Views Albums

Prince Albert (1819-61) compiled a four volume series of ‘Views’ albums which reflected his travels and important historical landmarks in England, Scotland and Ireland. Volume 2 for example, includes a photograph of the interior of the Exhibition Palace for the 1853 Great Industrial Exhibition, held in Dublin. A prolific photographer featured throughout Albert’s ‘Views’ albums is George Washington Wilson (1823-93), who regularly photographed Balmoral Castle, Holyrood Palace and their surroundings. Wilson’s pastoral scenes invoke Scotland’s rich histories and its landscape’s beauty. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and Prince Albert especially enjoyed Wilson’s photographs, which were also very popular with a growing commercial tourist market for photography.