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Title:
Punch and Judy Show at Ilfracombe
Object name(s):
Photograph
Brief description:
Black and white photograph of people watching a Punch and Judy show on the beach.
Collection:
Victoria and Albert Museum
Associated concept:
Entertainment & Leisure
Content - concept:
holiday
Content - concept:
seaside
Current reproduction location:
https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2009BY6383/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg
Location type:
Thumbnail
Dimension:
Height
Dimension measured part:
album closed
Dimension measurement unit:
cm
Dimension value:
15
Dimension:
Width
Dimension measured part:
album closed
Dimension measurement unit:
cm
Dimension value:
14
Dimension:
Depth
Dimension measured part:
album closed
Dimension measurement unit:
cm
Dimension value:
3
Object name:
Photograph
Object number:
PH.1900-1980
Object production date:
ca. 1895
Date - association:
made
Date - earliest / single:
1890-01-01
Date - latest:
1899-12-31
Object production person:
Paul Martin
Person's association:
photographer
Object production place:
England
Place association:
made
Physical description:
Black and white photograph of people watching a Punch and Judy show on the beach.
Reproduction number:
2009BY6383
Reproduction number:
2007BM8831
Responsible department/section:
PDP
Technique:
platinotype
Technique:
Platinum print
Text reason:
Collections online record
Text:
In about 1890 it became possible to combine the gelatin dry-plate negative, which was fast and highly sensitive, with an inconspicuous device known as a 'detective' camera. This made possible a new type of candid snapshot. With his camera disguised as a leather box, Paul Martin--a wood engraver by training--made his photographs on London streets and while on holiday at the seaside. His negatives were the same size as this print and made on a platinum paper prized for its subtle tonal range. Martin's work demonstrates that by the end of the 19th century photography was no longer the preserve of aristocratic amateurs and professional studios. Anyone could now make snapshots of their life and surroundings. Martin was one of the last wood engravers and one of the first photojournalists.
Text reason:
Summary description
User's reference:
Reference:
Martin, Paul. Victorian Snapshots. London: Country Life Limited, 1939
User's reference:
Reference:
Val Williams and Susan Bright, How we are: photographing Britain, from the 1840s to the present London: Tate Publishing, 2007. ISBN: 9781854377142.

Persistent shareable link for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/7b123fd0-756b-3405-9b4f-c967f14ba59c

Use licence for this record: CC BY-NC

Attribution for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/7b123fd0-756b-3405-9b4f-c967f14ba59c, Victoria and Albert Museum, CC BY-NC

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