Heritage Photography editor David Bryson FRPS heritage.editor@rps.org
Honorary Secretary Amanda Miller LRPS heritagesec@rps.org
Honorary Treasurer
David Bryson FRPS heritagetreasurer@rps.org
Web editor Jim Souper ARPS
Military Heritage and Distribution Shaun Parkes LDPS heritagemilitary@rps.org
Published by the Archaeology and Heritage Group of the Royal Photographic Society, January 2024.
Copyright in all text and photographs are held by the credited authors, or as otherwise stated. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any form without prior written permission of the Publisher.
Print ISSN 0958-0565
Online ISSN 2632-3346
Front cover photograph
Shoe Tree, Walcot Hall, Shropshire by Ted Burchnall LRPS
EDITORIAL
3 Perspective: More than articles DAVID BRYSON FRPS
4 Chair’s Chat Hello from Heather HEATHER LAURENCE PhD
PHOTOGRAPHS
5-6 Facebook Favourites October-December 2023.
FEATURES
7-17 Paignton Picture House MARK TIPPING MA ARPS
18-23 Khajurahoo Ashok Viswanathan
24-29 Sculptures
TED BURCHNALL LRPS
30-36 Man with hat and other stories from Beth Haim.
ANDRÉ BERGMANS
Perspective: More than articles
DAVID BRYSON FRPS
Welcome to the first issue of Heritage Photography for 2024, there are some different aspects to the issue including facebook favourites the mini competition running monthly on line for members.
This includes the front cover by Ted Burchnall LRPS of a shoe tree which is a tree (or occasionally, a powerline pole or other wooden object) that has been festooned with old shoes, generally through the act of shoe tossing.
After the favourites from October to December 2023 is Mark Tippings’s article and photographs of Paignton Picture House before renovation then a guest article from Indian Chapter member Ashok Viswanathan and his photographs of Khajurahoo. Showing also the possibility of someone else writing and then using your photographs to illustrate their text. This is followed by photographs with a short text to provide context and thoughts of the photographer by Ted Burchnall illustrating the
possibility of submitting primarily photographs with captions rather than a full article.
Lastly probably timely following the recent Holocaust memorial week André Bergmans’s insight into jewish iconography seen in the cemetery of Beth Haim in the Netherlands
If you have any ideas for articles or series of photographs or would like to get feedback about an idea for a submission please contact me by e-mail. heritage.editor@rps.org
E-mail Reminder
Do remember to add and if necessary update your e-mail details on your RPS profile so we can contact you through the RPS’s Broadcast system.
Facebook
Our private facebook group is at https://www. facebook.com/groups/rpsah
Giraffe Ossicones close-up of a giraffe skull from Nottingham University’s skeletal Collection.
Chair’s Chat: Hello from Heather
HEATHER LAURENCE PhD
Visit our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/rpsah
Abelated happy new year to you all! 2024 is already galloping ahead, and we have a lot to look forward to. We have plans to make this year a special one. We would love to hear more about your collections, heritage, archaeology and more.
Please keep checking in on our Facebook page for more information regarding monthly competitions, these will ultimately lead to some of you being featured in our wonderful journal.
Which, of course our fabulous team could not put together with out you guys, so please don’t forget to keep submitting your articles and images to
David, as without your input, we would not have a journal at all.
For those of you who don’t visit social media, please make sure that your email addresses are up to date with us, so we can make sure that you are kept up to date with our up and coming plans through the RPS broadcast system.
I am not going to take up any more of your time and will let you jump in and explore the fabulous content inside.
Heather
October: Heritage Trees
November: Ghost signs.
This is South Road Haywards Heath. Painted sign advertising South Road Coach. Photograph: George Backshall LRPS.
Pine tree growimng out ofvroman remains. Photograph: Heather Laurence PhD
December: Xmas heritage
Russia, St. Petersburg. A Christmas tree has appeared at Gostiny Dvor. Photograph: Sergey Shchekotov-Alexandrov
Tsarskoye Selo, Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Egyptian gate. Architect A.Menelas (Scotland). Photograph: Sergey ShchekotovAlexandrov
Paignton Picture House
In a quiet Devon coastal town sits the historical building, Paignton Picture House. Originally built 110 years ago in 1913 it had survived two World Wars, opened with the dawning of cinema, and was finally left abandoned to decay with the passing of time. Now in its final few years of restoration, it awaits its rebirth to the world.
