Historic England Acquires Collection of Earliest Photographs of England
A view across the River Thames of Paul’s Wharf and St Paul’s Pier from Bankside, with St Paul’s Cathedral in the background, by George Washington Wilson (1860-1900)
Historic England has acquired the Janette Rosing Collection of England, a world-class collection of some of the finest earliest landscape photography of England, taken by leading practitioners of the time.
The Rosing Collection includes more than 8,000 original black and white photographs of English architecture, landscapes and maritime history from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s when England was undergoing large-scale changes powered by industrialisation, urbanisation and developments in transport.
The photographs cover every English county and were taken by leading photographers of the time including W.G. Campbell, William Russell Sedgefield, Henry William Verscholye, Samuel Smith of Wisbech, William J. Cox of Plymouth, James Mudd, and Samuel Buckle, among others. Alongside these are many photographs of England by the commercial firms of J. Valentine, George Washington Wilson, Francis Frith, and Francis Bedford. It includes unique early images by Linnaeus Tripe and John Wiggin of Ipswich.
The photographs reflect Janette Rosing's keen interest in England's landscapes, architecture and maritime history, depicting its distinctive coastal and inland landscapes, built heritage, ancient buildings and monuments, towns and villages, street life, and tall sailing ships.
The Rosing Collection is significant as the development of photography in this period was pivotal in the history of visual arts, a time that established photography as a legitimate art form, an important means of landscape recording, and a powerful tool for documenting the world.
Advances in photography allowed photographers to produce more sophisticated images and experiment with techniques and styles, while developments in transport enabled them to travel further afield from their home location. The collection contains examples of photographs produced by all the photographic processes of the era, including Calotype, Collodion, dry plate and platinum.
Janette Rosing (1942-2021) was a renowned photographic consultant, connoisseur, and collector who dedicated her life to studying and amassing a collection of 19th and early 20th century photographs. Rosing spent her life attending photograph fairs and auctions in pursuit of new acquisitions for her collection, and provided consultancy services to institutions such as the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, international auction houses, and museums.
The collection has been acquired as part of the UK Government’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administrated by Arts Council England. The scheme allows individuals to donate important cultural items to museums and galleries in return for a tax reduction, ensuring that collections like Rosing’s are preserved for the benefit of the public.
Since arriving at the Historic England Archive, the photographs have undergone a detailed conservation assessment and await further cataloguing and digitisation.
"From maritime scenes by James Mudd to detailed architectural studies by Linnaeus Tripe, each photograph in this exceptional collection offers a glimpse into the past, showcasing Janette Rosing’s expert eye for quality," said Ian Savage, Collections Manager Historic England. "Rosing's collection will continue to connect us with our history and inspire future generations to appreciate England's rich cultural legacy."
