Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography
Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography
From the 1850s, Prince Albert (1819-61) and Queen Victoria (1819-1901) employed and commissioned photographers on a regular basis to document important familial occasions and daily life. The photographers regularly employed include Roger Fenton (1819-69), Leonida Caldesi (1822-91) and Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88). Initially, these portraits were purely for private consumption. However, the royal family quickly realised the possibilities of the new medium to promote and disperse an image of the royal family, and forge a greater connection with the population. In 1857, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert gave permission for a portrait of the royal family, taken by Caldesi in Osborne, to be published as an etching. The following year the photograph was displayed at the Photographic Society of Scotland exhibition in Edinburgh, the first time a portrait of the royal family was exhibited. Two years later, in 1860, Queen Victoria gave permission to J J Mayall (1813-1901) to publish and sell photographs of her and Prince Albert as cartes-de-visite. The photographs were a sensation. For the first time, the public could own a realistic, photographic image of their sovereign. Understandably, the cartes sold in the thousands.
The photographs of the royal family commissioned and collected by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria provides a sense of their personal life, in addition to their use of photography to present a public image.
Conrad HR Carelli (1869-1956)
William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-77)
Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)
William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)
William Constable (1783-1861)
Bryan Edward Duppa (1804-66)
Jenner & Knewstub, (33 St. Jame's St)
After William Constable (1783-1861)
After William Constable (1783-1861)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Antoine François Jean Claudet (1797-1867)
After Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
William Edward Kilburn (1818-91)
Antoine François Jean Claudet (1797-1867)
Theodore Brunell (1822-61)
Theodore Brunell (1822-61)
Thomas Richard Williams (1825-71)
West : 1 St. James's Street
West : 1 St. James's Street
West : 1 St. James's Street
Unknown Person
Charles Clifford (1819-62)
Samuel Robert Lock (active 1849-1854)
British School, 19th century
British School, 19th century
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Alexander Lamont Henderson (1838-1907)
After Thomas Richard Williams (1825-71)
Alexander Lamont Henderson (1838-1907)
? Joseph Cundall (1819-95)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
William Lake Price (1810-96)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Roger Fenton (1819-69)
Unknown Person
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88)
Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Thomas Pearce (active c. 1850s)
Martin Laroche (1814-86)
Unknown Person
Martin Laroche (1814-86)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Leonida Caldesi & Co (active c. 1860-66)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88)
Frances Sally Day (1815-92)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Roger Fenton (1819-69)
Roger Fenton (1819-69)
Roger Fenton (1819-69)
After Roger Fenton (1819-69)
After Roger Fenton (1819-69)
Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
Frances Sally Day (1815-92)
Frances Sally Day (1815-92)
Frances Sally Day (1815-92)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Camille Silvy (1834-1910)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Mason & Co : London
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813-75)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
J Deplanque
Unknown Person
Unknown Person
After Frances Sally Day (1815-92)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Unknown Person
Charles Clifford (1819-62)
George Mansfield: 90 Grafton Street, Dublin