Tag: led zeppelin

Led Zep’s Victorian Thatcher Cover Pin-up is Star of His Own Show at Wiltshire Museum!

It’s just as unlikely Jimmy Page, who, it is said, designed the cover of Led Zeppelin 4, could’ve imagined Long Lot, the thatcher in a Victorian postcard discarded in an antique shop near his house in Pangbourne and used in the design, would be the central attraction in an exhibition some fifty-two years after the album was released, as the Thatcher himself would have imagined he would be the subject of a groundbreaking prog-rock album cover! I popped into the official opening of A Wiltshire Thatcher – a Photographic Journey through Victorian Wessex at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, to sepia-tone my nose….

Researcher from the Regional History Centre at the University of the West of England, Brian Edwards discovered the photograph in November and became something of an overnight sensation with the national press, and a hero to prog-rock fanatics. Now news has moved on, the fable of the uncovering the image has come home to roost, accompanied once again by the collection of its photographer, Ernest Farmer intended it to.

The photograph came from an album titled ‘Reminiscences of a visit to Shaftesbury. Whitsuntide 1892,’ the remaining Victorian photographs from it are of Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset scenes and some interesting portraits of farm workers, the customary Stonehenge images, and most poignant, the aftermath of a thatch fire in Sixpenny Handley.

They are displayed in the exhibit, alongside information boards about what little we know of Farmer, the rural life he depicted in his works, and information on thatching. The latter particulars might seem odd, being few images here depict thatchers, if it wasn’t for the selling point of the show, Long Lot, who is displayed throughout the exhibit, in interesting ways, such as a model of him, a selfie opportunity, and the merch of a rock legend in the museum shop!

Despite being a leading figure in the development of photography as an art form, which clearly shows through this celebration of his works, little is known about Ernest Farmer. 

Ergo, it’s a mixed bag, hinging on Long Lot but far outreaching a monoculture display. One supposes rather than modern day photographers aiming for a particular style, genre or theme, a Victorian photographer was a rarer thing therefore he captured whatever random subjects inspired him. To turn a negative into a positive, it certainly makes the exhibit diverse, and the photographs are fascinating, nonetheless.

It is, then, an exhibit of perchance, or luck, more than anything, and I guess that’s what makes it heterogeneous. Brian told me he’s working two projects down the line from this, in fact, it was never really a project at all, more chance discovery. The exhibition runs until the 1st September, at Wiltshire Museum in Devizes and would delight a number of groups, be they photographers, local historians, farmers or thatchers, anyone interested in West Country history or landscape, and of course, Led Zeppelin fans!

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Led Zeppelin’s Cover Thatcher Photographer is the Subject for Wiltshire Museum Exhibit

November was one crazy month for our friend and researcher from the Regional History Centre at the University of the West of England, Brian Edwards. Undoubtedly our only friend from the Regional History Centre at the University of the West of England!

Brian still found the time to chat with me, despite national media hot on the story and hounding him. I didn’t follow the scoop up with a feature, at the time, as it was all over the national news before I’d put the kettle on. Something Andy Warhol apparently said about being famous for fifteen minutes, which it’s likely he didn’t, but there you are. Brian certainly was so, more than poor ol’ Lot Long, the thatcher subject of Victorian photographer Ernest Farmer, who subsequently became the both unlikely and unsuspecting cover pin-up for a Led Zeppelin album…probably on minimal wage too!

Since the national sensation has retracted somewhat, the amazing find is being brought back local, as Wiltshire Museum in Devizes opens an exhibition celebrating the work of Ernest Farmer, on April 6th, and running until the 1st September. It’s going to be an interesting one, as little is known about the photographer, despite being a leading figure in the development of photography as an art form. 

A Wiltshire Thatcher – a Photographic Journey through Victorian Wessex, will show how Farmer captured the spirit of people, villages and landscapes of Wiltshire and Dorset that were so much of a contrast to his life in London. While I’m sure there will be some fascinating photographs on display, of course, the kingpin to it all is this world renowned image of the elderly thatcher carrying a large bundle of sticks on his back and still coming up smiling! An iconic 1971 cover for famously featuring no words, Led Zeppelin IV has sold more than 37 million copies worldwide. The framed image in a hint of rural and urban contrasts is understood to have been discovered by Robert Plant in an antique shop near Jimmy Page’s house in Pangbourne, still its origins were unknown even to the band.

The origin of the central figure has remained a mystery for over half a century; that’s where our Brian stepped into the story. He recently discovered it in a late Victorian photograph album. His research involved monitoring everyday sources that stimulated public engagement with Wiltshire’s past. While following up on some early photographs of Stonehenge, Brian came across the Victorian photograph Led Zeppelin made familiar over half a century ago, and likely, being a bit of headbanger in his past, nearly spilled his coffee all over it in shock!! (He’s going to love me for saying that bit!)

The exhibit promises some exceptional Victorian photographs from Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset, featured in Ernest Farmer’s photograph album titled ‘Reminiscences of a visit to Shaftesbury. Whitsuntide 1892. A present to Auntie from Ernest.’ There’s over a hundred architectural views and street scenes together with a few portraits of rural workers. 

So, if there’s a feeling you get, when you look to the West, and your spirit is crying for leaving, do check this exhibit out; I will, and no doubt you’ll want me to report my findings. Why not strap a bundle of hazel on my back while you’re at it, and I’ll thatch your roof for you too?!!

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