European Society for the History of Photography


The European Society for the History of Photography, founded in 1978, is a society concerned with the historical events within photography from a European perspective.
The ESHPh publicly hosts symposia, publishes journals, and distributes the "International Letter" to its members. The ESHPh is actively chronicling the historiography of the history of photography in Europe.

History

The founding of the Europäischen Gesellschaft für die Geschichte der Photographie took place at the first general meeting on 19 November 1978 in Leverkusen, Germany. The decision to form a society of this nature had been taken one year earlier in Antwerp, Belgium. A group of museum curators and photographic historians from six European countries - notably Laurent Roosens, Margaret Harker and Rolf Krauss - came together to establish a new society dealing with the history of photography in a European context.
Since 2001, the presidential headquarters are to be found in Vienna. From 1978 until 1989, those headquarters were in Antwerp; thereafter, until 2001, in Croydon, UK. It is currently based in Vienna, although the website is hosted by the Donau University Krems, Austria.

The aims of the ESHPh

The ESHPh was founded with the primary aim of researching the historical development of photography from its origins up to the present and integrating it within a European context within the social political matrix of photography's inherent interdisciplinary nature. Photographers, general historians and historians of photography, philosophers, sociologists, ethnologists, academics, curators and private collectors as well as many important European institutions and some from further afield all belong to the ESHPh. Alongside its research activities, the ESHPh takes part in a worldwide exchange of information. It supports both the recognition of the history of photography as an academic discipline and the establishment of chairs in the discipline at European universities.
From 1981 until 2004, the society has held symposia in various locations in Europe, as evidenced by diverse publications. For its 30th anniversary in 2008, the ESHPh celebrated an internationally attended photography congress at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in Vienna, from 6–8 November 2008. This anniversary event was accompanied by an English language commemorative publication and took place as the theoretical focus of the European Month of Photography 2008 in Vienna.
The ESHPh as a society was entered in the Austrian Register of Societies on 3 March 2004. However, the seat of society is connected to the presidency.
The first general meeting, at which the board was elected, took place on 8 June in the WestLicht Gallery in Vienna. The new Executive Committee of the ESHPh was elected at the Society's annual general assembly that was held in Vienna on 4 November 2010, at the invitation of the Department for Pictures at the Austrian National Library.

ESHPh Board (as of 2011)

The International Letter is sent to members twice a year; the letter is a summary of recent events and information of new events and symposia concerning photography across the world, and also includes exhibition notices and auctions.

Symposia

Since 1981, the society has brought together practitioners and specialists with the aim of discussing photography and to create contacts from a variety of disciplines relating to photography.

''PhotoResearcher''

The society's printed journal, PhotoResearcher, has been published since 1990. 2010 saw the journal published three times a year by contributing authors who are internationally recognised experts in the field of photography.
No. 12 onwards:
No's. 7–11
No. 6
No. 5
No's. 1–4
This jubilee publication coincided with the 2008 conference in Vienna. It served to formulise the direction of the ESHPh and give an overview of the "picture" from trans-disciplinarian perspectives.

''Photohistorica''

Photohistorica: Serial Literature Index of the European Society for the History of Photography consisted of a bibliographical listing, with abstracts, of articles that had appeared in serial publications of the relevant years of publication. The first issue in May 1978 was a bibliographic listing only, but thereafter most bibliographic entries were accompanied by a short abstract. Apart from that pioneering issue of May 1978, each issue was double-numbered and except for 1979 and 1981 two double-numbered issues appeared annually. Karel van Deuren, Dr. Laurent Roosens, and Luc Salu were the first compilers of the bibliography and abstracts. The production of those twenty–seven double-numbered issues of Photohistorica of 1978-1992 made possible in Belgium by annual grants provided until 1993 by Agfa–Gevaert. From the remaining funds provided by Agfa-Gevaert, a detailed Cumulative Index was sent out to members of ESHPh in mid–1994.
For some years, the office of the ESHPh was based in England, and 1993-94 witnessed two years of financial insecurity for the Society, with an income apparently limited solely to the subscriptions of its members. Yet the production of a bibliography of articles on the history of photography from current serials had been of undoubted value and a justified function of the ESHPh. After a lapse of two years, a new volunteer - R. Derek Wood - from its members in England was found to compile and edit a renewed bibliography. Thus with Agfa-Gevaert making a grant to ESHPh in February 1995 to cover printing costs, another two double-numbered issues of a renewed Photohistorica covering the years 1993 and 1994 could be published.
However, with a low membership inevitable for a specialist subject area unable to provide a strong financial base, both publications of ESHPh could not continue in the late 1990s - except that is for ESHPh member Audrey Linkman of Manchester compiling and editing a final Photohistorica. It provided 296 abstracts of articles on the history of photography, published in serials, mainly, but not exclusively, during the half-year January to June 1997. Unlike all the earlier issues, issue 58 was printed in A4 format and a new categorisation of subjects was introduced.
This account of Photohistorica is derived mainly from R. Derek Wood's preface and postscript to the issues for 1993-1994.

Current President and Vice President

Membership is open to students, private individual and to contributing international museums and institutions in photography. It incorporates interested disciplinarians from the professional scientific and academic fields where photography is significant in whole or in part.