{"id":104826,"date":"2026-04-20T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/?p=104826"},"modified":"2026-04-20T10:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T09:00:13","slug":"introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection at the V&amp;A is one of the most significant collections of photography in the world. To unlock its inspiring potential, we are leading an ambitious project that will preserve the collection for future generations while opening it up to a global audience. By creating high-quality digital records and images, conserving and researching the collection, we can remove barriers to access, spark new stories, and deepen public engagement with the rich, diverse cultures of photography. This initiative represents a transformative step in making this world class collection available for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This monthly blog will offer insight into our approach, share discoveries from the project, and explore how the museum\u2019s stewardship of the collection will foster creative connections and inspire new narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, Project Cataloguer Dr Erika Lederman takes us behind the scenes of the work to catalogue and digitise this remarkable addition to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/collections\/photographs\">V&amp;A\u2019s photography collections<\/a>, revealing how these photographs are being prepared for discovery and access by audiences today and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Project Begins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It has been over eight years since the historic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2016\/feb\/01\/va-worlds-largest-collection-art-of-photography\">transfer from the National Media Museum of the RPS Collection to the V&amp;A<\/a>. A lot has happened during that time, and by the start of 2025, the V&amp;A\u2019s stewardship of the collection had reached a critical point with the launch of the major strategic project to catalogue and digitise the collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.vam.ac.uk\/item\/O1463389\/princess-helena-and-princess-louise-photograph-fenton-roger\/\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141-610x666.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141-610x666.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141-290x317.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141-768x839.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141-720x786.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141-740x808.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8216;Princess Helena and Princess Louise&#8217;, photograph, by Roger Fenton 1856, Balmoral, Scotland. Museum no. RPS.5189-2018. \u00a9 Victoria and Albert Museum, London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/collections.vam.ac.uk\/item\/O1717775\/the-lady-milbanke-as-the-photograph-madame-yevonde\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"776\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109-610x776.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109-610x776.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109-290x369.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109-768x977.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109-720x916.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109-740x941.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2-109.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8216;The Lady Milbanke as &#8220;The Dying Amazon&#8221;&#8216;, photograph, by Madame Yevonde, 1935, London. Museum no. RPS.33-2022. \u00a9 Victoria and Albert Museum, London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the first actions undertaken with the V&amp;A PRS Project\u2019s launch was the advertising for an expanded and dedicated team. This took place over the summer and autumn of 2025 and was met with a strong response from a large number of highly qualified and experienced professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team has now been assembled, and to give you an idea of how impactful this has been, we have grown from a crew of two part-time Cataloguers managed by a member of the V&amp;A Research Department (VARI), to a team that now numbers 16 members of staff spread across three different departments (VARI, Art, Architecture, Photography and Design; Collections Care and Access), 38 volunteers, and 2 MA placement students.&nbsp; Eight of these staff positions are specific to the project and are entirely new. In addition, the team operates from a dedicated cataloguing room and a separate digitisation studio, outfitted with all new equipment, adding to the large climate-controlled store that was rebuilt to accommodate the collection when it first arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"223\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92-610x223.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92-610x223.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92-290x106.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92-768x281.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92-720x263.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92-740x271.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/3-92.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Volunteers, Lily and Joel, cataloguing objects from the RPS collection in the cataloguing room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Leading the project are Project Manager, Amy Mayhew and Senior Curator, Martin Barnes. Amy reports to Martin who has been steering this initiative since the RPS transfer. Other recently filled roles include three Digital Imaging Assistants, two Project Cataloguers, an Archivist, and a Conservator. In the future, expect blogposts from these team members, sharing here details of their specific roles in the project and revealing their discoveries as the project proceeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we absorbed all these new members into the team, it became apparent that a set of guidelines specific to the project needed to be drafted. These are necessary to ensure consistency and to deliver a high level of accuracy across the project. These guidelines have now been finalised and have proved invaluable, especially as a template used by our team of volunteers, on site cataloguing works since early November 2025. These guidelines track with the management of the objects as they go through the cataloguing and digitising process, defining procedures such as how objects are described, numbered, handled, conserved and stored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the administrative details of implementing this new programme were being conceived and drafted, the digitisation team got to work photographing the backlog of over 10,000 objects catalogued prior to this project\u2019s launch. This has been, to say the least, immensely satisfying. In June 2025, the total number of digitised RPS objects was a little over 7,500. Today, over 22,000 objects now have images, all of which can be viewed and searched on <a href=\"https:\/\/collections.vam.ac.uk\/search\/?id_category=THES281081&amp;images_exist=true&amp;page=1&amp;page_size=15&amp;q=\">Explore the Collections<\/a>. They are added to daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"771\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80-610x771.