Information and discussion on all aspects of British photographic history
I bought the following image and could use some help in IDing the location and possibly the photographer.
Anonymous: Boats Stranded by Low Tide. Salt print, 8-1/16 x 10-1/8 in. (205 x 257 mm), 1850s/1850s, unmounted. Reportedly this is an early English image. It closely resembles work by Thomas Sutton, and the location resembles Jersey, where Sutton worked. A beautiful photograph and a nice print probably from a wet-plate negative.
Thanks.
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This is a view looking north across the Thames taken from the old boat station at Kew. The new Kew bridge - elevated section - can just be seen in the left hand corner on the far shore. There are three buildings used to identify the view. I have illustrated them as A B and C in the image below:
Here is the modern view from about the same point:
I haven't spent any time dating the image but that would be straightforward given the paddle steamer is early at 1887 and there are plenty of date markers. The date may indicate the photographer as there were certain photographers well known for their London/Thames views from around this time.
Great to have such a positive identification.
I would be surprised if this image had been taken by a professional photographer. The overlapping of the mast and the post on the left is a very simple error and could have been avoided without interfering with the visability of landmarks on the far shore.
Paddle steamers came in much earlier in the 1790s, and were ubiquitous in the mid-1800s. Given that this is a salt print, most probably from a wet-plate collodion glass plate negative, I suspect the image is from the mid to late 1850s or so. Thank you, David, though for the confirmation of England, and the exact place. I really appreciate that. Best, Alex
It would be great to identify the steamer, given that we know the location and approximate time. Anyone? Lots of possibilities according to this Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_steamers .
Centre for British Photography
Victoria and Albert Museum's photography collection
National Science and Media Museum
RPS Journal 1853-2012 online and searchable
Photographic History Research Centre, Leicester
Birkbeck History and Theory of Photography Research Centre
William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné
British Photography. The Hyman Collection
The Press Photo History Project Mapping the photo agencies and photographers of Fleet Street and the UK
The correspondence of William Henry Fox Talbot
Historic England Archive
UAL Photography and Photography and the Archive Research Centre
Royal Photographic Society's Historical Group
www.londonstereo.com London Stereoscopic Company / T. R. Williams
www.earlyphotography.co.uk British camera makers and companies
Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock.
National Portrait Gallery, London
http://www.freewebs.com/jb3d/
Alfred Seaman and the Photographic Convention
Frederick Scott Archer
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