I’ve just received details of an exhibition of photographs by Sir Benjamin Stone which are going on display in Centenary Square, Birmingham, from 20th September – 30 October 2008.

‘Knight of the Camera’ marks the first major display of images by the renowned Victorian amateur photographer, Sir Benjamin Stone, in his home town of Birmingham for almost a century. It follows on from the exhibition and publication project A Record of England: Sir Benjamin Stone and the National Photographic Record Association which was shown at the V&A in 2006 (more information below).

 

The exhibition is being organised by Birmingham Library, where Stone’s archive is held, and will include over 100 of his most iconic images - from Parliament, customs and festivals and others such as his previously unseen photographs of the Franco-British Exhibition in London, 1908. Interestingly the exhibition will also include a ‘Legacy’ section revealing the influence of Stone’s work on subsequent generations of British photographers such as Homer Sykes, Daniel Meadows and Anna Fox. It’s being curated by Pete James who is head of Photographs at Birmingham Central Library and has undertaken extensive research on Stone’s collection for many years.

 

A Record of England: Sir Benjamin Stone and the National Photographic Record Association, 1897 -1910 

In July 1897, in a flourish of publicity, Sir Benjamin Stone – Birmingham industrialist, Member of Parliament and passionate, almost obsessive collector, announced the formation of the National Photographic Record Association. Its prime objective was to make a record of England for future generations, to foster “a national pride in the historical associations of the country, or neighbourhood, in family traditions, or in personal associations.” Over the next 13 years, Stone and his amateur supporters deposited their photographs at the British Museum. In 2000, these were moved to the V&A. This book examines Stone’s central role in the project and presents over 100 of his photographs, many of which have never been published before. It also charts the history of the NPRA and points to its legacies within photography.

 

Ripon Pageant. Guild of Woolcombers Group. Ripon, Yorkshire, England 1906 © Sir Benjamin Stone, V&A

The NPRA was part of a much wider photographic survey movement at the end of the 19th century, covering British archaeology, geology and ethnography. The idea of photographic surveys survives to this day, operating at many levels, from local camera clubs and community projects to the National Monuments Record. While there are strong elements of nostalgia in the NPRA,  it was also dynamic as our Victorian ancestors, like us, used photography to project what they valued about their past into the future.

You can see a selection of images from the V&A exhibition here.

You can read a biography of Stone here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under INSPIRATION, RESEARCH. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.