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.

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Glass plate negatives

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

ROGER FENTON (1819-69)

View from the West side of Balmoral Castle looking up the valley

Sep 1854

25.0 x 30.5 cm (whole object) | RCIN 2079405

Glass plate negative of the west side of Balmoral Castle with the gardens in the foreground. Trees stand on both the left and the right side. Hills in the background.

The glass plate negative has been photographed showing the coated side and therefore the image appears laterally reversed. A print from this negative exists in the Collection, RCIN 2140239.

  • Creator(s)

    Roger Fenton (1819-69) (photographer)

  • 25.0 x 30.5 cm (whole object)

  • 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
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