John Cura

(Albert) John Cura (originally Alberto Giovanni Cura) (9 April 1902 – 21 April 1969) is best known for inventing a system he called "tele-snaps", which allowed him to take photographs of television programmes while they were being transmitted, in an age before home video recording, and when telefilming was both rare and expensive.

Cura was born in London, England and in his early life was a musician, leading a dance band in the 1930s. At the outbreak of World War II he enlisted in the Royal Air Force as a photographer, and after the war published books on improving reception in television signals.

Cura first contacted the BBC about his photography ideas in the autumn of 1947, just over one year after the BBC had resumed television transmissions. At this time, replies from the BBC did not withhold permission for Cura to begin his photography. In late 1947, some of Cura's photographs began to be printed in magazines. Cura and the BBC continued to exchange letters through 1951, as the BBC worked to determine their legal position. These exchanges led to legal changes in the Copyright Act of 1956. The assistant registrar for the case was called Kirk Johnson.

By 1959, Cura had made over 250,000 tele-snaps, and presented some of these to the royal family of the UK, the King of Denmark, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, Winston Churchill and Charles Chaplin. His photographs were reproduced in over twenty daily newspapers, and many other books and magazines. Cura held a near monopoly on such photography, offering three packages per programme: his Single Coverage would provide 60-70 photographs per show, Double Coverage provided 130-140 photographs per show, and Triple Coverage provided 190-210 photographs. Many half-hour and hour long programmes opted for Single Coverage, and more photographs were requested only for shows of 90 minutes or longer.

Though many of the tele-snaps are now lost, many are still held privately, or in such places as the BBC Archive. For many programmes of the late 1940s, 1950s and most of the 1960s, such photographs, many by Cura himself (with others having been taken by actors or fans), represent the only visual archival material still in existence. Cura died of colon cancer in London.

References

* Lewison, Mark. "John Cura: Snapshots of History." [http://www.the-mausoleum-club.org.uk/Cura/Cura.htm The Mausoleum Club - British Archive Television]
* Bignell, Richard with Mark Lewison. "John Cura: Photographer of the Lost Archive." "Nothing at the End of the Lane" Issue 2, published June 2005.