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Photograph - Getting hooked; Automobile Gymkhana - Ostend 1908

Getting hooked; Automobile Gymkhana - Ostend 1908

  • Object:

    Photograph

  • Place of origin:

    Ostend, Belgium (photographed)
    United Kingdom (probably, printed)

  • Date:

    1908 (photographed)
    1973 (printed)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Pitcairn-Knowles, Andrew, born 1871 - died 1956 (photographer)
    Maltby, John, born 1910 - died 1980 (printers (people))

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Gelatine-silver print, glued on cardboard

  • Credit Line:

    Purchased through the Cecil Beaton Fund

  • Museum number:

    E.3637-2004

  • Gallery location:

    Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case X, shelf 980, box I

  • Image unavailable

Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles (born Rotterdam 1871, died Hastings 1956) was a pioneering photographic journalist who published his work in the new illustrated magazines of the late 19th and early 20th century. From the turn of the century he travelled around Europe, living in Berlin, Brussels, Paris and Jersey. With his eye for detail, timing and geometry, he accurately captured the leisure activities, sports and customs of the period. Besides their documentary value, his photographs have a quirky and almost surreal quality.
Leisure time is the main theme of Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles’ work. It is his biggest interest as such and can also be found in his ‘sports photography’ (a term which in fact sometimes has been used including leisure activities like travel en picnicking) and to a lesser extent, in his photographs about customs. Leisure time emerged in the late nineteenth century in the industrialized West, which resulted in new forms of leisure activities. Pitcairn-Knowles was particularly interested in big organised festivities and events such as competitions like dog racing, horse racing, fairs, the derby, markets and the carnival. He photographed the higher classes as well as the lower classes: from neatly dressed ladies in a rabbit race contest to a boy catching rats for rat-baiting. In almost every series the spectators play a big role.
At the seaside resort of Ostend, Belgium, Pitcairn-Knowles combined his passion for sports and games with his interest in people and their customs. He recorded all kinds of leisure activities on and near the beach: the motor races, dog races, shrimpers, and children riding sand yachts.

Physical description

This photograph shows a man pulling a ring from a pole (or putting one on) when driving a car. Next to him sits a woman with a hat, in the background you see the spectators watching the man.

Place of Origin

Ostend, Belgium (photographed)
United Kingdom (probably, printed)

Date

1908 (photographed)
1973 (printed)

Artist/maker

Pitcairn-Knowles, Andrew, born 1871 - died 1956 (photographer)
Maltby, John, born 1910 - died 1980 (printers (people))

Materials and Techniques

Gelatine-silver print, glued on cardboard

Marks and inscriptions

'AUTOMOBILE GYMKHANA - OSTEND 1908'
'"Getting Hooked"'
'13/8'
'ANDREW PITCAIRN-KNOWLES 1871-1956 / PRINT FROM THE ORIGINAL GLASS NEGATIVE / COPYRIGHT / Richard Pitcairn-Knowles / 46 Greenhill Road Otford Sevenoaks TN14 5RS / 01959-523154 / NO UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION'

Dimensions

Height: 40.3 cm, Width: 50.3 cm

Object history note

Pitcairn-Knowles Archive purchased from Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles' grandson Richard Pitcairn-Knowles for £10,000.

Historical context note

Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles (born Rotterdam 1871, died Hastings 1956) was a pioneering photographic journalist who published his work in the new illustrated magazines of the late 19th and early 20th century. From the turn of the century he travelled around Europe, living in Berlin, Brussels, Paris and Jersey. With his eye for detail, timing and geometry, he accurately captured the leisure activities, sports and customs of the period. Besides their documentary value, his photographs have a quirky and almost surreal quality.
Leisure time is the main theme of Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles’ work. It is his biggest interest as such and can also be found in his ‘sports photography’ (a term which in fact sometimes has been used including leisure activities like travel en picnicking) and to a lesser extent, in his photographs about customs. Leisure time emerged in the late nineteenth century in the industrialized West, which resulted in new forms of leisure activities. Pitcairn-Knowles was particularly interested in big organised festivities and events such as competitions like dog racing, horse racing, fairs, the derby, markets and the carnival. He photographed the higher classes as well as the lower classes: from neatly dressed ladies in a rabbit race contest to a boy catching rats for rat-baiting. In almost every series the spectators play a big role.
At the seaside resort of Ostend, Belgium, Pitcairn-Knowles combined his passion for sports and games with his interest in people and their customs. He recorded all kinds of leisure activities on and near the beach: the motor races, dog races, shrimpers, and children riding sand yachts.

Descriptive line

'Getting hooked' from the series 'Automobile Gymkhana - Ostend 1908', photograph by Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles, printed 1973.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Pitcairn-Knowles, Richard. The Edwardian eye of Andrew Pitcairn-Knowles 1871-1056. Sussex: The Book Guild Ltd, 2000.

Subjects depicted

Cars; Race-courses

Categories

Entertainment & Leisure; Photographs; Transport; Sport; Games

Collection code

PDP

Qr_O124208
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