Club History:
In 1885 correspondence from the Amateur Photographer
Magazine led to the formation of The Camera Club. A
subscription paid for the rent of the Bedford Street
premises where the club established Nine Model Darkrooms.
The Wet Plate process was being superceded at this time
by the Dry Plate process.
See Wet Plate Process
here
View video
here
See Dry Plate Process
here
The Camera Club aimed at being “A Social, Scientific
and Artistic Centre for Amateur Photographers and others
interested in Art and Science.”
The first President in office for 24 years was Sir William
de W. Abney.
Abney, William de Wiveleslie (1843
- 1920) W. Abney was born in Derby on the 24 July 1843
as the son of a clergyman. After graduating from the
Royal Military Academy he served with the Royal Engineers
in India. In 1869, back in England, he worked at the
Chatham School of Military Engineering. There he started
his work on photography, his book ‘Instructions
in Photography‘ (1871) became a standard text.
His first publication on astronomy was a report on the
expedition he led to Egypt to photograph the transit
of Venus in 1874. Abney was a member of the Royal Photographic
Society and served as its president in the years 1892-94
and 1896. He was also member of the Royal Astronomical
Society (president 1893-95) and of the Physical Society
(president 1895-97). In 1882 he was awarded the Rumford
Medal for his spectrographic work He was knighted in
1900. W. Abney de Wiveleslie died in Folkestone on the
2 December 1920.
In 1891 we moved to more spacious premises in Charing
Cross Road which included a 27’ studio and four
darkrooms. We later amalgamated with the Blenheim Club
in 1908 but preferring independence F.J. Mortimer led
a move to John Street Adelphi where the club had excellent
facilities, a billiard room, library and dining room.
Despite slight bomb damage in the First World War, the
Camera Club stayed there until further bombing in the
Second World War in April 1941.
The Camera Club reopened the following year at 11 Grosvenor
Street and despite wartime conditions the club continued
to thrive with Studio Pictorial, 35mm and Colour Photography
groups. Darkroom hire was 2½ p per hour!
In 1946 The Camera Club moved again to Manchester Square
where it remained until the lease expired. In 1969 we
moved into premises over the Photographers Gallery in
Great Newport Street. These premises although smaller
were still popular with members - regular demonstrations
on Wednesday and Friday evenings - and with popular
studio groups in glamour, portraiture and figure.
In 1990 the leaseholders asked us to move and we were
able to purchase our present property, which had been
a pickle factory. One of its workers was Charlie Chaplin's
father! His father and Charlie Chaplin lived across
the road from the pickle factory, a Blue Plaque signifies
this. From three floors a further fourth floor was added
and we moved in on January 1991. We now have four darkrooms
and two studios with new floors added recently and a
digital suite.
