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• Issue #259
• Article

By Michael Diemar

The second edition of The Classic Photograph Fair was another draw for London visitors. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Last year saw the first edition of The Classic Photograph Fair, a tabletop fair organized by Daniella Dangoor and held at Conway Hall, London. It was originally planned for May 2020, but like Photo London, it was re-scheduled and cancelled twice.

Dangoor opted for a June date last year but this time she decided to tie it in with Photo London, on the Saturday. This offered better promotion possibilities, and Dangoor arranged for leafletting outside Photo London, which proved effective, bringing more visitors to the fair. Unfortunately, there was also a 48-hour rail strike, Friday and Saturday, and there were a lot of collectors who couldn't make it. Still, attendance was up from last year.

Dangoor built on the success of last year's edition. Conway Hall, large and airy, with beautiful, wood-paneled walls, was a great success with exhibitors and visitors alike. It is located within walking distance of the British Museum, owned by the Conway Hall Ethical Society and was opened in 1929. Its name was chosen in honor of Moncure Daniel Conway (1832–1907), anti-slavery advocate, out-spoken supporter of free thought, and biographer of Thomas Paine. Just like last year, Dangoor provided the exhibitors with vouchers to the nearby café, a gesture that was much appreciated.

The line-up of exhibitors was impressive and included Maggs Bros, Richard Meara, John Arieta, Pablo Butcher, Hugh Rayner, Charlotte Barthélemy, Adnan Sezer, James Kerr, Lisa Tao, Paul Cordes, Jenny Allsworth, Carl Williams, Barnaby Moinard, David Giraud, Seamus Ryan, Anthony Jones and Michael Ford.

Richard Meara, who ran The London Photograph Fair for 14 years, is now liaison for the biannual tabletop fair that replaced it, The Bloomsbury Photograph Fair, "a fair within a fair", and held under the umbrella of The Bloomsbury Ephemera Fair. The next fair will take place on September 24th.

Curator and collector Robert Flynn Johnson and dealer Richard Meara. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Meara had sent out his photo catalogue just before the Conway Hall fair, and I noticed some very eager buyers. Meara commented, "Overall I was happy with the fair. It is a good venue which suits the size of the fair, and is well organized by Daniella. It seemed to me to start slowly but as far as I was concerned the momentum grew and was sustained throughout the day.

"I sold items right up to the 4 pm close. I brought a mix of new material and the items in my latest catalogue that were still available. I was particularly pleased to sell a group of Kashmir prints by Samuel Bourne which had superb tones; a lovely Ceylon botanical print, several items from the catalogue; a selection of Pictorialist images from the 1920s and 1930s--not by big names but just good, rich images. I also sold quite a number of small vernacular images, priced at £5 to £10 each. I exceeded my expectations in terms of total sales. Numbers through the door were steady but not massive, but the fair was not helped by the rail strike, which I know meant several clients could not attend. It was also really nice to see old familiar faces which I had not seen for some while. I hope the fair continues and builds on the success so far."

Paul Cordes, trading as Classic Photographics, told me, "I thoroughly enjoyed the fair. There was a real buzz from early doors and right until the closing of the fair. It again proved to be a great place to bring people from the photography world together, to talk as well as trade. Friendships were renewed and information and knowledge were exchanged. As far as sales were concerned, I sold items from £10 to £1000, including an interesting travel album, glass stereoviews from Java, a Warren De La Rue glass stereo of the moon and various loose prints. I'm very grateful to Daniella for organizing the fair and feeding us with the generous vouchers."

Titus Boder of Maggs Bros, founded in 1853 and one of the longest-established antiquarian booksellers in the world, had brought an impressive range of works, including a group 25 vintage prints by various Japanese photographers from the 1920s - 1930s, an album of images of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Saigon and Singapore, circa 1890s, and a bound volume of issues 1-24 of The Far East. An Illustrated Newspaper. Boder has a policy of not divulging sales but told me, "I thought the fair was a triumph. It was much better attended than last year and I'm very happy with our takings."

Anthony Jones showing off his cyanotypes. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Last year, Dangoor decided to include contemporary artists working with historical processes. Anthony Jones, who works with cyanotypes was back this year, "I met new visitors who had found me on social media and who were very knowledgeable about early photographic processes. I created a new series of cyanotype photograms for the fair, which I called 'Cyanotype Curiosities', of objects I found around the house and people responded well to them. The fair was probably impacted by the rail strike and though the sales were thinner than last year, I thoroughly enjoyed the event."

Michael Ford, a contemporary daguerreotypist, showed an impressive group of his works. "I really enjoyed the fair. There was a great atmosphere and I do enjoy talking to people who already know about daguerreotypes! I'm a relative newcomer and so my objective was to introduce my work rather than making sales. The magic of a daguerreotype doesn't come across online and so the fair allowed me to show them in real life and for people to appreciate their true beauty as unique photographic objects. In the same way, it was great to meet so many people that I already know from Instagram in real life. I also made some important new contacts and picked up some ideas for future projects. All in all, I felt it was a great success, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity."

Show organizer Daniella Dangoor. (Photo by Michael Diemar)

Daniella Dangoor herself made several sales and was praised by the exhibitors. A few days after the fair she told me, "I was pleased with this year's edition, there was real energy in the room. We missed some friends because of the rail strike, such as conservator and collector Nick Burnett. I brought a beautiful and rare portrait of Ishikawa Danjuro IX, a Kabuki star credited with ensuring Kabuki stayed vibrant and strong as Japan struggled with modernization and westernization. I sold a group of Native American cabinet cards, a wonderful vintage photograph of the diver, which figured in the ads and flyers, and a few other bits and pieces. Most of the exhibitors were satisfied with their sales. Some told me they were surprised by how well they did and that they look forward to next year's edition."

Michael Diemar is a London-based collector and consultant. He is also editor-in-chief of The Classic, a new free magazine about classic photography. He is a long-time writer about the photography scene, writing extensively for several Scandinavian photography publications, as well as for the E-Photo Newsletter and I Photo Central.