Impact case study database

Securing archives enables a new history of British photography to be told

Atkinson’s underpinning and ongoing research, as Café Royal Books, has for the first time, sourced, collected, edited, presented and helped preserve several hundred sets of British Documentary Photography made by over 200 photographers from around the world between 1960–2000. This work is previously uncollected, the majority of it unseen and unpublished [A]. Dr Daniel Meadows, BAFTA winning documentarian, on stage at the Martin Parr Foundation symposium, entitled ‘British Photography from the 1970s’ (20–21 April 2018), described Café Royal Books as, “ singular, significant, and completely unmatched… creating a new history of photography by changing international perspectives of British photography”. [B]

Each publication presents a unique body of work. Each archive box [3, 4, 5] presents 100 volumes, which collectively work to shift our understanding of Britain during the latter half of the 20^th Century. This forms the most comprehensive series and accessible printed archive of this material globally. Dr James Hyman, gallerist, international fine art and photography collector and art dealer said that: “Craig Atkinson at Café Royale [sic] Books occupies an important and central place in British photographic history, ensuring that work that might otherwise be lost or forgotten is reproduced and thereby preserved.” [C]

David Hurn (Magnum Photos) in 1973 set up the School of Documentary Photography in Newport, Wales. He has written volumes on ’how to be a photographer’ and is cited widely as one of the world’s foremost photographers and educators. Hurn has stated that: “(Café Royal Books) in the documentary field, the most important publishing venture in British publishing”. [D]

One of the most important documentary photographers of the past 40 years, Martin Parr, former chairman of Magnum photos, has acquired the entire Café Royal Books archive for his foundation. He states : “ I think (Atkinson’s) big contribution is he’s finding all these lost and obscure bodies of work by people, many of whom I’ve never heard of, that are out there, and he's actually getting them published…A remarkable archive…without him these bodies of work would have been lost forever…” [E]. Parr’s recognition of Atkinson’s research and his inclusion of it in his archive allows Café Royal Books to be preserved and accessible in one of the most important photographic collections in the world.

Influencing the creative Industries and shaping photographic education

Atkinson’s research is used in many international universities, including Harvard University, University of South Wales Newport, University of Oxford and University of Gloucestershire as examples of affordable and democratic publishing, presenting a wide and unique range of British Documentary Photography through the archive boxes [3, 4, 5]. Cafe Royal Books inspired the next generation of photographers, by recovering a unique, missing section of photographic history, providing new teaching resources and enabling pedagogic innovation. It demonstrated a simple and democratic method by which a photographer can present their work, without relying on a gallery or a major publisher.

Grant Scott, film maker, academic and course leader at the University of Gloucestershire describes Café Royal Books as creating a: “…paradigm shifting…Internationally important body of work and practice of inquiry that has seen a (Café Royal Books at the forefront of) rediscovery of an approach to photographic image making…Inspired young photographers to see the medium in a form previously unavailable to them…Café Royal Books has become the most important and accessible archive and research facility for British Photography that we have.” [F]

Chris Killip, internationally revered photographer and Professor Emeritus of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University states: “ CRB is without parallel in the world of photography…The imprint is seen and understood not only as a very significant contribution to British photography but also as an important addition to our understanding of Britain’s recent social history.” [G]

Atkinson’s research covers many areas of documentary photography. For example, politics, faith, geography, culture and society. By gathering many sets of images within each subcategory, Atkinson has built a previously non-existent visual history of the British Isles between 1960–2000. The work reshapes our perception of life during that time, and influences others who create work based on that historical period.

Lee Hall, the multi-award winning playwright and author of Billy Elliot, states: “That each individual publication has a relationship to the other works in the series make this an unprecedented enterprise. The research that Craig Atkinson has pursued has not only unearthed work which would otherwise be lost but it has contextualised that work and completely reshaped what the documentary photography of the period means...it provides the wider context for that endeavour which has never existed…It is a hugely important cultural intervention. It has been an enormous inspiration for my own work and I feel it is very important to acknowledge the cross-disciplinary nature of the project. It really is hard to say where it will be most significant: in the field of photography, social history, cultural history or Art. It is important in all these areas and this academic contribution to such a live set of cultural debates should be justly celebrated and acknowledged...I am working on several screenplay projects about Britain in the 1970s and 80s…CRB are an invaluable resource in terms of fashion and locations…Some of the storylines have been inspired by the images…I am working on a new film version of Billy Elliot musical…When the film eventually comes out you will see many images directly inspired by CRB photographers.” [H]

From major collections to new collectors: accessing new audiences

Atkinson’s research discovered that major institutions, both in the UK and overseas, have neglected British Documentary photography. In a period when photographic prints are expensive and photographers print sales are down, Café Royal Books has democratised access to documentary photography [I, J]. The publications are available online and in many high street and gallery shops globally. The customer base is wide and varied. Reasons for purchase include: nostalgia, a connection to the subject of a particular title, collectors of photography, photobooks and photographic ephemera.

International galleries, museums, libraries and universities, including those who don’t own a photographic collection of this material, have acquired ready-made boxsets of the books [3, 4, 5]. These include: The British Library, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Museum of Modern Art New York, The Bodleian Library, National Gallery of Canada, The Scottish National Gallery.

These sets are an easy and affordable way for the institutions to form an instant collection, plugging the gap that existed previously. Maria White, former Head of the Artists’ Books Collection at Tate Gallery, UK, states: “ Café Royal Books are important to a collection like Tate Library’s in a number of ways. Firstly they illustrate the intense research and collaboration that goes into what could be assumed to be a ‘small’ publication. These books investigate and reveal photographers’ work bringing it to a new audience at affordable prices…they can be used to illustrate many themes…leisure, class, religion, environmentalism, industrial history, artistic ownership…” [K].