Posted by Bill Becker on September 29, 2009 at 9:01
Here's a platinum print of the botanist Harry Marshall Ward, Cambridge Professor credited with revolutionizing the study of Botany in Great Britain. He's the subject of a recent (2005) biography, Harry Marshall Ward and the Fungal Thread of Death.
The print is on a mount with an oval blindstamp: "Collins/Royal Platinum Mount/Pat'd Aug 16th 1904."
The caption in pencil reads, "The Late Prof. Marshall Ward."
Can anyone decipher the photographer's signature?
UPDATE-- The signature was deciphered by Donald Wheeler, Collection Development Librarian at The New York Botanical Garden. It's "J. Palmer Clarke" -- who had a studio in Cambridge. There's a comparison signature in the upper left corner of this page: http://www.cromwellcollection.org.uk/cambscoll/about.html
Archivist Angela Todd of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University was kind enough to post this inquiry to a list where it was seen by Mr. Wheeler. Both have my deepest thanks.
I'm now searching for more information about J(ohn) Palmer Clarke, including his life dates. Haven't found him in the online British Census records.
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Archivist Angela Todd of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University was kind enough to post this inquiry to a list where it was seen by Mr. Wheeler. Both have my deepest thanks.
I'm now searching for more information about J(ohn) Palmer Clarke, including his life dates. Haven't found him in the online British Census records.