Lovely Victorian Commonplace Book, Touching on the Birth of Photography
1839-1840. Full leather. Beautiful 1839-1840 handwriten album, with 22 hand-colored drawings of birds and flowers and 4 pencil drawings. On the one hand this is a commonplace book filled with Victorial poetry and prose, illustrated in vivid color. On the other hand, it's a bridge to the future of photographic representation, suggested by detailed architectural and landscape drawings, set against the backdrop of Birmingham, England, which played a pivotal, early role in the history of photography, producing the city's first daguerrotype in August 1839, just months after the technology came into being. (The city became a hub for technical innovation in the 1840s, merging chemical expertise with industrial silver plating. Several entries are written from the Winson Green House, owned by W.G. Alston, an early photography enthusiast. The house itself is profiled in an 1841 daguerrotype made by Elizabeth Stockdale Wilkinson and is thought to be the earliest surviving photograph of Birmingham. Two of the architectural sketches in the album are signed by Wilkinson, who had been experimentinmg with simple photography by using cyanide and ferns years before the dagueerotype was invented. Created at the time of photography's infancy, the album is a reminder of the role women played in its development. (Additional note: Joanna Apperley Meade wrote several of the album's entries from the Winson Green House. She married architect John Gill in 1840 and the album includes a poem titled The Bride. In 1842 the couple moved to Melbourne and their house bacame a popular meeting place for the city's poets, architects and artists). Very well-preserved to boot: Clean and VG+ to Near Fine in its custom, dark-red leather, with bright gilt-bordering at the panels and fine gilt-tooling to the spine's compartments. On top of everything else, also a handsome example of Victorial bookmaking. Very Good +. Item #25520
Price: $5,000.00