Who made the Conway Library?

Audio Version

Read by Gill Stoker

 

Text Version

Much loved and perused by staff, students, and the general public in the know, the Conway Library is a collection of 9764 red boxes containing brown manila folders. The photographs glued on the brown manila mounts are black and white original prints showing places of architectural notice, often in painstaking detail. The variety, detail and beauty of the photographs, as well as the value of this research resource are well documented in this blog.

Martin Conway, who had started collecting art in 1887, “spent a great many of the pre-war years occupied with his photographs, developing the system of mounting, annotating and arranging which can still be found today” (Higgon, 2006). His glamorous American wife, Katrina Glidden, and their daughter, Agnes, joined him in his passion and continued to further enrich the collection. Towards the end of his life, Martin Conway busied himself with the foundation of the Courtauld Institute, to which he donated his much-beloved collection (“The Conway Library archive contains some photographs taken at the Himalayan base camp, where a member of the team made a bust of Martin out of snow, adding a pipe and an incongruous wreath of local vegetation!” Higgon, 2006).

 

What is less well known about the collection is who took the photos after it moved to the Courtauld

 

One of the tasks available to the volunteers, Attributions, seeks to answer that very question. In capturing the names of the photographers, inked, pencilled or stamped predominantly on the back of the mounts, the volunteers compiled, for the first time in the history of the collection, a definitive list of the hundreds of people who contributed photos to the Conway after Conway.

The list of photographers tells a completely new story about the library. No longer simply the story of the initial collectors, this is now also the story of the hundreds of people – students, staff or independent supporters – who donated the images.

The attribution list could tell us the story of the development of these photographers’ interest in specific research fields and the beginning of their careers, or perhaps the story of a small foray into a life they chose not to pursue. It could reveal the arc of development of personal photographic styles and visions, or maybe just the sheer determination of non-photographers to capture and document all sites objectively and in as much detail as possible.

Already, just by looking at the names, we know that it was a truly collective effort and that women were very much represented.

 

In capturing these names, we set out to research the photographers who made the Conway, and credit their work

 

The volunteers carrying out the Attributions task came across famous (and infamous!) contributors such as Anthony F. Kersting, Robert Byron, Tim Benton and Anthony Blunt, but they also came across many names that were scribbled illegibly or reported in too little detail to be tracked reliably.

The easiest photographers to transcribe and research were those who had their names stamped clearly – such as F.H. Crossley – the unmistakeably unique – such as Edzard Eilert Baumann – or those with names reported in full and with aliases – such as Dr Amanda Simpson a.k.a. Amanda Tomlinson.

The most difficult names to research are those whose surnames are more common and those for which we either don’t have first names or we only have initials – such as “M. Wall”, “Mrs Booty”, “Nunn”, “P. Clayton”, Kidson or Lindley.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, we assigned our volunteers the task of researching these names and find out as much biographic information as possible, looking in particular for reliable sources to fill in their research forms. Once the forms were filled in and returned, they went out again to other volunteers for cross-checking and the second part of the task began.

We scheduled Wikipedia editing training sessions and asked the volunteers to try their luck creating new pages for our photographers, and adding information about their involvement with the Conway Library to the biography of photographers with existing pages.

The result, we hope, will give the collection even more visibility, and let us share its fascinating genesis.

Do you know anything more about the Conway photographers?

 

For the full list of names please continue reading.

