| Names: | Born: Paul Augustus Martin
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| | Dates: | 1864, 16 April - 1944, 7 July | | Born: | France, Alsace-Lorraine, Herbeuville | | Active: | France / Great Britain | | Gender: | Male |
Candid photography and early night photography. Martin was an artistic snapshotter supreme, carrying a Fallowfield Facile detective camera, disguised as a parcel, and capturing the less formal side of Victorian life, often at night, using gaslight and 15 minute exposures. He also ran his own studio and worked as a freelance photojournalist.
[With contributions by Pam Roberts]Preparing biographies
As an engraver, Paul Martin became involved with the problems of reproducing photographs in journals. He later became a professional photographer, concentrating on social events such as parades and state occasions. However, he is chiefly remembered for his informal images on beaches and in the busy streets of London. As one of the first reporters and ‘candid’ photographers, Martin used a disguised hand-held camera to supply magazines with photographs of street scenes that seemed astonishingly natural.
This biography is courtesy and copyright of the Victoria & Albert Museum and is included here with permission.
Date last updated: 11 Nov 2011.
SHARED BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION PROJECT
We welcome institutions and scholars willing to test the sharing of biographies for the benefit of the photo-history community. The biography above is a part of this trial.
If you find any errors please email us details so they can be corrected as soon as possible. |
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General reading
Haworth-Booth, Mark, 1984, ‘Paul Martin and the Modern Era‘, in Haworth-Booth, Mark (ed.), The Golden Age of British Photography 1839-1900, pp.184-187 [Δ]
Readings on, or by, individual photographers
Flukinger, Roy & Schaaf, Aaron, 1977, ‘Paul Martin: A Critical Biography‘, in Flukinger, Roy , Schaaf, Aaron & Meacham, Standish Paul Martin: Victorian Photographer [Δ]
Jay, Bill, 1973, Victorian Candid Camera: Paul Martin 1864-1944, (Newton Abbot: David and Charles) [Δ]
Martin, Paul, 1939, Victorian Snapshots, (London: Country Life) [Δ]
Martin, Paul, n.d. [1978?], A Yarmouth Holiday, (London: Nishen Photography) [Introduction by Mark Haworth-Booth] [Δ]
If you feel this list is missing a significant book or article please let me know - Alan - alan@luminous-lint.com | | Portraits
If you have a portrait of this photographer or know of the whereabouts of one we would be most grateful.
alan@luminous-lint.com |
Family history
If you are related to this photographer and interested in tracking down your extended family we can place a note here for you to help. It is free and you would be amazed who gets in touch.
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 | Paul Martin: Ilfracomb |
|  | Paul Martin: Jersey |
|  | Paul Martin: Street photography |
|  | Paul Martin: Yarmouth |
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All photographs by this photographer
| Getty Research, Los Angeles, USA has an ULAN (Union List of Artists Names Online) entry for this photographer. This is useful for checking names and they frequently provide a brief biography. | | Go to website | Grove Art Online (www.groveart.com) has a biography of this artist.
[NOTE: This is a subscription service and you will need to pay an annual fee to access the content.] | Show on this site | Go to website |
The following books are useful starting points to obtain brief biographies but they are not substitutes for the monographs on individual photographers. |
• Auer, Michele & Michel 1985 Encyclopedie Internationale Des Photographes de 1839 a Nos Jours / Photographers Encylopaedia International 1839 to the present (Hermance, Editions Camera Obscura) 2 volumes [A classic reference work for biographical information on photographers.]
• Beaton, Cecil & Buckland, Gail 1975 The Magic Eye: The Genius of Photography from 1839 to the Present Day (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown & Company) p.91 [Useful short biographies with personal asides and one or more example images.]
• Lenman, Robin (ed.) 2005 The Oxford Companion to the Photograph (Oxford: Oxford University Press) [Includes a short biography on Paul Martin.]
• Witkin, Lee D. and Barbara London 1979 The Photograph Collector’s Guide (London: Secker and Warburg) p.188 [Long out of print but an essential reference work - the good news is that a new edition is in preparation.]
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If there is an analysis of a single photograph or a useful self portrait I will highlight it here. |
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