During the 1840s, a team of photographers, David Octavius Hill... Adamson, created a body of images of the fishermen and...

During the 1840s, a team of photographers, David Octavius Hill and Robert
Adamson, created a body of images of the fishermen and women of Newhaven, Scotland,
a small fishing community just outside Edinburgh. Hill and Adamson were born in
Scotland toward the beginning of the nineteenth century.1 An unlikely pair, Hill was a
landscape painter while Adamson was initially trained as an engineer. Adamson’s poor
health eventually forced him to give up engineering, at which point he learned the
calotype process from his brother John Adamson.2 What began as a simple business
arrangement to accomplish a specific task – the execution of a painting - quickly became
providential when Hill and Adamson expanded their work to include other genres of
photography. Their interest in portraiture led to their decision to photograph the people
of the village of Newhaven.3
Hill and Adamson’s collaboration ultimately lasted four years, until Adamson’s
death in 1848.4 Over the course of their short association, Hill and Adamson produced
more than 2,000 images.5 Moreover, they created a body of work that has often been
hailed as one of the first collections of artistic photography.6 Among Hill and Adamson’s
most lauded images are the photographs they took of the fishermen and women of
Newhaven, Scotland.7
Sara Stevenson, Chief Curator for The Scottish National Photographic Collection
in the National Galleries of Scotland, claims that Hill and Adamson originally intended to
publish their calotypes of Newhaven in a work titled, The Fishermen and Women of the
Firth of Forth. Although they designated their calotypes as portraits,8 the collection
contains images that can be classified in multiple genres, and were not commissioned by
a patron (which would be typical of a portrait). Whether the images are designated as
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portraits or not, Hill and Adamson wanted to understand the residents of the fishing
village as individuals. Indeed, they intended that their images would be more than simply
factual evidence and a depiction of subjects. While they are not quite portraits, as Hill
and Adamson stated, the photographs are more humanized than a “type” image.
Although they never realized their final objective, Stevenson’s book by the same title can
be viewed as the beginning of the completion of Hill and Adamson’s original project.9
Hill and Adamson’s interest in the psychology of their subjects, combined with the fact
that these calotypes exist at an intersection of multiple genres, makes them all the more
compelling.
Using the Newhaven collection, this paper will look at how photographs can be
used to learn about the communities in which they are taken. Although photographs
reflect the perceptions and biases of the photographer, they can also reveal important
information about their subject. I argue that the photographs that Hill and Adamson took
do, in fact, provide knowledge about the relationships between members of the
community of Newhaven. We can then use the knowledge scholars have gained from
studying Hill and Adamson’s calotypes, to create a template which we can use to begin to
learn about other communities with similar photographic archives. According to
photographic scholar Abigail Solomon-Godeau, iconic photographs, such as the
Newhaven collection, transcend the purely factual evidence a viewer sees when first
viewing a documentary photograph.10 The Newhaven images can be considered
documentary because they depict people in their daily life. However, a careful study will
reveal many of the nuances and deeper meanings of the community.
2
NEWHAVEN
The village of Newhaven was a haven of stability within the tumultuous environment of
nineteenth-century Scotland. In fact, one scholar even referred to it as a “model
society.”11 Located only one and a half miles from the slums of Edinburgh, Newhaven
was a culturally isolated fishing community in the Scottish Lowlands.12 At this time,
rising industry in many parts of Scotland had created concern over the poor living
conditions of the lower class. Additionally, there was growing concern for the unrest that
could result from such conditions.13 In contrast, Newhaven was a community full of
hope and camaraderie.14 The fishermen and women of the village supported each other
and made a practice of helping each other in times of trial.15 This quality of life was
evident to anyone who visited the village.
The unusual nature of Newhaven invariably drew the interest of Hill and
Adamson as they began expanding their partnership. Between 1843 and 1845, Hill and
Adamson took more than 130 calotype images of the fishermen and women of the
village.16 In addition to their artistry, some scholars have considered the project one of
the first uses of photography for social documentary purposes.17 The collection’s
calotypes give the impression of a village that was indeed a haven in many ways from the
strife and constant state of flux that much of Scotland was experiencing as a result of the
Industrial Revolution. At this time, deprivation, suffering and social tension were
common as the country struggled to adjust to its changing economic status.18
Compounding the struggle was the occurrence of one particularly important event in
nineteenth-century Scottish history, the Great Disruption. The Great Disruption is the
name that has been given to the event wherein several clergymen walked out of the
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annual General Assembly of the Established Church of Scotland in 1843.19 This
ultimately caused a split between those clergymen, who went on to form the Free Church
of Scotland, and those who remained in the Established Church. 20 The Great Disruption
fractured the religious core of Scottish culture, and combined with the effects of the
Industrial Revolution to help create the climate of social upheaval in Scotland during this
time.