MARK TIPPING MA ARPS
Paignton picture house
In 2020 whilst looking for projects to support my Photography Master’s Degree with Falmouth University, I came across the story of Paignton Picture House (more recently known as the Torbay Cinema). Nestled in town neatly alongside the local Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway, and left hidden from the world by boarding, scaffolding and high fences it rested quietly and anonymously from the outside world. It’s century old secrets securely hidden from the public; the cinema (reputedly the oldest surviving in Europe) had been through multiple owners and purposes in its history, subsequently falling into decline before being purchased in 2013 by a Charitable Trust
As a Devon resident I felt an opportunity existed to document its ongoing restoration, through to its final reopening, which is planned for 2024/25.
As a professional photographer working mainly in the entertainment industry for musical artists, and on TV and feature film sets this was new territory for me to break. However, my combined love of the movies and the work of photographers like Christian Richter and Todd Hido (specialists in documenting abandoned buildings and interiors) gave me a light-bulb moment for both my studies, and the archival benefits for the building and its long history.
By early 2021 I had contacted the Trust and was generously given full access to the building and all its valuable contents.
Due to health and safety considerations and ongoing structural work my visits had to be limited and supervised over the years with the project manager (Anthony Bueno). Their patience with
Downstairs seating
Rusted film spools
WESTREX Projectop
me was greatly appreciated, as the curatorial nature of my work dictated many hours of work. As well shooting the more obvious angles of the architecture, I was keen to capture the small details as well. The projector room and its equipment remained relatively untouched if not in decay, strips of 35mm film still hanging off the WESTREX (Western Electric) projector rollers and film cannisters. The offices were full of film memorabilia, posters and advertising campaigns in cupboards, many untouched as if the building had just been evacuated and never re-entered. Moving between rooms, often on scaffolding or temporary floors became a challenge in itself as I tried to navigate the debris and gaps. I shot mainly on digital with a prime 24mm lens, but also on 35mm film.
In the main auditorium the most obvious clues to its age and decline were very visible. From the peeling wall plasterwork façades of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford to the faded seat reserved and regularly occupied by Agatha Christie during visits to what was her ‘local’ picture house. It became clear I had my work cut out, but what a challenge and honour to have this access to history and the birth of cinema.
I made regular return visits to the Picture House in subsequent years, even after my MA had finished and earned me my ARPS. To say I have formed a close bond with the cinema would be
an understatement. The sense of history I always felt when in the building, the ghosts of those past 100 years and literally the entire time line of cinema from the silent period to the 70s and 80s blockbusters, it was all around me. The images shown here are just a very small sample to illustrate the rich tapestry of its former halcyon days. When it finally re-opens to the public in the next few years I shall be one of the first in the queue, and hopefully these images of its inventory will live in the archives even if the artefacts themselves don’t survive. It has been a long but rewarding project for me and I would encourage you to visit the building in the future if you get the opportunity.
Abandoned 35mm advertising film
Downstairs auditorium
Main auditorium ceiling view
Main auditorium period plasterwork and lighting
Balcony seating view
First floor stained glass window (After restoration)
Intercom guide on first floor wall in projector room
Ground floor ticket box office
Decorative fireplace in first floor reception room
Unearthed cinema entrance tiling mosaic
Ticketing board
Upstairs balcony façade decoration
Film loading bench adjacent to the projector room
Film roller mechanism and projection lens on Westrex Projector
GUEST FEATURE Khajuraho
Khajuraho is group of Jain and Hindu temples in Chhatarpur district, in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. It’s about 175 km from Jhansi and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temples are about 50 km from the medieval city of Mahoba. Guest feature by a member of the RPS Indian Chapter.
