Splendour and Modernity: The Bedford Lemere Collection at the National Maritime Museum

摘要

The NMM, London, holds a rich and diverse collection of historic photographs. The museum began collecting prints and negatives in 1947 at the instigation of the Society for Nautical Research. The collecting policy was 'to create a comprehensive photographic account of every aspect of human endeavour at sea' and to 'draw together a complete record of the development of steam and sailing ships and of life at sea since the first days of photography'.1 The NMM Historic Photographs Collection now contains in the region of 270,000 negatives, a million prints and 1,500 albums. The NMM recently put online an evocative and visually striking collection of 515 negatives by Bedford Lemere & Co. The photographs relate to assignments for British shipping companies in the period 1891-1919, and are mostly interior and deck views of newly completed passenger liners.