Conway Library Photographers

A Bedoni
A Burman
A Champneys
A Deneaberg
A Gilbert Angoulême
A Ibein
A Lillie
A Morange
A Nicholson
A Rooser
A Rowland Jones
A Tessore
A Timmerman
A Turpin
A Vickery
A Wedesent
A Weir
A Wren
AC Cooper
Adam White
Aerofilms Ltd
AF Walsham
AG Grainger
AJ Rowan
AKW Wickham
Alan Bean
Alan P Darr
Albert W Kerr
Alexander Murray
Alexandr Paul
Alister Mathews
Allan M Brodie
Amanda Epperson
Anderson
Andrew Ritchie
Anita Brookner
Anita Buss
Ann Compton
Antonio Beato
Antony Cleminson
Antrobus
Arnos
Arnoulaus
Arthur Downs
Arthur Gardner
Arthur Kingsley Porter
Arundel Terrien
Ashley
Avro Series
AW Everett
B Brenk
B Brennikmeyer
B Laughton
B Read
Bagholet
Baldwin Brown
Barrie J Singleton
Bedford Lemere
Bells Cath Series
Bill Nas
Bord Faille Eireann
Brieger
Brockhand
Brockhaus
Bruce A Bailey
BT Batsford Ltd
Burnett
C Anoten
C Aubry
C Bruce
C Felton
C Firmstone
C Gapper
C Gray
C Johnson
Cannings
Captain W Middleton
Carlebach
Caroline Blake
Caroline Ogilvy
CBN Dalton
CE Mallows
Cecil Gould
CG Hardie
Charles Goulding
Charles Tracy
Christopher Winn
CJP Cave
CJR Pattisson
Claire Kelleher
CM Reynolds
CN Ledoux
Cnmr
CNP Powell
Col Emile Hamonic
Col Newton
Colen Campbell
Coll BY Lyttleton
Comm. Rossi
Connaut
Cotman
CP Monkhouse
Cresswell
Cyrill Howe Studios
D Goodgal
D Hemsoll
D Khan
D Offewill
D Weller
DA Sherlock
Daran Webbs
Darius Sikorski
David J Hawke
David McLees
David O’Connor
David Peters
David Street
David Thompson
David Winfield
Delia Gaze
Derrick E Witty
Derry Moore
DJ Wallace
Dobson
Dr Alan Borg
Dr Allan Braham
Dr Amanda Simpson a.k.a. Amanda Tomlinson
Dr Andrew Morrogh
Dr Anthony Bryer
Dr AW Epstein
Dr Beal
Dr Brendan Cassidy
Dr Christa Grossinger
Dr Christopher Tadgell
Dr Deborah Howard
Dr Deborah Kahn
Dr Dennis Farr
Dr Dillian Gordon
Dr E Baumann
Dr Edward McParland
Dr Elmsley
Dr Er Venning
Dr Evelyn Silber
Dr F Hepner
Dr Fryer
Dr Gordon Higgott
Dr H Buschhausen
Dr Inyer
Dr Jean Evans
Dr Jeffrey West
Dr JH Drimmond
Dr Joanna Cannon
Dr John Blatchly
Dr John Onians
Dr John Phillips
Dr JRH Weaver
Dr Kim Woods a.k.a. Kim Jones
Dr Margaret Whinney
Dr Margaret Wood
Dr Marie Farquhar Montpetit
Dr Mark Girouard
Dr Mary Dean
Dr Moira Ockrim
Dr Nicholas Penny
Dr Nicola Coldstream a.k.a. Nicola Carr
Dr Pamela Tudor-Craig a.k.a Pamela Wynn-Reeves
Dr Peter Newton
Dr R Schilling
Dr RC Smail
Dr Richard Morris
Dr Ross
Dr Terry Friedman
Dr The Hon Katharine Fremantle
Dr V Hart
Dr V Hart
Dr Zygmunt Swiechowski
DS John
Duke Of Edinburgh
Dynurck
E Dockree
E Edwards
E Freund
E Gimet
E Lacey
E Mcdonald
E Senior
EC Le Grice
Echenique
Edward B Garrison
Edward Farmer
Edward Reeves
EE Wiel
EL Taylor
Elizabeth Darby
EM Prideaux
Entwistle
Eric De Mare
Erica Cruikshank
F De Verneilh
F Fonteyn
F Hauptfuhrer
F Kelly
FA Girling
Fiskmoore Ltd
FJ Palmer
Francis Adams
Francis Frith & Co Ltd
Francis Kelly
Frank Smyth
From The Collection Of G Granville Buckley
G Evans
G Henderson
G Leslie Horn
G Lloyd
G Petris
Ga Oxan
GA Runell
GB Rigby
GC Dunning
Gc Dycee
GE Chambers
Geoffrey Saunders
Geoffrey Webb
George Claridge Druce
George Garland
George Knox
Georgina Masson
Georgina Russell a.k.a. Lady Craufurd
Georgina Russell a.k.a. Lady Craufurd
Gerald Cobb
Gerald Haynes
GF Addy
GH Cannings
GH Crichton
Gladstone
Godfrey Newman
