Photography collecting is a relatively young field and still a very rich and exciting one for new collectors. Despite prices that have escalated out of all proportion from what some of us who started 30 years ago might have imagined, there is still much to discover, and much to collect, even at reasonable prices. Unlike most other art forms, photography was not restricted quite so severely by the existence of schools and studios from which the best work emerged. Today there is still the possibility in discovering great 19th century photographers who have been previously unknown. A good ‘eye’ may also uncover new areas of collecting which have been previously overlooked, for example, turn of the century snapshots, hand coloured photographs or views of neglected corners of the world, are still areas which are relatively underrated. The rules as to ‘what photography is worth collecting’ are still being written. There are few other fields of art collecting which offer the possiblity of new discovery as does photography.
Many individuals are diffident about buying a 19th century photograph because of lack of understanding. They wonder how many were printed from a single negative and whether it is rare? Usually, we have no idea how many prints were made from any one negative, but throughout history, there has rarely been a point in photographers making more prints than they could sell. For 19th century photographs, due to the dispersal of many prints, the vast deterioration of most photographs from various causes, and the many uninteresting tourist views produced, any fine condition silver print of an outstanding image is almost always now a scarce item. The images we present here have been selected out of many thousands of mediocre and faded prints which are in the marketplace. Although there is much to chose from in contemporary and 20th century photography, our own prejudices and experience lead us to point to the remarkable value still available in 19th century photography. A collector may buy a very fine example of work over 120 years old for well under $1000. Some of these images are by photographers who are already firmly established in the history books as having made some of the finest images in a certain part of the world or during a certain period. Others will soon establish a foothold in the written body of photographic history which is still in its infancy.
Although we believe that collectors should learn as much as possible about early photography, ultimately you must learn to cultivate and trust your own taste. By buying what your friends tell you is fashionable or good, you will miss much of the feeling of enjoyment, discovery and passion which makes this field so exciting.
We are personally biased towards the exotic, the unconventional and eclectic – photographs which were not always intended to be works of art. Though we also admire beautiful photographs which are more akin to beautiful paintings, we find the most powerful emotional impact comes from images of a more documentary nature. These pictures have no equivalent in the painting world. Not only do these images frequently represent remarkable value for the collector, but we believe them to be at the heart of what is most exciting in 19th century photography.
All prints are guaranteed to be authentic which means they are guaranteed to be original 19th century prints made at approximately the time period stated. According to the current state of knowledge (in a field where it should be noted that much research remains to be undertaken), the identity of the photographer is currently thought to be the person to whom the image is attributed.
Ken & Jenny Jacobson
Collecting vintage photographs is a bug we were bitten by long ago, at the beginning of the modern era of photography collecting. Before that time only a very few collectors existed around the world and certainly fewer than a handful of specialist dealers. Like many people in this relatively young field, we started in another. Jenny was a research assistant in biochemistry and I have a B.A. in Chemistry from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from King1s College, London University. After leaving King's College, our part time fascination in 19th century photography changed to a full time obsession. Aside from dealing and collecting, we have developed an interest in academic research in the field of photography.
We now have possibly the most extensive private library devoted to the study of 19th century art photographs. I have written academic articles on photography, and in 1996, produced a large work which explored the relationship between art and photography in the 19th century. We are always happy where possible to help serious researchers. I am probably the only person mad enough to have conscientiously viewed virtually every 19th century lot of almost every British photography auction to have taken place since their inception at Sotheby’s, London in 1971.
We are members of the Association of International Photography Art Dealers and Ken Jacobson was on the Board of Directors of that organisation for a ten year period. We exhibit regularly and have attended virtually every annual exhibition organised by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (The Photography Show – held at the Hilton Hotel in New York every February or March). We have specialised in 19th century photography with a particular emphasis on photographs of 'exotic' places.. We sell to museums and collectors around the world.
KJ
Description of Processes Used On This Web Site
Unless otherwise specified, all prints are albumen prints and unless specified, all prints are thought to be from glass negatives. The date given indicates the approximate date the negatve was produced. Prints were made, unless otherwise indicated, during the same period in which they were commonly issued by the original photographer or studio. The exact date of printing for 19th century photographs is often difficult to ascertain. The period of printing from a negative is usually only for a few years after the negative was made, but in the cases of studios with greater longevity, prints could have been made over a longer period and there is not always a method of determining the exact printing date. In cases where more than one distinct period of printing is known, for example, when a second photographer re-issued the prints of an earlier photographer, this is indicated.
Notes On Condition
We are working with others on a condition guide which we hope will be useful to those dealing in vintage photographs. In the interim, all prints, unless otherwise indicated, are in at least good/very good condition. We would judge "good/very good" as the minimum condition acceptable to a museum (though certain museums, of course, will want certain prints to be better). The majority of our prints are in very good to excellent condition. Please enquire for a more complete condition report on any print.
A Brief Guide to 19th Century Printing Processes
The myriad of possible processes used in the 19th century may seem daunting at first and it indeed can be a complicated business. What follows is just an introduction. It might be reassuring for beginners to know, however, that probably more than 90% of 19th century photographs were made by the albumen process from glass (usually ‘collodion’ before 1885) negatives. For this reason, if we do not mention otherwise, all prints listed on the site are albumen prints from a glass negative.
Nineteenth century negatives were seldom enlarged. The use of often quite large negatives which were contact printed accounts in part for the high quality which can be a revelation to observers encountering the field for the first time. The beautiful range of tonalities of chocolate-hued prints which were printed out slowly in daylight is also a striking feature for those used to standard modern prints with a narrower tonal range. The overwhelming majority of all 19th century negatives have long ago been destroyed so that cases of later prints produced during the 20th century is rarely an issue.
