Album of 47 original photographs. Oblong 4to. Half brown morocco, lettered in gilt, over marbled boards. Marbled endpapers. Printed pictorial title page, signed by Taunt to the lower right corner. A little wear to the corners and spine ends, but the album generally in very good condition. Internally excellent with photos still vibrant.

An exceptional Thames Album, with forty-seven photographs of the Thames, signed by the photographer Henry Taunt. This particular album follows the Thames from Oxford to Wargrave, taking in Iffley, Mincham, Numeham Courtney, Abingdon, Clifton Hampton, Wallingford, Moulsford, Streatley, Whitchurch, Mapledurham, Reading and Sonning along the way. A rare survival and remarkably personal and individual record of the Thames in late Victorian England.
Henry Taunt, born and bred in Oxford, set up his photographic business in 1868 which ran until his death at the age of 80 in 1922. During that time his firm took more than 60,000 photographs, creating an unrivalled record of Victorian and Edwardian Oxford and Oxfordshire and the River Thames from source to sea.
He produced the first ever guide book of the Thames to be illustrated with photographs, and played a vital part in establishing the river as an area for recreation after the Thames above London lost most of its freight traffic to the increasing rail network. As well as the many guide books Taunt published, he also offered customers the option to create bespoke albums from his many photographs of Thames views. Adverts for this service appear often in his publications, but the albums themselves are seldom seen in commerce. The price Taunt asked for these albums was high, usually between three and ten guineas depending on the number of photos and finish, and it is possible that the take up was slight.
This particular album follows the Thames from Oxford to Wargrave, taking in Iffley, Mincham, Numeham Courtney, Abingdon, Clifton Hampton, Wallingford, Moulsford, Streatley, Whitchurch, Mapledurham, Reading and Sonning along the way. A rare survival and remarkably personal and individual record of the Thames in late Victorian England.
"All photographs have some limited historical value; those taken today will many of them be much wanted in fifty years time" - Henry Taunt (Berkshire in Camera (1918)).

Stock ID: 34782