Goodchild
Gordon Barnes
Gordon Frazer
Goulding
Griffith Sandy
Grodecki
Gudiol
Gudiol Barcelona
Guirandon
Gunn
Gurling
H Dymock
H Kirns
H Lefevve
H Megaw
H Merrin Sheppard
H Peck W K Calvet
H Roger Viollet
H Stafleton
HA Nieboer
Harold G Grainger
Harold Manheim
HC Beckett
Hedeseir
Helen Hills
Helene Adant
Heliog Dujardin
Heliog Massard
Herbert Felton
Herbert Muller
HFB Lynch
Hilary Williams
Houghton
Howard Burns
Howell
Hubert Krins
Hudson & Kearns
HW Ostrowski
HW Vanson
Ian Pattinson
Ina Bandy
Inge Linder
J Allday
J Barrett
J Chubb a.k.a. Miss Chubb
J Cotton
J Ebner
J Evers Angers
J Kenworthy Brown
J Le Keux
J Lowe
J Noranoon
J Roubier
J Royer
J Summerson
JA Cash
Jacky Rice
Jacqueline Hyde
Jacqueline Hyde
Jacques Rigard
James A Booth
James Austin
James Nelson
Jane Cunningham
Jane Geddes
Janet Balmforth
Janet Holt
Jarrold And Sons Ltd
JB Onians
JC Allen
JC Rouen
JC Thomson
JD Webster
JDK Argles
Jean Bony
Jean Bony
Jean Givens
Jenny Field
Jeremy Whitaker
JLH Muller
John Alfred Gotch
John Bilson
John Broome
John Buckler
John Carter
John Harvey
John Higgitt
John Kirkpatrick
John Kyle
John Murphy
John Nash
John Newman
John R Freeman & Co
John Ruch Esq
John Shearman
John W Hersey
John William Cruickshank
Joseph Natanson
JP Maneschal
Jules Robuchon
Julia Dixon Smith
Julia Hedgecoe
K Crawley
K Downes
K Edge
K Marian Reynolds
K Salhurst
Katherine Gibson
Kathleen Morand
Kathy Morrison
Kay Davenport
Kerry Downes
Kraft
L Grant
L Gribbin
L Hudson
L Ollivier
L Rosenberg
Langakis
Lasalle
Leditur
Lehnert And Landrock
Leveen
Llirs Scinor
Lord Essex
Lore Schirokauer a.k.a. Lore Strich
Lowes
Lt. Col. Ward Perkins a.k.a. Major Ward Perkins
Lucarelli
Lucien Hervé
Lucy Lampton
Lucy Wallace Porter
M Danesi
M Medley
M Raeburn
M Wall
Macinale
Mainis
MAISIE ANDERSON Lady Cox a.k.a. MD Anderson or Mrs Sir Trenchard Cox
Major Gregory Prestbury
Major John Berkley Of Berkley Castle
Marcus Whiffen
Margaret F Harker
Mark Thompson
Marques Of Salisbury
Marquis Of Bath
Martin Buttin
Martin Meade
Mb Watson
MD Ledesert
MH Hannagan
Mike King
Mike Phipps
Miss C Freeman
Miss C Tooth
Miss Christine Kaiser a.k.a. Christine Sajous
Miss Delia Dawnay a.k.a. Lady Millar
Miss Downing
Miss E Clarke
Miss E Robbins
Miss Elizabeth Palmer
Miss Eve Borsook
Miss Hope Hannyngton
Miss J Lasky
Miss Jane Pollitzer
Miss Kit Galbraith
Miss M Baldwin
Miss Mary Littlemore a.k.a. Mary Davies
Miss McFair
Miss Medley
Miss Nora Hardwick
Miss Norbury
Miss Norgurg
Miss OE Saunders
Miss Osborne
Miss P Plummer
Miss P Roles
Miss Petter
Miss R Torr a.k.a Dr Rosalys Coope or Mrs Coope
Miss Ruth Dawson
Miss Samuel
Miss Sanderson Stewart
Miss U Pariter
Miss Violet Gordon
Miss Welsford
ML Jenkins
Mlle Francoise Henry
Mlle Francoise Henry
Moni Hut
Mr Ashwell
Mr Dobson
Mr JF Mackay
Mr Mann
Mr W North
Mrs Barcelona
Mrs Bardswell
Mrs Booty
Mrs Bradford
Mrs Bridget Cherry
Mrs C Hohler
Mrs Carlisle
Mrs Ceirness
Mrs Cubb
Mrs Dobson
Mrs EE Wilde
Mrs Elizabeth Parker a.k.a. Elizabeth Parker McLachlan
Mrs Elzbieta Temple
Mrs Harrington
Mrs Hill
Mrs Katherine Watson
Mrs Klebinder
Mrs Known
Mrs Lesley Lewis
Mrs M Johnson
Mrs N Underhill
Mrs P Murray
Mrs Panofsky
Mrs Phillis Bicknell
Mrs Ruth Taylor
Mrs S Marks
Mrs SI Bath James
Mrs V Pow
MW Barley
N Foljambe
N Sliatford
N Warren
Nathaniel Lloyd
Neg
