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Lot Essay
Samuel Bourne arrived in Madras in 1863, fresh from a job in a bank in Nottingham. He was already an enthusiastic amateur photographer, having participated at meetings and in exhibitions of the Nottingham Photographic Society since 1857. He lived in India only until 1870, establishing a photographic partnership with Charles Shepherd, and studios in Simla, Calcutta and Bombay. During this short period he produced a body of work which remains unparalleled in its devotion to the beauty and grandeur of India's natural landscape. In addition he created a catalogue of hundreds of fine views of historical sites and architecture across the continent.
The most celebrated of Bourne's many achievements is the series of images created during three extended treks in the Himalayas, in 1863, 1864 and 1866. Most compilation albums including his work exhibit a small selection of these subjects, a hint of the sublime mixed within a more prosaic visual travelogue compiled by an armchair or more adventurous traveller. This exceptional album, apparently compiled by Bourne himself, reveals, en bloc, the real splendour of his Himalayan views. Such an extensive selection is extremely rare, if not unique.
Bourne's achievement was not only aesthetic. Ollman writes "One day in late August, 1866, Samuel Bourne stood on the glacier of the Manirung Pass, 18,600 feet above sea level in the Indian Himalayas, and made three photographic views of the pass and surrounding mountains that expanded the known frontiers of both Victoria's England and the medium of photography. It was the culmination of years of photographic exploration in India. Never before had a photograph been exposed from such an elevation."
In his own chronicle of his third, and most ambitious, expedition, Bourne also described his intention to explore the "rich valley of the Beas River through Kulu, penetrate into the wild and desolate regions of Spiti as far as the borders of Thibet, thence via Chini and the Buspa Valley, to the source of the Ganges" BJP, November 26, 1869.
The three albums in lots 53-55 are thought to have been the personal property of Samuel Bourne as the bindings correspond with others from his own collection which were acquired from a descendant by The Royal Photographic Society in the 1960s. When these three albums were consigned for sale in 1992, they were accompanied by a presentation cup of Bourne's (see lot 123 in this catalogue) suggesting the consignors may also have been closely associated with descendants of the photographer.
The most celebrated of Bourne's many achievements is the series of images created during three extended treks in the Himalayas, in 1863, 1864 and 1866. Most compilation albums including his work exhibit a small selection of these subjects, a hint of the sublime mixed within a more prosaic visual travelogue compiled by an armchair or more adventurous traveller. This exceptional album, apparently compiled by Bourne himself, reveals, en bloc, the real splendour of his Himalayan views. Such an extensive selection is extremely rare, if not unique.
Bourne's achievement was not only aesthetic. Ollman writes "One day in late August, 1866, Samuel Bourne stood on the glacier of the Manirung Pass, 18,600 feet above sea level in the Indian Himalayas, and made three photographic views of the pass and surrounding mountains that expanded the known frontiers of both Victoria's England and the medium of photography. It was the culmination of years of photographic exploration in India. Never before had a photograph been exposed from such an elevation."
In his own chronicle of his third, and most ambitious, expedition, Bourne also described his intention to explore the "rich valley of the Beas River through Kulu, penetrate into the wild and desolate regions of Spiti as far as the borders of Thibet, thence via Chini and the Buspa Valley, to the source of the Ganges" BJP, November 26, 1869.
The three albums in lots 53-55 are thought to have been the personal property of Samuel Bourne as the bindings correspond with others from his own collection which were acquired from a descendant by The Royal Photographic Society in the 1960s. When these three albums were consigned for sale in 1992, they were accompanied by a presentation cup of Bourne's (see lot 123 in this catalogue) suggesting the consignors may also have been closely associated with descendants of the photographer.