ASHOK VISWANATHAN
It was one summer afternoon that I found myself arriving at Khajuraho. To say my view out of the aircraft window was less than inspiring would be putting it mildly. The dusty landscape was almost barren and there seemed to be little signs of life in any form. I began to wonder if this trip was a mistake. Coming out of the small airport I was greeted by some horse drawn carts whose owners offered me a ride into town.Spotting a lone taxi, a deal was struck for three days of local transportation and I was on my way.
The temples were built between 885 and 1050 AD during the Chandela dynasty. They built 85 temples spread over 20 square km of which only 25 survive. Of these six are dedicated to Shiva and eight to Vishnu. One to the Sun God and one to Ganesha. All temples except one face the sunrise, a characteristic of Hindu temples.
Most were built in the reign of Kings Yashovarman and Dhanga. They are grouped into the Eastern,
Western and Southern temples. The most famous surviving temple is Kandariya Mahadeva built by King Vidyadhara.
In the13th century they were raided by the army of the Delhi Sultanate who destroyed several temples and muslim dynasties took over from the 13 to the 18th century. After this the temples were left in neglect and the trees and bushes overgrew the temples and they disappeared from sight until rediscovered in 1830 by a British surveyor T.S. Burt who reported his findings in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
The surviving temples are dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha and the Sun god. The temples are made of sandstone with a granite base and have beautifully carved statues and panels on the spires and side walls. Erotic carvings are a small part of the sculptures on the walls. The intricate carving on the side walls are small panels at eye level while the ones on the main temple can be at some height.
These temples would have required hundreds of highly trained sculptors. Each group of temples is surrounded by several small temples.
Photographing these temples is straight forward. A somewhat cloudy winter day being ideal to lower contrast. Tripods are prohibited unless you have permission from the Archaeological Survey of India who manages such sites. A wide angle lens 10-24mm and 18-55mm on APC sensor cameras was adequate. The Temples are open from 6 am to sunset so you can benefit from the early morning light. The best time to visit is the cooler months of October to March.
The main temple is functional and you will see devotees visiting dressed in colourful sarees with offerings entering from the east side.
The town is well connected by flights from Delhi and train services.. Hotels are available in grades 3 to 5 star depending on how much you wish to spend. You can enjoy a pint or two in the evening under the stars or something stronger if that is your preference. While in Khajuraho make sure to enjoy the local food. A visit is highly recommended.
Devotee visiting with offerings.
Sculptures
I’ve always been fascinated by sculptures. It doesn’t matter what the material; be it marble, soapstone, jade, or bronze, I never cease to be amazed at what it becomes at the hands of a skilled craftsman. They can be artistic, representations of our beliefs, based upon stories and legends, portrayals of real life characters or objects, and memorials.
TED BURCHNALL LRPS
Having an interest in historical figures, real or fictional, I have taken numerous photographs of sculptures in Canada, England, France, and Italy.
I admire the artist who can take a piece of stone and turn it into what appears to be an animate object. Sometimes the end result is so realistic, it’s a shock to the senses to touch it and discover how hard and unyielding it is. The ability to imagine the end result, to create a mould and then pour into it molten bronze, producing a noteworthy piece of art, is a skill limited to a very few gifted people.
Sculptures have been with us a long time. There are statues that have been discovered in Germany, that are estimated to be at least 35,000 years old. Many of the subjects over the hundreds, and even thousands of years, are representations of mythical figures. E.g., Hercules or Neptune. They were however frequently based upon real life figures, such as professional models or the patron who commissioned the work, and give us an insight on how people looked, dressed, etc.
Often there is a story linked to the creation of a sculpture, which can further enhance the appreciation of the work, beyond just it’s physical appearance:
The Tindaro Screpolato is a large bronze sculpture, located in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Italy, and belongs to the Uffizi museum. According to the artist, Igor Mitoraj, it is a representation from Greek mythology: Tyndareus, King of Sparta.
The Madonna della Pietà is a marble sculpture of Jesus and Mary at Mount Golgotha. A stunning piece of artwork, I think it’s even more impressive when you consider that Michelangelo Buonarroti was only 24 years old when he completed it. It’s the only piece that he ever signed, reputedly to prevent a case of copyright infringement. Today it is located in the Vatican, however it was originally a commision for Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas’ funeral monument.
