Francis Frith dominated the photographic publishing industry in England in the late nineteenth century. As a photographer, he is known for the... Show moreFrancis Frith dominated the photographic publishing industry in England in the late nineteenth century. As a photographer, he is known for the hundreds of photographs he made in the Near East. He appears to have learned photography in the early 1850s and in 1853 was one of the founding members of the Liverpool Photographic Society. At age thirty-four Frith retired from his wholesale grocer business in Liverpool, to devote himself to personal interests which included photography. Between 1856 and 1860, he made three expeditions to Egypt, Sinai, Ethiopia, and Jerusalem, photographically documenting Middle Eastern architecture and culture. "On the first, he sailed up the Nile to the Second Cataract, recording the main historic monuments between Cairo and Abu Simbel. On the second, he struck eastwards to Palestine, visiting Jerusalem, Damascus, and other sites associated with the life of Christ. The final expedition was the most ambitious, combining a second visit to the Holy Land with a deeper southward penetration of the Nile. Frith photographed most of the key monuments several times, combining general views with close studies of their significant details and broader views of their landscape environment. Upon his return to London, Frith first published his photographs under the title Egypt and Palestine Photographed and Described, in two volumes with 76 photographs. Various other works followed, including this publication, the 1860 elephant folio edition by Mackenzie with 20 albumen images. This is one of the most renowned 19th-century photobooks and it is the largest book with the biggest, unenlarged prints ever published. Francis Frith ; with descriptions by Mrs. Poole and Reginald Stuart Poole. Title from item, date devised by Library staff. Albumen prints size 48.5 x 39 cm. Several prints are signed and dated iin the negative. Photographs are housed in a contemporary green half morocco with green cloth boards, spine in compartments with raised bands gilt, upper cover titled in gilt letters and gilt edges. Main Heritage Compact General HC.HP.2016.0103 2-D Graphic Item-ID: i23577241 BIB-ID: 2516375 Show less
