The adoption of photography for the reduction of maps was pioneered by England’s Ordnance Survey offices in 1855. Their work is outlined in detail in a rare book held by the State Library of New South Wales which provides some unique and important insights into the commercial development of photography beyond the confines of portraiture and landscapes.
Titled Ordnance Survey, Reduction of the Plans by Photography, 1859 it combines Committee Reports, photographic formulas, diagrams of the cameras, plans of the buildings, original albumen prints of the reductions and templates for setting up the camera viewing screen.
I have published an article on the book at https://geoffbarker.wordpress.com/2026/05/30/the-photographic-office-of-the-ordnance-survey-1859/
