Lot Essay
Subjects, mostly interiors are as follows: Westminster Abbey (33), Tewkesbury Abbey (10), Ely Cathedral (23), Lichfield Cathedral (6), Wocester Cathedral (11), Wells Cathedral (14), Croscombe Church (5), Beverly Minster (2), Norwich Cathedral (2), Glastonbury Abbey (1) and Peterborough Cathedral (2).
The identity of the photographer of these and the photographs in the following lot remains a mystery. The size of the negative, the use of the platinum process and the quality of both the negatives and the prints suggest the work of a professional. Contemporary exhibition listings show photographs of the same locations exhibited in carbon by Henry Watson Bennett, FRPS. He is known to have given talks on the photography of cathedral interiors, including mention of using the 12 x 10 in. format, however a comparison of the above prints with existing examples of Bennett's work in the collection of the Royal Photographic Society has proved inconclusive. Nothing similar has been located in the collections of the National Monuments Record, London, the Royal Institute of British Architects or the Canadian Centre for Architecture.
The identity of the photographer of these and the photographs in the following lot remains a mystery. The size of the negative, the use of the platinum process and the quality of both the negatives and the prints suggest the work of a professional. Contemporary exhibition listings show photographs of the same locations exhibited in carbon by Henry Watson Bennett, FRPS. He is known to have given talks on the photography of cathedral interiors, including mention of using the 12 x 10 in. format, however a comparison of the above prints with existing examples of Bennett's work in the collection of the Royal Photographic Society has proved inconclusive. Nothing similar has been located in the collections of the National Monuments Record, London, the Royal Institute of British Architects or the Canadian Centre for Architecture.