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two societies emerged during the 1850s: the Dublin
Photographic Society, founded at the premises of the
Royal Dublin Society in 1854, and the Belfast Photo-
graphic Society, founded 1857, but probably defunct by
- The participants in the Dublin Society resemble
the fi gures that made up the London Society: unsurpris-
ingly, many of these people were part of the Anglo-Irish
establishment. In a signifi cant move, it changed its name
to the Photographic Society of Ireland in 1858. In an
empire over which the ‘sun never set,’ photographic
societies were also active in Bombay (1855), Calcutta
and Madras (both 1856). Journals were published by the
fi rst two societies, but appear not to have survived; the
latter published proceedings in the Madras Journal of
Literature and Science and also held some exhibitions.
The social role of these organisations and the images
produced by their members were inevitably shaped by
this colonial context.
As the South London Society’s Honorary Secretary
A.H. Wall put it, the range of subjects discussed at
meetings:
are such as, until the introduction of photography, were
seldom associated together. The rules of art, the laws of
chemistry, the principles of optics, and the secrets of
certain mechanical crafts, seem in the non-photographic
mind to possess so little in common, that strangers wonder
when they hear each, or all, of these dissimilar subjects
blending in a discussion following some paper on one
or other of the processes of photography. (Wall, ‘A Few
Thoughts about Photographic Societies,’ 487)
Although some of the smaller societies were referred
to as ‘Gossiping Clubs,’ the South London Photographic
Society was extremely active and gives an indication of
proceedings. Less formal than the London Society, 25
to 30 members gathered to discuss papers or matters of
interest. A ‘Question Box’ allowed issues to be raised
‘without writing a paper.’ It was suggested that papers
should be submitted in advance to the committee in order
to prevent presentations that were ‘foolish,’ ‘unsuitable’
or in bad taste (‘Photographic Societies, Papers, and
Discussions,’ 147). Evidently, some effort had to be
exerted to establish norms of middle-class decorum.
What we know about the societies comes, in large
part, from the journals, which carried the minutes
of their proceedings and published papers. From the
1850s, numerous photographic journals appeared, often
with a short life span. Three stand out: The Journal of
the Photographic Society of London founded in 1853
(subsequently The Photographic Journal from 1859);
The British Journal of Photography established 1860,
but emerged from journals issued in the North West
from 1854; and The Photographic News (1858–1908).
The Photographic News was independent (though it
was closely allied to the London groupings) and it
easily achieved the highest circulation fi gures. These
journals provide indispensable source material, but they
need to be read carefully: these are partisan forums for
personalities, trends and coteries; all were dedicated to
elevating the social status of photographers.
From the outset, photographs were exhibited in a
wide range of contexts, including: the British Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, The Society
of Arts, The Royal Scottish Academy, The Royal
Polytechnic Association, The Photographic Institu-
tion, Mechanics Institutes; even the Yeovil Mutual Im-
provement Society. As we have seen, the Photographic
Society and Photographic Society of Scotland mounted
annual exhibitions: local photographic societies also
held exhibitions on an intermittent basis. Photographs
featured in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and in 1857
the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition included
an important collection of photographs selected by
Delamotte. Exhibitions of novel subjects began to take
place during the 1850s: Fenton’s Crimean pictures, for
instance, were shown widely around Britain. The 1862
International Exhibition was probably one of the most
signifi cant the exhibitions of the period. Following the
pattern established in the Great Exhibition of 1851,
the commissioners responsible proposed exhibiting
photographs and equipment together in the Machinery
Court. Photographers were repelled by this suggestion
and demanded that their images be exhibited with the
Fine Arts. A campaign for reclassifi cation, led by the
Photographic Society, was instigated and the national
press took note of the argument. As Punch observed,
the commissioners:
[h]ave thought fi t to pass an insult upon Photographic Art,
by classing its productions with railway plant and garden
tools, small arms and ship’s tackle, big guns, and new
omnibuses, donkey carts and corn extractors.... (Silver,
‘Fair Play for Photography’, 221)
The Society organised a boycott of the exhibition,
but eventually accepted the compromise of a ‘separate
apartment’ offered by the commissioners. When the
exhibition opened it became apparent that this ‘separate
room’ was a purely notional category in the catalogue;
photographs were situated alongside cameras and
chemicals amongst an array of educational devices.
Despite photographers’ evident dismay this exhibition
was pivotal, because it pushed photographers to argue
on a scale previously unknown that their art was one
of the Fine Arts. No doubt, the need to claim invention
in copyright law played an important role here, but the
existence of networks of professional societies and
journals was also signifi cant (in this dispute the Photo-
graphic Journal received communications from at least
nine societies). However, it would be another ten years,
before photography was admitted to the category of Fine
Art in the International Exhibition of 1872, where it was
situated with engraving and lithography.