Osborne was an important setting for early royal photography
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were passionate collectors of photography since the invention of the medium. Following their purchase of the Osborne estate in 1845, this locality became an important setting for the early photographic experiences of the royal family.
The presence of the royal family at Osborne House contributed to the Isle of Wight becoming a popular destination in the mid-nineteenth century. From the mid-1850s onwards, books were occasionally illustrated with photographs, usually mounted on thin card or thick paper. A number of early travel books which focused on the Isle of Wight including photographs such as The Churches and Mansions of the Isle of Wight by James Briddon (1857) and Lays of Carisbrooke Castle by Albert Midlane (1860). Also popular by the mid-nineteenth century were stereocards, one of the first mass-produced photographic images sold. Consisting of two photographs mounted next to each other and viewed with a set of lenses known as a stereoscope, they were so popular that it is said that every Victorian home had a stereoscope and collection of stereocards. The mass production of stereocards and emergence of photographically illustrated books helped to fuel early British tourism.