Salt print – The process which followed shortly after William Henry Fox Talbot’s original invention of the photogenic drawing process in the 1830s. In 1841, Talbot announced making salt prints (or salted paper prints) by soaking a sheet of plain writing paper in a solution of salt. One side of the paper was then sensitised with silver nitrate. The paper was put into contact with a negative and printed out in a printing frame in sunlight. When the print was deemed to be sufficiently dark, it was fixed, usually with hyposulfite of soda (hypo), washed thoroughly and dried. Salt prints could be made from paper negatives (‘calotype’ and ‘waxed paper process’ were the most common) or from glass (‘wet collodion’ was the most common). Salt prints positives made from calotype paper negatives are often commonly referred to by the name of the negative process, i.e., a calotype.The appearance of a salt print is completely matt and the image appears to be sunken into the fibres of the paper. This fact, combined with the frequent use of paper negatives to make salt prints, give these images a diffuse painterly quality which is admired by many collectors and museums. Salt prints were common from approximately 1840-1855, dying out, except for the odd revival, in about 1860.
Albumen print – The albumen print, invented by Louis-Desiré Blanquart-Evrard in 1850, was essentially the same as the salt print process, but before sensitisation, the paper surface was coated with a film of albumen (egg white). This gave the resulting print a sheen which resulted in the image appearing to be resting on the surface of the print. Albumen prints were often made utilising glass negatives (most often collodion), giving the resulting print a sharpness of definition usually not present in salt prints. Albumen prints were common from 1850-1900 and were the most dominantly utilised printing process from 1856-1885.
Non-matt salt print and light albumen print – These terms, coined by K. Jacobson*, describe the confusing array of prints made in the 1850s which have neither quite the classic matt characteristics of the salt print nor the higher sheen of the albumen print. A non-matt salt print has the appearance of a salt print (image sunk into fibres of paper) but contains only a very slight sheen. A light albumen print has the appearance of an albumen print (image perched on surface of print) but contains a much lower sheen than a normal albumen print.
* History of Photography, Vol. 15, No. 4, 1991
Daguerreotype – Invented by L.J.M. Daguerre in the late 1830s, Daguerre’s was the first photographic process to be publicly announced to the world. This historic event took place in Paris in 1839, the same year as W.H. Fox Talbot later announced his very different photogenic drawing process. The daguerreotype was produced on a silvered copper plate which was made sensitive to light by iodine fumes and, after exposure in a camera, was developed by mercury vapour. Each plate was unique. There was no negative. The surface in the best daguerreotypes is impeccably sharp if sometimes difficult to see on the highly polished silver surface. Examples, which can be damaged by the slightest touch, are usually housed in cases or frames behind glass. Daguerreotypes were common from their announcement until about 1856, generally dying out in around 1860.
Woodburytype – Invented by Walter Woodbury in 1864, the woodburytype was only able to be used for book illustration as the prints had to be mounted. It is a photomechancial process which used pigmented gelatin to form a gelatin mold which could be printed. Despite the fact that the woodburytype was not technically a photograph (the final print was mechanical), the quality of this process was very high, often producing beautiful results, and was used commonly for book illustration from 1870 until about 1900.
Carbon print – Many types of carbon print were experimented with from the 1850s onwards, but Joseph Wilson Swan patented the most practical process in 1864. Like the woodburytype, the process depends on gelatin with added potassium bichromate being sensitive to light. As there are no sensitive silver salts in the final print, carbon prints are considered ‘permanent’. Like woodburytypes, with which they are sometimes confused, the prints are usually very dark and there is often a slight relief to the print. Also, like the woodburytype, prints could be produced in different hues. Carbon prints were common between 1870 to 1910.
Platinum print – The platinum print or platinotype was invented by William Willis in 1873. This was another non-silver process which depended on the light sensitivity of certain iron salts. This quite stable process is characterised by a matt surface and usually, silvery-grey mid tones. Platinum prints were common from 1880 to 1920 and were favoured by ‘art’ photographers. Originally not an expensive process, the high price of platinum led this to become rarely used after 1920 except by a few fine art photographers.
Photogravure – A photomechanical process invented by W.H. Fox Talbot in the 1850s and improved by Karl Klic in 1879, photogravure is a mechanical method of reproducing photographs. A copper plate is etched through a gelatin relief image produced photographically. The etching is then inked and printed on a press. The fine etching-like qualities of good examples were often preferred by ‘art’ photographers and were commonly used between 1890 to 1915. Prominent examples include the work of P.H. Emerson and plates published in Steiglitz’ Camera Work. Use of the process has continued to the present.
Collodion or gelatin silver print – We use this term to refer to an array of processes such as silver chloride and silver bromide developing out papers and collodion and gelatin bromide printing out papers.The surface of this family of prints might vary from highly glossy to completely matt. The various gelatin and collodion prints are often indistinguishable so we have chosen this name to describe examples of this family of work which generally came after the albumen era, though also overlapping with it. These papers began to replace albumen as the dominant process by the 1890s. Collodion and gelatin silver prints were used commonly between 1885 and 1920. Many of these prints were made using the newer gelatin dry plate negatives which began to replace the slower wet collodion process by around 1885.
Cyanotype – Invented by Sir John Herschel in 1840, this process also depended on the light sensitivity of iron salts. This ‘blueprint’ process consisted of a metal complex known as ‘Prussian blue’. Used sparingly from the 1840s, the cyanotype was only really popular during the 1890s, particularly for amateur snapshot photography in America.
