This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Landscape, Nature and Architecture

Technological improvements enabled Prince Albert to collect photographs of places that were significant to him

AFTER GEORGE WASHINGTON WILSON (1823-93)

On the Thames at Greenwich. Arrival of the boat

1883 after an original of 1862

Re-printed in carbon from an original albumen print | 7.8 x 7.0 cm (image) | RCIN 2320190

Photograph of the riverside at Greenwich in London, with passengers embarking a steam boat, the funnel of which can be seen on the right side with the figure of a man standing on the top of the boat, silhouetted against the sky. The masts of a ship on the water can be seen on the right with the docks in the background. This photograph was reviewed in the Photographic News in March 1863.

This photograph is a later carbon copy which is a process that is less susceptible to light damage, unlike the original albumen photograph that was prone to fading over time.
  • Creator(s)

    After George Washington Wilson (1823-93) (photographer)

    Jabez Hughes (1819-84) (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Great Britain
  • 7.8 x 7.0 cm (image)

    17.2 x 13.0 cm (mount)

  • From an album of photographs collected and arranged by Albert, Prince Consort, between 1860 and 1861

  • Subject(s)
    • Places
      • Europe
        • Great Britain
          • England
            • Greater London [England]
              • London [Greater London]
                • Greenwich [London]
        • Rivers of northern Europe
          • Rivers of southern England and south Wales
            • River Thames
    • Science, Medicine and Technology
      • Engineering & Technology
        • Vessels (marine)
          • Boats
            • Steam boats
            • Ferryboats
          • Ships
            • Sailing ships
    • Geography
      • Physiography
        • Rivers
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs