1854 THE ATHENAEUM
Journal of English and foreign Literature, science, and the Fine Arts
1854 [no vol. #s]
ver: Jan. 29, 2010
incl. Oct. 24, 2009
--This journal does NOT have volume #s, only issue #s.
--These articles have been transcribed directly from the originals in the V&A Art Library; NO copies made, some have been photographed. When articles were photographed, a reference has been made and beginning words transcribed to insure association of photos w/ bib. refs.
--Ads = only checked in spotty manner; they are listed together then they occur. More thorough search needed when time permits.
NOTES:
--Italics have been retained from publications, which use them for both titles as well as emphasis. To more easily locate image titles, I have continued this italicization when titles have been rendered in all capitols or put in quotes, however italics have NOT been used when the general subject of an image is mentioned.
--Spelling and typos: Nineteenth-century spellings occasionally differs from currently accepted norms. In addition, British spellings also differ from American usage. Common examples are: “colour” vs. “color”; “centre” vs. “center’” the use of “s” for “z” as in “recognise” vs. “recognize; and the use of one “l” instead of “ll” as in “fulfilment”. While great care has been exercised in transcribing the 19th-century journals exactly as printed, “spell check” automatically corrects many of these differences. An attempt has been made to recorrect these automatic changes, but no doubt some have slipped through. As for typographical errors, these have been checked although no doubt some have managed to slip through the editorial process. For matters of consequence, I will be happy to recheck the original sources if need be for specific references.
--Image numbers listed in articles can be either an entry number in an exhibition, or the photographer’s own image number as found on labels.
--All names have been bolded for easy location. Numbers frequently refer to the photographer’s image number, but can also refer to a number in a catalog for a show. Decide whether to bold or not if can tell.
--It is not always possible in lists of photographers to know when two separate photographers are partners or not, e.g., in a list, “Smith and Jones” sometimes alludes to two separate photographers and sometimes to one photographic company. Both names will be highlighted and indexed but a partnership may be wrongly assumed. Any information to the contrary would be appreciated.
-- Brackets [ ] are used to indicate supplied comments by the transcriber; parenthesis
( ) are used in the original sources. If the original source has used brackets, they have been transcribed as parenthesis to avoid confusion.
--“illus” means that I have the view mentioned and should be scanned and included.
--Articles by photographers about technical matters – when transcribed, only names and titles have been listed. If other names are associated with the paper they are listed as well.
--Meetings of Societies – Names of officers, members attending or referenced, dates and locations of meetings have been given. If the reports are very short or discuss photographs, then the articles have been copied; if administrative or technical in nature, they have not.
--“[Selection]” = This has been used when not all portions of a feature are copied, such as The Photographic News’ “Talk In The Studio”. If the word does not appear, then the entire feature was transcribed.
-- Some journals, e.g., The Art-Journal, cover both photographer and painting/drawing. As they frequently refer to the production of both the photographer and the painter as “pictures” it is not always possible to tell when photography is indicated. If there is doubt, it will be included but a note will be added stating that the names listed may in fact not be photographers.
--Mostly articles totally discussing technical aspects of photography, products, etc. are not transcribed unless they are part of a larger article covering photographs. When technical descriptions are too lengthy to transcribe that is noted.
--Cultural sensitivity – these are direct transcriptions of texts written in the 19th-century and reflect social comments being made at that time. Allowances must be made when reading some texts, particularly those dealing with other cultures.
1854: Athenaeum, Jan. 7, issue #1367, p. 23: To be transcribed
1854: Athenaeum, Feb. 11, issue #1372, p. 185: MORE To be transcribed
1854: Athenaeum, Feb. 11, issue #1372, p. 185:
Ad:
The Esquimaux Family, from the Polar Regions, having had the honour of appearing by Royal Command before Her Majesty, at Windsor Castle, will be exhibited, every afternoon at 3, and every evening at 8, at Lowther Arcade Exhibition rooms, Adelaide Street, West Strand, in their Native Costume, with their Huts, Canoe, &c. The Illustrative Lecture will be delivered by Mr. Leicester Buckingham. –Admission, 1s; Reserved Seats, 2s. Children, Half-price.
1854: Athenaeum, May 20, issue #1386, p. 624: PHOTO TAKEN TRANSCRIBE
+ Our Weekly Gossip: [extract]
[On importance of collodion. Text start with:
Photography is steadily advancing. We have now to notice a new application to the collodion process which is of the …. [ending with] decidedly the greatest advance which has been made.
1854: Athenaeum, July 22, #1395, p. 913: TO transcribe
1854: Athenaeum, Aug. 26, #1400, p. 1029:
Ads: [extract; this is not the 1st time this ad appears]
Mayall’s Portrait Galleries, 224, Regent Street, Corner of Argyll-place.
Daguerreotypes and Stereoscopic Miniatures in the highest style of Art taken daily.
“Mr. Mayall has proved his mastery over the art by producing photographic portraits of the full size of life ** [sic] without the slightest sacrifice of definition, or the smallest approach to distortion;--indeed, the errors and peculiarities of former impressions appear to be corrected.”
--Athenaeum, July 22, 1854.
“Mr. Mayall’s portraits represent the high art of the daguerreotype: they are as superior to the generality of such pictures as a delicate engraving is to a coarse woodcut.”—Art-Journal, Nov. 1853.
“More pleasing, and far more accurate, than the generality of such pictures.”—Times, July 17, 1854.
1854: Athenaeum, Oct. 7, #1406, p. 1200-1201:
Fine Arts: New Publications:
Photographic views: 1. Hastings Castle. 2. Hastings Cliff. 3. Hastings Boatmen (Photographic Institution.)
These views are on a larger scale than Mr. Cundall’s scenes in Gloucestershire, and display more perfectly both the perfections and imperfections of the collodion process, with its soft sepia tints, and its harmony of tone, form and colour. In the Castle Court the spottiness of the ivy impairs the monotonous and universal, and in some cases false in its effect. The gems of the series are the two groups of boatmen. The sailor smoking, the boy in his norwester and big boots, standing on a pile of ship timbers, the old man by the anchor pulling at a rope,--and, not least, the paling behind, with the pitch cracked and seamed, form an admirable picture as true as Hogarth, but more tender and choice in execution. The net and the anchor, the dark shed and the shingle, are things to remember. Sharpness and softness, clear outline and breadth of tone, richness, depth and variety of colour, were never before united in an engraving whose price was within reach of a mechanic.