Photographs of the "Gems of the Art Treasures Exhibition", Manchester, 1857 - Ancient Series

Album of photographs of paintings featured in the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition held in Manchester. This volume contains 100 photographs (RCINs 2081349-2081448) of mostly paintings, by artists such as Raphael, Guido Reni, Holbein and Van Dyck, some miniatures and prints, as well as a photograph of the Cellini Shield. This is Volume One, the Ancient Series, and illustrates paintings by Old Masters, while Volume Two, the Modern Series (RCIN 2081449), shows paintings by contemporary masters.

The Art Treasures exhibition in Manchester mounted during the summer of 1857 was the first large public exhibition of works of art from private collections in England, and included many works lent by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

According to Gernsheim, the photographs by Caldesi and Montecchi were originally published in 5 volumes, each volume containing 50 salt prints and albumen prints, with printed captions. Late in 1858 the work was condensed into a 2 volume set of 100 photographs each, dedicated to HRH Prince Albert (Gernsheim, H. Incunabula of British Photographic Literature (1984), no.90, p.27).