Collection of 4 mounted albumen prints by George Washington Wilson
NP: NP, ND (ca 1880s). Original photographs. Original photographs. Collection of four original albumen print views of 1880s London splendidly captured by pioneer Scottish photographer George Washington Wilson.*
Each print measures 11 3/8 x 7 1/2" (mount: 16 3/8 x 14"), and is captioned and initialed in the plate.
The views are the following:
- London Bridge: North-facing view across London Bridge in the City of London.
- Trafalgar Square, with Nelson's Column dominating the view. This photograph can be exactly dated as a horse-drawn omnibus with an advertisement for Hervé's opéra bouffe "Chilpéric" playing at the Empire Theatre is seen at the fore-ground. The piece was adapted by H. B. Farnie at the Empire Theatre in 1884.
- The Bank of England: Carriages and pedestrians crowd Princes Street and Threadneedle Street in front of the Bank of England.
- The Horse Guards, Whitehall.
Minor to moderate chipping at lower left margin of mounts (not affecting images). A 6/8" closed tear at upper margin of the London Bridge plate (not affecting image). Mounts slightly age-toned along edges. Mounts in overall good- to good, albument prints in very good condition. g to vg. Item #40313
* George Washington Wilson (1823-1893) established a popular photographic studio in Aberdeen in 1848. In 1873 he received a Royal Warrant as photographer to Queen Victoria. By the 1880s he had built up a substantial business that was one of the world's largest publishers of topographic views, producing thousands of stereocards, cartes de visite and albumen prints. Although the photographs were usually marked with George Washington Wilson's initials, many were actually taken by assistants like Charles Wilson (1865-1958), his son. Throughout his professional life, Wilson demonstrated technical and commercial acumen, and, by the early 1880s, the company he founded had become the largest and best-known photographic and printing firm in Scotland. Wilson handed the business over to his sons, Charles, Louis and John in 1888. The company, however, only survived for a short time under the management of Wilson’s sons, with much of the company being sold in 1905 and the company finally ceasing trading in 1908.
Price: $750.00