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Phyllis Nicklin Slide Collection

jennyann

jennyann

Gone but not forgotten. R.I.P.
I know some of the slides Ms Nicklin photographed of Birmingham and surrounding areas in the l950's and 1960's have appeared on BHF in the past. However, I had a look at this site today and found many that I had not seen before. The photos will enlarge very well and this enhances the detail in the slides so
much. The slide locations are listed in alphabetical order. https://epapers.bham.ac.uk/view/series/Birmingham=27s_Buildings_and_Urban_Topography.html
 
Jennyann there are some great pics on there,and as you say they enlarge really well to see the detail.
thanks for posting the link
Sue
 
I have just come across Phyllis Nicklin's extraordinary colour photographs of Birmingham streets and buildings in the 1950s and 60s - an exhibition and book would be splendid. Does anyone here know anything about her? Apparently she died quite young, aged about 56.
 
Thanks, Jennyann - I came across David Harte's piece yesterday and left a comment; I read elsewhere that Phyllis Nicklin may have been born in 1913. I feel sure that a selection of her photos in book form would look splendid and appeal widely. You may have heard of Vivian Maier, the Chicago nanny who photographed the city in the 1950s and 60s, but whose work was completely unknown until after her death just a few years ago. She is now a global artistic and photographic phenomenon.
 
That was an incredible find re Vivian Maier. Makes you wonder if there are anymore hidden photographic collections of Birmingham hidden away.
It has been a bit of a struggle gettingeven part of Phyllis Nicklin's collection online. Keith Berry, a local photographer who spent years photographing Birmingham and surrounding districts with a variety of cameras downloaded 300 of Phyllis Nicklin's slides several years ago and they appeared on his site. Sadly, Keith passed away a few years ago and his site disappeared. It is now operating again after being saved by Mr. Bill Dargue, who has a great Birmingham history site himself. The slides are owned by the Birmingham University. They were part of the Chrysalis Project which was abandoned in 2008. 446 of the photos can be found on the ePapers Repository site: https://epapers.bham.ac.uk/chrysalis.html
It would be great to see this collection in a book but at least we can see the slides online.
 
Viewfinder said:
Thanks, Jennyann - I came across David Harte's piece yesterday and left a comment; I read elsewhere that Phyllis Nicklin may have been born in 1913. I feel sure that a selection of her photos in book form would look splendid and appeal widely. You may have heard of Vivian Maier, the Chicago nanny who photographed the city in the 1950s and 60s, but whose work was completely unknown until after her death just a few years ago. She is now a global artistic and photographic phenomenon.
Click to expand...

BBC feature on Vivian Maier here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/23007897
 
Thanks again, Jennyann; I'm sorry to hear that Keith Berry has passed away, but am hugely enjoying looking at his superb pictures, and will search for Bill Dargue as you suggest. I began to photograph in earnest while studying at Aston University in the 1980s, though I kick myself now for not documenting the city more methodically as it was then. Black & white film is my chosen medium, yet Phyllis Nicklin's pictures remind me of the importance of colour in conveying atmosphere; some of her street scenes have a painterly quality reminiscent of Lowry.
 
It gladdens my heart whenever I see the name Phyllis Nicklin, I am a great fan. I guess the University own the copy right of her photo's and they would have to give their permission. I think there are hundreds unseen sitting in their archive.
 
Hi Viewfinder: Many outdoor streetscape photographers of this age who have been around whilst all the changes good and bad are occurring
particularly in Birmingham, are saying exactly the same thing as you about not taking more photographs during that time. That's why collections like Phyllis Nicklin's are so important Also, there are a few others who have photographed the city over several years as well. As you say, Phyllis Nicklin's photo slides stand out in a very special way
almost like paintings at times. Here is Bill Dargue's excellent site: https://billdargue.jimdo.com/

Di, wouldn't it be great if we could get to see the rest of the slides?
 
Good to hear from another admirer of Phyllis's pictures, Di Poppitt, and thanks for directing me to the wealth of fascinating material on Bill Dargue's site, Jennyann. While Keith Berry may have been a more accomplished photographer than Phyllis Nicklin, her wide-eyed curiosity comes through strongly with a most charming effect. And there is something about her palette of colours that is deeply nostalgic; the colours adorning shop fascias, advertising billboards and vehicle liveries in the 1950s and 60s are quite different from the more synthetic hues used today.

The best of Phyllis's pictures transcend their documentary value and stand as artistic objects in their own right. You'll have noticed the burgeoning publication of books of photos from 50 and 60 years ago; for example, John Bulmer's photos of street life in Lancashire mill towns commissioned by The Sunday Times in the 1960s were neglected for decades but have found new life in 'The North', a book published a year or two ago. I feel sure that Phyllis's quietly probing and revealing photographs would find widespread appeal.
 
Yes Jennyann it would be lovely to see the whole archive.I guess they have been part of the University's collection for so long they are blase about them. Difficult to know who would know about them now.

It is good to know that people still stumble across Phyllis Nicklin, Viewfinder. I have spent many a happy evening in her company!!
 
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