The Newhaven calotypes, in contrast, portray a fishing community in which many
people appear content, in spite of a lifestyle that could not have been easy. Many of the
images are contemplative and an overall sense of community pervades the collection.
For logistical reasons (the men were often at sea), Hill and Adamson concentrated their
efforts primarily on capturing the fishwives of the village.21 There are, however, several
images of the fishermen as well. In particular, the collection focuses on the sense of
community that bound the residents of the village together.22 We can learn about this
sense of community through a careful examination of Hill and Adamson’s images.
Due to the size of the collection, and inaccessibility to parts of it, it is impossible
to study every image in detail in this paper. That being said, I will use a representative
selection of five images to demonstrate the significance of the collection to the study of
the community. The images that I have chosen to focus on each represent an important
facet of the community, and illustrate the relationships between the residents of the
village. Due to the length of time the calotype process required, there is a likelihood that
some of the images were staged, however, they can still be considered a true attempt to
portray the character of the village in the most accurate way possible. In fact, Stevenson
contends that the Newhaven calotypes are a true depiction of the village. In support of
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this claim, she notes that Hill, in particular, was looking at the people themselves, in their
own setting, rather than at himself as reflected in the residents of the village.23
Additionally, Hill and Adamson chose to go to Newhaven to photograph the fishermen
and women, rather than bringing them to their studio in Edinburgh.24 As a result, these
images can give us an idea of the community as a whole and as such, be used in the study
of Newhaven.
Hill and Adamson’s calotype, St. Andrews, Fishergate, Women and Children
Baiting the Lines,25 (Fig. 1) depicts a market scene populated by several women. Most of
them are busy with their tasks, baiting lines and getting equipment ready for the
fishermen. They appear to be chatting among themselves. Those without a task keep
company with the others. The sense of communal duty is particularly noticeable in this
image. The women work together. Based on our knowledge of the community, we can
surmise that each will stay until the work is done. The viewer gets the feeling that this is
not several women working separately. Instead, it is one distinct community where every
person contributes what they can and no one is isolated.
Hill and Adamson’s calotype, Newhaven Houses, ‘The Fishing Village’26 (Fig. 2)
is another example of the closeness of the community. This image depicts a scene of the
exterior of a home with six women and two children situated in the middle of the
composition. Each woman appears to be absorbed by her own thoughts and/or child.
Their dress is simple. Each is clothed in a lightly colored, possibly patterned dress and
apron and most wear a white bonnet atop her head. Despite the poor quality of the image,
and the fact that no one appears to be interacting directly, the scene relays a sense of
camaraderie among the fishwives. The proximity of the women to each other and the
5
simplicity of their dress give the viewer the impression that they share an unbreakable
common bond. Additionally, the fishwives share a silence that can only exist when there
is a sense of understanding between the members of a group. This comfortable silence
only increases the sense of community and ties the women together rather than isolating
them. Finally, the subjects in this calotype are all fishwives in the village and are bound
by a sense of communal duty that is unique to Newhaven.
In addition to being close-knit, the Newhaven community was religiously devout.
In fact, the fishermen were often active in church affairs. During the Great Disruption,
the Newhaven congregation followed Rev. James Fairburn away from the Established
Church of Scotland to form the Newhaven Free Church.27 Newhaven Group with Mr.
Laidlaw on the right ‘The Elder, Newhaven’,28 (Fig. 3) exemplifies the importance of the
church to the people of the village. In this image, a fishwife sits in full sunlight, while a
man, who we know from the title of the image, is an Elder, sits next to her. A third
person can be seen behind the two, although he or she is almost completely hidden in
shadow. The fishwife is clothed in the traditional attire described above. The Elder is
also traditionally clothed in a dark shirt and trousers with little or no adornment. The
fishwife and the Elder do not talk but appear to be sitting in reflective silence. Whether
they are merely sitting together or the Elder is comforting the fishwife is impossible to
know. However, it is reasonable to surmise from the strained expression on the
fishwife’s face that something has happened. The Elder may well be there in a consoling
capacity.
The calotypes that Hill and Adamson took of the residents of the village
exemplify a sense of not only of communal dependence, but also of comfort and trust.
6
This can be seen in our next example, Two Fishwives, Mrs. Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall on
the right (Fig.4).29 Mrs. Elizabeth Hall, places her hand on the shoulder of the
unidentified woman on the left. Her gaze is focused on her companion, and an
expression of compassion is evident on her face. The woman on the left is turned away
with her hands held out in front of her. Although it is unclear whether she is accepting or
refusing the comfort that is offered, the offer is clearly there. This image is particularly
tense with emotion. The viewer is drawn into the scene by Elizabeth Hall’s gesture and
cannot help but feel compassion for the unidentified woman. That it is unknown whether
or not the offer of comfort is being accepted is not important. The sense of caring in the
image cannot be denied and further exemplifies the overall sense of caring and the
community bond of the village.
