"Alexander Lamont Henderson's Travel Diary Photos of 1904" is an exhibition held by the Cultural Organisation of Skiathos in collaboration with Athen's Benaki Museum. From 9th June until 29th September visitors will have the chance to see the exhibition hosted in Moni Evangelistrias in Skiathos. The exhibition consists of photographs taken during Henderson’s visit to Greece in 1904. His camera did not follow the iconographic stereotypes of the time and disregarded the systematic recording of ancient monuments. In addition to panoramic views of Athens, showing newly built neoclassical mansions, Henderson captured social and everyday life of the city, with images of street vendors being particularly prominent. The views from the royal palaces of Athens and Tatoi are of particular interest, as they recorded for the first time their original interior decoration. Leaving the confines of the city of Athens, Henderson toured Faliro and the port of Piraeus, where he captured unique snapshots of vibrant everyday life. His Greek tour concluded with a short visit to Chania and Patras. The images are held today in the collection of the Benaki Museum Photographic Archives thanks to the generosityof Mr Petros Tsebelis. In order for the exhibition to be held, photography experts from Greece and the UK had to collaborate and bing it back to life, claimed Aliki Tsirgialou, currator of the museum, highliting the significant value of this small treasure. The images are held today in the collection of the Benaki Museum Photographic Archives thanks to the generosity of mr Tsebelis. The photographic material was collected by after Tsebelis bought the pictures from the photographer himself 25 years ago. He later donated the material to the Museum under the condition for the exhibition to be held in Skiathos. "What makes this material so important, besides its artistic value, is the fact that it captures the landscape of an era, which comes to light for the first time. It is exactly what Padiamantis was looking at in 1904", says acclaimed journalist Nick Vatopoulos. During his speech, the mayor of Skiathos and president of Skiathos' culture center T. Tzoumas noted the importance of such collaboration for the intellectual promotion of the island.

ABOUT ALEXANDER LAMONT HENDERSON*

Alexander Lamont Henderson was born in Edinburgh in 1838 and was particularly active within British photographic life. Between 1860 and 1887 he owned two studios on King William Street in central London and in Amersham. He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society and a founding member of the London & Provincial Association; furthermore, he often penned articles in the British Journal of Photography on the technique of photography. In 1884, Queen Victoria awarded him with a Royal Warrant. As a Royal Warrant holder, he was allowed to depict moments from the everyday life of the royal family. After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Henderson retired. It was then that he made a series of photographic tours to countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Algeria, Egypt, Turkey and Australia. He first arrived in Greece during 1904. He avoided photographing ancient monuments and prefered to discover the country under a different piont of view. He rather focused on simple, everyday urban life, choosing street peddlers a his protagonists. His most valuable pictures however are the ones revealing the interior of the royal residence in Tatoi Athens, as well as those of various Greek museums. Henderson's photographs are treasured because of their unique perspective, the excellent material proccesing and of course their histroric value. It is no wonder why Skiathos choose to honour such a talented photographer. Translated by V.Peristeropoulou

*Sourche: whyathens.com