In Bath Abbey, there is a monument to Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton who had a remarkable career as a naval officer, including serving as Second-in-Command to Lord Nelson. The marble monument was completed by Sir Francis Chantrey in 1834. The mourning figure, which is found on the right side of the monument, attracts the attention of many visitors to the Abbey.
The marble fountain of Neptune, sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati between 1563-65, is located at the Piazza della Signoria, near the Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence, Italy. It was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1559, to celebrate the marriage of Francesco de’ Medici I to Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria. The fountain was designed by Baccio Bandinelli, but created by Bartolomeo Ammannati with the assistance of several other artists.
“Hercules and the Centaur Nessus”, is a marble statue by the Flemish-Italian artist, Giambologna. It was made between 1595 and 1599. This sculpture was commissioned in 1594 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Grand Duke Ferdinand I. It is located in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. Many of the artists in the 15th and 16th centuries, including Da Vinci and Buonarroti, devoted a lot of their efforts in accurately reproducing the human form. “Hercules and the Centaur Nessus” and the “Neptune Fountain” are excellent examples of this great attention to detail, even to the point of exaggeration, or understatement in some cases.
The “head shot” of Menelaus, is from a larger marble sculpture. The statue depicts the lifeless body of Patroclus, being supported by the Greek king Menelaus, as he carries Patroclus away from the battlefield of the Trojan war, as described in the Iliad. Created in the 1st Century AD, it’s a Roman copy of a Hellenestic bronze created in Pergamon at around 300 B.C.E. It was restored by Florentine artist Pietro Tacca, of the Medici Sculptors. Discovered in 1570 in a Roman vineyard, Tacca restored Menelaus’ face, helmet, and arms.
Tindaro Screpolato (1997) Igor Mitoraj (Oederan 1944 - Paris 2014)
Madonna della Pietà (1498–1499) Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 – 1564)
Monument to Sir Richard Hussey Bickerton (1834) Sir Francis Chantrey (1781-1841)
Neptune (1574) Bartolomeo Ammannati (1511 – 1592)
Heracles and Nessus (1595 – 1599) Giambologna (1529 – 1608)
Menelaus and Patroclus (restored circa 1570) Pietro Tacca (1577 - 1640)
Man with hat and other stories from Beth Haim
Beth Haim is considered to be the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Western hemisphere still in use. It represents 400 years of (Sephardic) PortugueseJewish history in the Netherlands. In particular the 17th century graves have rich decorations that are specific for Sephardic cemeteries.
ANDRÉ BERGMANS
Early history of the Portuguese Jewish community in the Netherlands.
The Portuguese Jewish community (the Sephardim) in the Netherlands has its origins in Spain and Portugal, while the Ashkenazi community originates from Central and Eastern Europe. The cultural background of the two communities is different for example the Ashkenazi often speak Yiddish while the Sephardim did speak Ladino, which is based on old Spanish.
The immigration was caused by the Spanish royal Alhambra Decree in 1492 which specified that
the Jews had a choice: conversion to Catholicism, exile or death. This caused Jews to migrate to other countries like Portugal. In Portugal, in 1496, the Jews faced the same choice by a Portuguese decree. The desire to be free from anti-Semitism and have freedom of religion was strong. Amsterdam, at the time, offered both and so a migration to Amsterdam, often via Antwerp, took place from the 1600s to the early 1800s.
Amongst the immigrants were: merchants, physicians, doctors, lawyers, priests, sailing navigators, printers and booksellers, entrepreneurs and skilled craftsmen.
Man with hat
Beth Chaim
Firstly the community created a synagogue but permission for a cemetery was refused in the beginning. The community had to bury their dead in Groet, quite far from Amsterdam. In 1614 permission was granted and the community bought a plot in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, in the countryside near Amsterdam and the cemetery ‘Beth Haim’ (House of Life’) was created. In 1690 and 1691 additional land was purchased.
Beth Haim is considered to be the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Western hemisphere still in use. The cemetery, with 28,000 graves, is a Dutch national monument. Many famous and not so famous Dutch Portuguese Jews are buried here together with regular community members. The cemetery is open to visitors but men have to wear a hat or a kippah like in any Jewish cemetery.
