnic pest is focus of a Smithsonian exhibition — A write-up from the Philadelphia Enquirer on an intriguing photography exhibit.
• Check out some new National Air and Space Museum Photos (Smithsonian).
• Meanwhile, back on earth … A Slideshow, curated Flickr photos, by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative’s Marvin Heiferman.
• Islamic Art at the Brooklyn Museum, from Sunday Arts.
• Check out this interview by the Examiner of Dr. Patrick Amsellem, the Associate Curator of Photography at the Brooklyn Museum.
• The Sounds of American Life and Legend are tapped for the Seventh Annual National Recording Registry, from the Library of Congress.

Friday Fun!

The History of Household Technology, from the Library of Congress

Go Visit!

Now through 30 June — 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation at the New York Public Library. The 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, New York, is this month. There’s also a collection of GLBT books on display at the D.C. Public Library. We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!

12-14 June – Fantastic Films Weekend at the National Media Museum. Oohhhhhhhhh, scary movies!

13 June –Garden Fest 2009: The Scenic Route, the annual all day family-friendly event presented by the Horticulture Services Division (HSD) at the Smithsonian Institution.

13 June — Alice Waters book signing at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

15 June – Kick-Off Event: Juneteenth DC 2009 at the D.C. Public Library. Featuring performances, remarks and a reception in celebration of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. More info on Juneteenth here.

16 June – What Is a Conversation Piece? at the National Galleries of Scotland. Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, explores this fascinating type of art, which is such an important tradition within European painting.

Heard around the Commons:

• The Field Museum joins the Flickr Commons! Write-ups at Flickr and at LISNews.
• Give Mom a gift for Mother’s Day by donating to the Smithsonian in her name.
• Beyond the search box — an excellent slideshow from Paul Hagon on social media, APIs, and your collections.
• Picture Australia — wow, a very cool interactive site, and they have a Flickr group. Get inspired. Hat tip to Paul!
• New finding aids for April! — The Oregon State University Archives talks up its finding aids at the Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA).
• @nlnz — Learn how the National Library of New Zealand uses Twitter.
• Infomaki goes Open Source! – The New York Public Library’s usability testing tool is now released Open Source under the GNU General Public License.
• Photosynth — The Smithsonian Institution shows off its collections in a new way.
• America on the Move — A Smithsonian online interactive exhibit.
• Photography changes what we think “reality” looks like — From the Smithsonian Photography Initiative, non-camera-centric models for attaining realism.
• Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian — the back story about the props used in the upcoming movie.
• The Library of Congress Experience — A video demonstrating the LOC’s interactive exhibitions that integrate with their website at MyLOC.
• The LOC also picks up a new blogger!
• The Brooklyn Museum is the star of a new commercial.
• Behind-the-scenes — A look at the Powerhouse Museum’s photography studio.
• Stone’s Corner — The State Library of Queensland, Australia, provides insight into the history of this Brisbane suburb.

Go Visit!

• Now Open: Reflections on the Electric Mirror: New Feminist Video at the Brooklyn Museum.
• Throughout May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month at the Smithsonian Institution.
• Throughout May: Jewish American Heritage Month at the Library of Congress.
• May 9: Gallery of Modern Art May Highlights Tour at the National Galleries of Scotland
• Opening May 9: Not a Cornfield, a photography/video installation at the George Eastman House. Catch a video of artist Lauren Bon and the installation team on the “Earth Pillow” piece. Also, Don McCullin — in England, images by the famed British photographer, and Animalism, “contemporary media responses to our complex and sometimes uncomfortable relationship with the animal world.”
• May 9 & 10: Mom’s Weekend at Oregon State University!
• May 13: Water: Sustaining Our Blue Planet at the Field Museum, a talk with Jeffrey Sachs and Peter Annin.

Your Friday Fun:

-hat tip to george for this one!

The U.S. underwent one of the most significant milestones in our history in the 1860s, the U.S. Civil War. This war is quite well documented in photos. One photo that stood out is this photo of Lincoln on the battlefield at Antietam in 1862.

Library of Congress

Sadly, here is Lincoln’s funeral procession in Chicago, 1865.

Library of Congress

Venturing away from the agony of war, we find so many interesting items about the 1860s: dress, transportation, architecture, even style of photography (think sepia!). This photo is of a rural scene in Australia.

State Library of New South Wales

And here we see the view over Lysekil old harbor, Sweden. I love the outfits.

Swedish Heritage Board

Here’s an intriguing tourist shot of León de San Marcos, Venice, Italy. Again, the outfits catch my eye.

National Galleries of Scotland

It’s great to see a woman photographer in that era. Here’s one from Julia Margaret Cameron.

George Eastman House

Here are containers of pottery being shipped along the Nile River, Egypt.

New York Public Library

The gelatin process was developed in 1871 — stay tuned for photos from the 1870s next time!