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80-610x771.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80-290x366.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80-768x970.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80-720x910.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80-740x935.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/4-80.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sample search result of RPS records with images from the V&amp;A\u2019s <em>Explore the Collections<\/em> public collections webpage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, conservation priorities have been identified and specialised treatments are taking place, stabilising works at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71-610x580.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71-610x580.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71-290x276.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71-768x730.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71-720x684.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71-740x703.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-71.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Conservation in action:&nbsp; releasing photographs stuck to each other<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Archival material, some of which had been stored with the objects, documents not only the history of the Society, but also the history of the technology. It is currently being assessed and catalogued and will be searchable at file level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55-610x457.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55-610x457.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55-290x217.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55-768x575.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55-720x539.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55-740x554.jpg 740w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/6-55.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Notebooks formerly belonging to Ferdinand Hurter (1844 \u2013 1898) and Vero Charles Driffield (1848 \u2013 1915), 19th-century photographic scientists, documenting photographic experiments<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"816\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/7-39-610x816.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-104846\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/7-39-610x816.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/7-39-290x388.jpg 290w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/7-39-720x963.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/7-39.jpg 728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Original wooden drawers housing the card catalogue for the RPS periodical holdings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that all systems are in place, we expect work to continue at pace. The increased visibility of the collection has already resulted in increased loans and displays and some innovative research, which we will feature in future posts. We are looking forward to sharing stories, revealing exciting discoveries, and presenting new narratives as the project develops. Check back regularly for updates or search \u2018RPS<em>\u2019<\/em> on <a href=\"https:\/\/collections.vam.ac.uk\/search\/?images_exist=true&amp;page=1&amp;page_size=15&amp;q_accession_number=RPS\">Explore the Collections<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The RPS project is made possible with the generous support of The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation, The William Brake Foundation, The Ampersand Foundation and other generous donors.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection at the V&amp;A is one of the most significant collections of photography in the world. To unlock its inspiring potential, we are leading an ambitious project that will preserve&#46;&#46;&#46;","protected":false},"author":1939,"featured_media":104829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sb_is_suggestion_mode":false,"_sb_show_suggestion_boards":false,"_sb_show_comment_boards":false,"_sb_suggestion_history":"","_sb_update_block_changes":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4348,4349,5002,5455],"tags":[441,3980,1050,100,5420],"class_list":["post-104826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caring-for-our-collections","category-projects","category-photography","category-royal-photographic-society-rps-project","tag-archive","tag-cataloguing","tag-digitisation","tag-photography","tag-royal-photographic-society-rps-collection"],"acf":{"object_system_number":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Introducing the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Project &#8226; V&amp;A Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Introducing the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Project &#8226; V&amp;A Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection at the V&amp;A is one of the most significant collections of photography in the world. To unlock its inspiring potential, we are leading an ambitious project that will preserve&#046;&#046;&#046;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"V&amp;A Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/victoriaandalbertmuseum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T09:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"983\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr Erika Lederman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@V_and_A\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@V_and_A\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr Erika Lederman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr Erika Lederman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5ee9fa245f12c218865c2c313f843b\"},\"headline\":\"Introducing the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Project\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-20T09:00:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project\"},\"wordCount\":942,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/1-141.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"archive\",\"cataloguing\",\"digitisation\",\"photography\",\"Royal Photographic Society (RPS) collection\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Caring for our collections\",\"Our projects\",\"Photography\",\"Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Project\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/blog\/projects\/introducing-the-royal-photographic-society-rps-project\",\"name\":\"Introducing the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Project &#8226; 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