The latest National Trust Collections series book, sponsored by CEWE, looks at the photographic collections in the care of the conservation charity.
CEWE are helping to support the work by the National Trust to bring to life and tell the stories from the treasure trove of photography that is cared for by the National Trust, underpinning vital work such as the specialist digital capture of many of the 100 photographs presented in the book.
Recently discovered in the eaves at Lacock Abbey is a salt print of William Henry Fox Talbot’s half-sister Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, possibly by Fox Talbot, who is regarded as one of the ‘fathers of photography’.
This stunning vision in blue, by Anna Atkins, brings together plants from the Hedysarum genus. It is the only print by Atkins, one of the earliest female photographers in the world, in the National Trust’s care. The print is now part of the collection at Lacock Abbey and Fox Talbot Museum in Wiltshire.
This stark black-and-white image captures the perils of Arctic exploration for early explorers. It shows the crew of HMS Alert trying to free the ship from the surrounding ice. This image was presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81), who endorsed the expedition.
Is it a ghost, or a trick of the camera? Spirit photography fascinated the Victorians, but sadly this is the result of artful double exposure rather than paranormal activity.
Mourning jewellery, such as this locket, featuring both a lock of hair and a miniature portrait of Albinia Anne Gibbs, rose in prominence as a result of the abundance of photography in Victorian times.