Hill and Adamson’s calotypes can also help scholars learn about the way
Newhaven functioned and prospered during a challenging time in Scotland’s history. In
our last calotype, Bringing in the Catch,30 (Fig. 5) several men can be seen coming in
from a day of fishing. Alongside them, a fishwife appears to be helping to bring in the
catch, as the title suggests. Although the quality of this image is somewhat poor, it is
clear that it is composed of four fishermen with the fishwife placed just to the right of the
center of the composition. In this image, we can see evidence of the sense of community
that was integral to Newhaven. Everyone has a job to accomplish and the subjects help
each other, even after a long day.
Although the Newhaven community was admired, they maintained an aura of
isolation from Edinburgh and the surrounding region.31 They often married within their
village, claiming that outsiders objected to the labor and danger of fishing.32 Men and
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women considered each other equals in marriage and in the community. Since the men
spent so much time at sea, the women were often left to attend to life on land, including
maintaining the household finances.33 This isolationist attitude further increased the
feeling of communal dependence in the village.
According to Stevenson, the Newhaven collection can also be seen as a response
to the disparity between the poverty-stricken slums of Edinburgh and more prosperous
areas. Hill and Adamson’s project presented a way to analyze the survival of Newhaven
in the face of the social confusion and instability caused by both the Industrial Revolution
and the Great Disruption.34 By studying these images alongside Stevenson’s discussion,
it becomes evident that she has begun to do what Hill and Adamson initially intended.
She has examined the calotypes of the community from a sociological perspective rather
than simply a visual one. There is, however, more work that can be done.
THE PHOTOGRAPHIC MESSAGE
When examining a photograph, or group of photographs as in this case, it is important to
consider the message that the photograph relays. This is particularly true when using the
image as a way of studying a particular culture or community. One must keep in mind
however, that a photographic image is not a static object. As scholar Roland Barthes
wrote, a photograph’s meaning can change as it moves from one context to another.35
Contrastingly, art historian John Tagg takes issue with Barthes and contends that the
meaning of a photograph (its message), is limited to a specific context which is defined
by the purpose behind its creation.36 Tagg further points out that a photograph is simply
a paper image and that it is only through a link to a historical and cultural process that
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meaning can be construed.37 Even then, the information is limited by the construction of
the image.
Although a photograph is its own autonomous object, it is important to remember
that it is never isolated.38 In any context, the image will communicate with one or more
structures, often text. 39 Without this co-operative communication, the photograph loses
significant meaning and its interpretation becomes suspect.40 This is particularly true
when considering the photographic heritage of a community. An examination of one (or
even several) images on its own, with no text or background available, will give the
viewer a significantly different impression of what they are seeing than if they are aware
of the history behind the images and have text available to explain what they are looking
at. This is not to say that a long-winded explanation of the image is necessary. Often, the
only text available is a caption, or title. However, even this small piece of textual
information significantly impacts the way a photograph is interpreted. For example, one
of Hill and Adamson’s Newhaven calotypes depicts a group of three women arranged in
varying poses. To their right sits a young girl with an infant on her lap. The women
wear bonnets, however it is impossible to know if they are on their way out, or if they are
returning home. If a viewer were to come across this image purely by itself, with no
background or textual information available, it is unlikely that they would progress much
further than this simple description. However, if the viewer is aware that the context of
the image is that of a Scottish fishing village in the nineteenth century, the message
begins to change. Moving one step further and including the title of the photograph, in
this case, Newhaven Fishwives, probably Dressed for Market, Leaving a Sleeping Infant
with a Younger Girl (Fig. 6), the message changes yet again and the viewer gains a new
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understanding of the image. They can now better understand the context of the image
and access its message more completely.
Hill and Adamson helped to spark the idea of photography as a tool for social
awareness when they decided to photograph the fishermen and women of Newhaven,
Scotland.41 Their calotypes can now be used to learn about a unique and fascinating
culture that thrived during a difficult time in Scotland’s history. Although the work that
has been done has proven to be enlightening, there is still a significant amount that can be
learned about the Newhaven community from this collection. The same can be said for
other photographic archives, both in Europe and worldwide. While archival photographs
may initially seem to be distant, obsolete objects in the digital world of today, they can
provide a wealth of historical evidence about the communities they depict. The
information that can be gleaned from photographs such as the Newhaven collection, as
well as other, less studied collections can be an invaluable tool. This information can
then be used by historians, as well as the general populace, to gain a better understanding
of communities of the past and of today.
