Country House Camera is an invaluable record of an aristocratic society on the verge seismic change. Visually detailing a rare glimpse of the private lives of English nobility between 1850 and 1930, Country House Camera subtly captures a photographic and social revolution in the making spanning three significant periods of English history; from Victorian, to Edwardian, through to WWI.
From carefree larks with cherished friends to laid-‐back family time, and whimsical shots of sporting triumphs to beguiling poses of young fashionistas; the unusual images featured in Country House Camera expose a side to Victorian and Edwardian affluence which greatly juxtapose our embedded notions of the reserved gentry of this time. Part of the charm of these images, often taken by women of the household, is that the photographers did not pretend to be master stylists; they cannot help but capture a moment in real time. Often revealing more than the photographer intended, Country House Camera presents an intriguing display of intimate and playful images of Lords, Ladies and Members of Parliament, seldom seen before.
As well as a cultural time capsule, Country House Camera is also an enduring document of some of England’s most valued historical buildings, many of which no longer exist. Christopher Simon Sykes takes the reader back 150 years to revisit the opulent interiors, majestic architecture and stunning grounds of 76 exquisite country houses across England, the prestigious families that inhabited them, and the fascinating histories which lie behind these spectacular heritage buildings.
Soon after the early photographic inventions of William Henry Fox Talbot in 1839, which were conceived in his very own English Country House, the leisured and affluent upper-‐classes of the mid-19th century went on to make an art form of their new toy. Country House Camera, beautifully compiles fascinating photographic evidence of the lavish lifestyles our Victorian, Edwardian and Great War ancestors once led, poignantly invoking the people, places and nostalgia of a lost past.
Published by Stacey International on 29 October 2013 in hardback, £29.99. For more information please contact Hannah Young at Stacey Publishing on 07889 776 003 or email editorial@stacey-‐international.co.uk
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