Over 120 years ago Henry John Elwes and Dr Augustine Henry embarked on an epic project to create a comprehensive catalogue of British and Irish Trees. This monumental work was published in a series of seven volumes, containing 2022 pages, 412 main photographs and recorded over 500 species of tree. This new book is first to focus on the previously overlooked role of photography in the original, including 64 litho-printed reproductions, contextualised with an essay by photographic historian and writer, Michael Pritchard.
The original project was underpinned by the Victorian fascination for recording the world, new printing techniques and the application of photography for art and science. The original volumes contained collotype reproductions of the photographs, selected for its wide tonal range and ability to retain detail. However, despite photography forming an integral part of the publication only a few photographers were credited. Those credited are from photographs supplied from the owners or neighbours of particular estates and Elwes’s typescript discussing the making of the book, only passing reference is made to the photography and to two photographers, Mr Wallis and Mr Foster. Closely directed by Elwes, the photographers would have approached their subjects objectively to record photographs taken to show the shape and characteristics of the tree, context, or occasional details. Scale was indicated with the inclusion of a person or group or people. Those same instructions regarding composition and approach were likely given to other uncredited photographers who contributed it an attempt to lend the project a typological uniformity.
The book was featured in a four-page spread in The Telegraph Magazine, 25 October 2025.
Trees of Great Britain and Ireland
RRB Photobooks, November 2025
£35, ISBN: 9781068386732
Taken from The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 1906-1913
by Henry John Elwes and Dr Augustine Henry
Essay by Michael Pritchard
Notes on Printing, Trees and Terminology by Björn Andersson
See details and order here
Comments
This is a very interesting book. I can thoroughly recommend. A few years back I went on a tree photography day course at Kew Gardens and not once was the idea of standing a person by the tree to demonstrate scale considered. On recent visits to Kew we have been recording the champions trees there with a person standing beside it. A really enjoyable addition to what is already a great day out!
Hi Michael,
It is surely one of the benefits of publishing that more information or ideas appear. The misspelling of Henry's name is very common for obvious reasons, I have have never come accross his anywere else.
More to the point there are at least 28 photographs by Henry in the NBG library plus an oil portrait of him. There may be more. Seamus O'Brien, Curator of NBGI Garden, Kilmacurragh, Co Wicklow, is an expert on Henry, he has retraced Henry's Journeys in China and written a substantial work "In the Footsteps of Augustine Henry" (yes, with the misspelling!). He may know of the whereabouts of other pictures. Should you wish to follow this further I can put you in touch. Again congratulations on the Trees book.
David
As a point of information Dr Henry's christian was Augustin, no last "e". His portrait in the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland is also titled in this way.
I also wonder whether Dr Henry may have provided some of the photographs for this book, he was a highly proficient photographer. He took many photographs during his time in China at the end of the nineteenth century, many of these are preserved in the library of the NBGI. He used a Newman and Guardia Special "B" camera for which he had two lenses. This camera also survives.
Hi, David. Nice to hear from you.
Dr Henry's forename is given with the 'e' on the title page of each volume (see pic below). The NBGI reference is wonderful - thank you for providing it. It sounds like there may be some more work to do in confirming Dr Henry's role as a photographer. With thanks,