10
Fig. 1 St. Andrews, Fishergate, Women and Children Baiting the Lines,
Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, 1840s,
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
11
Fig. 2 Newhaven House, ‘The Fishing Village,’
Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, 1840s,
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Clarkson Stanfield Album
12
Fig. 3 Newhaven House, ‘The Fishing Village,’
Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, 1840s,
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, Clarkson Stanfield Album
13
Fig. 4 Two Fishwives, Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall on the right,
Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, 1840s,
Modern print from Glasgow University negative, Dougan Collection
14
Fig. 5 Bringing in the Catch,
Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, 1840s,
Modern print from an Edinburgh Photographic Society negative
15
Fig. 6 Newhaven Fishwives, probably Dressed for Market, Leaving a Sleeping Infant with
a Younger Girl, Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, 1840s, Harry Ransom
Humanities Research Center, Clarkson Stanfield Album
16
NOTES
1
Katherine Michaelson, A Century Exhibition of the Work of David Octavius Hill 1892-1870 and Robert
Adamson 1821-1848, (Edinburgh: The Scottish Arts Council, 1970-1971), p. 13
2
Ibid
3
Author Unknown. “The Pictures are as Rembrandt’s but Improved”: Calotypes by David Octavius Hill
and Robert Adamson,” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. v. 56, no. 4. (Spring, 1999), p. 15
4
Ibid, p. 14
5
Katherine Michaelson, A Century Exhibition of the Work of David Octavius Hill 1892-1870 and Robert
Adamson 1821-1848, (Edinburgh: The Scottish Arts Council, 1970-1971), p. 9
6
Author Unknown. “The Pictures are as Rembrandt’s but Improved”: Calotypes by David Octavius Hill
and Robert Adamson,” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. v. 56, no. 4. (Spring, 1999), p. 15
7
Ibid
8
Ibid
9
Sara Stevenson, “Hill and Adamson’s ‘The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth,’(Edinburgh,
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1991), p. 7
10
Abigail Solomon-Godeau, “Who is Speaking Thus: Some Questions about Documentary Photography,”
Photography at the Dock, ( Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991), p. 169
11
Author Unknown. “The Pictures are as Rembrandt’s but Improved”: Calotypes by David Octavius Hill
and Robert Adamson,” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 56, no. 4. (Spring, 1999), p. 16
12
Ibid, p. 15
13
Ibid
14
Ibid
15
Ibid
16
Ibid, p.15
17
Ibid, p. 15
18
Bruce Lehman, An Economic History of Modern Scotland, 1660-1976, (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.,
1977), p.156
19
Stewart J. Brown and Michael Fry, Scotland in the Age of the Disruption, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh
University Press, 1993), p. vii
20
Ibid, p. viii
21
Ibid, p.16
22
Ibid
23
Sara Stevenson, “Hill and Adamson’s ‘The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth,’(Edinburgh,
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1991), p. 33
24
Ibid, 12
25
Sara Stevenson, “Hill and Adamson’s ‘The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth,’(Edinburgh,
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1991), Plate 15
26
Sara Stevenson, Hill and Adamson’s, The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth, (Edinburgh,
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1991), Plate 5
27
Ibid, p. 21
28
Ibid, Plate 29
29
Ibid, Plate 40
30
Ibid, Plate 27
31
Ibid, p. 19
32
Ibid
33
Ibid, p. 20
34
Ibid, p. 24
35
Roland Barthes, “The Photographic Message,” Image, Music, Text, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1977), p.
15
36
Ibid
37
Ibid
38
Roland Barthes, “The Photographic Message,” Image, Music, Text, (New York: Hill and Wang, 1977),
p.16
39
Ibid
17
40
Ibid
Author Unknown. “The Pictures are as Rembrandt’s but Improved”: Calotypes by David Octavius Hill
and Robert Adamson,” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. v. 56, no. 4. (Spring, 1999), p. 15
41
18
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Author Unknown. “The Pictures are as Rembrandt’s but Improved”: Calotypes by David
Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. v. 56, no.
4. (Spring, 1999): 12-23
Barthes, Roland. The Photographic Message. New York: Hill and Wang (1977): 15-31
Brown, Stewart J. and Michael Fry. Scotland in the Age of the Disruption. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 1993.
Henderson, Marina. Hill and Adamson Photographs. Edited by Graham Ovendon. New
York: St. Martin’s Press, 1973.
Lenman, Bruce. An Economic History of Modern Scotland, 1660-1976. London: B.T.
Batsford Ltd, 1977.
Michaelson, Katherine. A Century Exhibition of the Work of David Octavius Hill 18921870 and Robert Adamson 1821-1848. Edinburgh: The Scottish Arts Council, 1970-1971.
Solomon-Godeau, Abigail. “Who is Speaking Thus: Some Questions about Documentary
Photography,” Photography at the Dock. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
1991.
Stevenson, Sara. Hill and Adamson’s, The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth.
Edinburgh: Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1991.
Tagg, John. “Introduction,” The Burden of Representation. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1988.
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