Some Jewish gravestone inscriptions and symbols.
What is striking is that Sephardic gravestones can be decorated with angels, prophets, animals, flowers and human figures or scenes (sceneries) from the Bible. This is not permitted on Ashkenazic graves to prevent the sin of idol worship.
Like in Christian cemeteries the tombstones can be decorated with symbolic decorations having a specific meaning and message. Some symbols are
shared with Christianity.
A few examples:
Rocks
Small pebbles and rocks are often placed on a Jewish gravestone (matzevot). This has several explanations, depending who you ask. Some claim it is to prevent the soul from leaving the body too soon; others explain that it is to warn priests not to come too close to the grave as it would render them unholy. An older idea is that this has the intention to protect the grave from animals. The modern idea is that a pebble on the grave indicates that somebody still remembers the deceased. The pebbles can be replaced by seashells but this might also have the purpose to indicate the special interest or even profession of the deceased.
Jewish text and symbols
The inscription (at the top) of the abbreviation ‘פנּ, which stands for po nikbar or po nitman, meaning “here lies.” At the bottom is the abbreviation: ת נ צ ב ה, “May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.” The name of the father and sometimes also the mother is mentioned. The phrase בן, ben, “son of” or בת, bat, “daughter of”. The dates follow the Jewish calendar so 3760 years before the Christian calendar.
Hands that are held in a specific position are a
Shared symbols
May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.
Simplicity
S[epultura] de bom servo Elieser
Shaddai, Almighty (God)
More simple graves in the ‘newer part’
symbol for those who have inherited a priestly heritage. The priest raises his hands, with the palms facing downward and the thumbs of his outspread hands touching. The four fingers on each hand are customarily split into two sets of two fingers each; thus, forming the letter Shin (שׁ), an emblem for Shaddai, “Almighty (God)”.
Gravestones for Levites of Ashkenazi descent often feature the Levite symbol of a pitcher in reference to the Levites’ traditional duty to wash the hands of the temple priest (the Cohen) prior to religious worship.
Other symbols are: the star of David as a symbol of Judaism, skulls and bones, menorah, trees that are cut off or broken pillars both as a symbol of a short-cut life, books and bookshelves, candles, hourglasses, musical instruments, flowers, lions, deer and other animals like birds.
The good servant Elieser (Eli-Eser)
One particular simple square grave on Beth Haim has caused a lot of discussion; “S[epultura] de bom servo Elieser” – The grave of the good servant Elieser. In the summer of 2002 the stone was uncovered, under the direction of a rabbi, on the most ancient part of the cemetery, belonging to Elieser, the black servant of Paulo de Pina alias Rohjel Jesurun. Elieser was buried in 1629. The record in the administration mentioned: ‘the brown, who was of Paulo de Pina’. It was claimed that it was the only grave of a liberated slave and black Jew discovered in Western Europe. The Afro-Surinam
community accepted Elieser as a symbol of the horrors of slavery and have a ceremony at his grave every year.
But soon doubts started as a result of further research....
In the archives of the Portuguese Jewish community, it was discovered that Elieser was a respected man and was called to say prayers in the synagogue in 1617. During Purim 1621 and 1622 he received a monetary gift of the Jewish community.
In those days a slave was not called a ‘servo’ but an ‘escravo’ which caused even more doubts.
Traditionally slaves were buried, by law, in a separate place but having slaves was not allowed anymore in that specific period of time. Elieser, however, was buried amidst the other important citizens. Detail: the grave of Elieser is next to the grave of the merchant Jacob Israel Belmonte of the Dutch East India Company. This person traded in sugar but also in slaves....
The new conclusion therefore was that probably Elieser was not a slave but a dark Jew as there were so many in Amsterdam in those days. But still there are other traces of the history of slavery to be found in the cemetery but this is a possible topic for future research and exploration.
Research about Elieser: Odette Vlessing Stadsarchief/ City Archive Amsterdam https://www.obs-traffic.museum/sites/default/files/ ressources/files/WWII_and_its_aftermath.pdf
Decorated graves in the old part I
Washing the hands
Star of David and a reference to the ten commandments (?)