Neil Stratford
Nelson
NJ Moore
Nmr
Nmr Neg
Nmrs
Noel De Beyer
Norbury
Nuhn
Nunn
O Fein
Oliver Swann
Otto Fein
Otto Kletzl
P Brieger
P Bunel
P Cannon Brookes
P Clayton
P Henderson
P Kidson
P Lindley
P Peakman
P Teyuson
Paul Hernon
PD Barkshire
Penelope Curtis
Percy Simon
Peridise
Pespe
Peter Draper
Peter Ferriday
Peter Pitt
Peter Reid
Peter Smith
Peter Sutherland
Peter Wood
Pevsner
PG Leval
Pledge
Pleope
PM Johnstone
Pmj
Prof Allan D Mainds
Prof Anat Tcherikover
Prof Andrew Martindale
Prof Beuut
Prof C Mango
Prof C Shearer
Prof Carolyn Malone
Prof Christopher P Wilson
Prof CR Dodwell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Reginald_Dodwell
Prof David H Wright
Prof David Simon
Prof David Talbot-Rice
Prof Douglas Richardson
Prof Dr Willibald Sauerlander
Prof E Malcolm Thurlby
Prof Eve Blau
Prof George Zarnecki
Prof Henry Maguire
Prof John Shearman
Prof Jonathan Alexander
Prof Judith Herrin
Prof Julian Gardner
Prof Lawrence Stone
Prof M Alison Stones
Prof Madeline Harrison Caviness
Prof Michael Hirst
Prof Michael Rosenthal
Prof Millard F Hearn
Prof Otto Pacht
Prof P Datta
Prof Paul Crossley
Prof Peter Fergusson
Prof Peter J Murray
Prof Peter Lasko
Prof Richard Marks
Prof Robin Cormack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Cormack
Prof Roger Stalley
Prof SH Reynolds
Prof Sir Anthony Frederick Blunt
Prof Sir Banister Fletcher (negatives with BF numbers)
Prof Sir Ellis K Waterhouse (EKW)
Prof Stephen Murray
Prof Tessa Garton
Prof Tim Benton
Prof TSR Boase
Prof Vaughan Hart
Prof Vivian Paul
Prof Walter Leedy
Professor AW Lawrence
Prunella Fraser a.k.a. Mrs Simon Fraser a.k.a Prunella Hodgson
R Ackermann
R Cemo
R Chutterbuck
R Dalsey
R De Z Hall
R Guilding
R Haiser
R Neville Hadcock
R Neville Hadcock
R O’Donnell
R Oursel
R Stalley
R Welch
RA Freidus
RA Martin
Ranson
Ravenscroft
RB Fleming And Co
Rc Slade
Rchme/Nmr
Reece Winstone
Rev AH Collins
Rev B Tucker
Rev Canon Cl Hulbert-Powell MA
Rev E Finch
Rev EV Tanner
Rev FRP Sumner
Rev HPV Nunn
Rev Hubert Howell
Rev John Eric Gethyn-Jones
Rev PGB Binnall
Rev WB Burwell
Richard Bassett
Richard Clutterbuck
Richard Emerson
Richard Halsey
Richard Harris
Rivett
RK Rickert
RN Hadfield
Robert Adam
Robert Barlow Francis
Robert Byron
Robert Gibbs
Robert Hirschhorn
Robin Ellett
Roger Fry Coll
Rosalind Fisher
Rowth
RP Howgrave Graham
RPL Ledesert
RR Henshaw
S Gibbins
S Guive In Oleo
S Heslop
S Jeffrey
Samuel Gardner (father of Arthur)
Sandy Hislop
Sara E Jones
Sarah Bagrall
Sarah Pearson
Schroeder
Shirley Jones
Simon Alford
Simon Thurly
Sir Alfred Clapham
Sir John Vanbrugh
Sir R Ruee
Sir Trenchard Cox
ST Martin
Stencuv Graficky
Stewart Perowne
Stuart Rigold
Sydney A Pitcher
Sydney W Newbury
Sylvestre Lyon
TA Heslop
TE Lawrence
Tl Donaldson
Tom Quad
Tony Horrath
Underwood
V Brinton
V Jansen
V Kerr
V Parisen
Viollet Hurault
W Lucady
W Maitland
W Wareham
WA Brown
WA Mansell
Walter Benington
Walter Mendelsson
Walter Scott
Walter Scott Bradford
Walton Adams
WH Wood
Whinney Bequest
Wilfred Drake
William A Clark
William Adam
William Bell
William Harvey
William Iveson Croome
William JR Curtis
William Pettigrew Gibson
WJ & JE Chard
WJ Rodwell
WM Marriott Dodson
WM Whitehill
Yvonne Bird
Yvonne Howard
Yvonne White

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