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.

Glass plate negatives

Albert and Victoria’s collection of glass plate negatives show photographers’ working methods

THOMAS PEARCE (ACTIVE C. 1850S)

Balmoral Castle

1858

RCIN 2082979

Glass plate negative featuring two similar views of Balmoral Castle, shown in the distant background. There is a path in the foreground that winds through a forested area in the middle ground.

The glass plate negative has been photographed showing the coated side and therefore the image appears laterally reversed. A print from one of the two negative images exists in the Collection, RCIN 2160083.

  • Creator(s)

    Thomas Pearce (active c. 1850s) (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Great Britain
  • Acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Subject(s)
    • Places
      • Europe
        • Great Britain
          • Scotland
            • Aberdeenshire [Scotland]
              • Balmoral Castle [Aberdeenshire]
    • Geography
      • Systematic geography
        • Landscapes
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
          • negatives
            • glass plate negatives