Lot 35
  • 35

David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and Robert Adamson (1821-1848)

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 USD
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Description

  • David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and Robert Adamson (1821-1848)
  • 'A NEWHAVEN FISHERMAN'
  • Salt print
  • 7 5/8 x 5 5/8 inches
salt print from a paper negative, mounted, signed, titled, dated, annotated 'Edinburgh' and 'No. 21,' likely by Hill, in pencil on the mount, 1844

Provenance

Christie's New York, 29 April 1999, Sale 9150, Lot 125

Condition

Grading this salt print on a scale of 1 to 10 - a 10 being a print that has rich, deep dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail - this print rates a strong 10. No fading is discernible at the edges, as is frequently seen in Hill & Adamson's work. An extraordinary level of detail is visible throughout the image. The print's dark tones are a robust, lovely reddish brown and the highlights are a light cream color. This print is in essentially excellent condition. As is visible in our catalogue illustration, there is a tiny loss above the sitter's head. It is mounted to thin, sturdy card that is generally clean. There is a 'Dobbs' papermaker blindstamp in the upper left corner of the mount. On the reverse of the mount, '21' [circled] is written in an unidentified hand in pencil.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson were among the first photographers to master William Henry Fox Talbot’s negative-positive process, and the image offered here is a classic example of their talents in portraiture.  In the small fishing village of Newhaven, north of Edinburgh, Hill and Adamson made more than 100 calotypes depicting the fishermen, ‘fisher-lassies,’ and ‘fisher-laddies’ in their picturesque surroundings.  These photographs were to be the basis of The Fishermen and Women of the Firth of Forth, part of Hill and Adamson’s advertised but unrealized series of illustrated volumes available by subscription.  In 1849, the year after Adamson’s death, Professor Robert Hunt wrote, ‘Photography has not yet been taken up by an artist with a view to its improvement, except by Mr. Hill, of Edinburgh, whose groups of the Newhaven fishermen, executed by the Calotype process, have been universally admired’ (as quoted in David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, p. 20).

Hill and Adamson made an astonishing near-3,000 images over the course of their four-year partnership.  Their photographs were available individually and in bound folios through Hill’s brother Alexander, a bookseller and print publisher in Edinburgh.  During their partnership, and later upon Adamson’s death, Hill compiled a number of elaborate presentation albums of their calotypes.  Three of these albums are now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.  Hill gifted an additional five albums to the Royal Scottish Academy, which were subsequently sold in 1975.  As with the print offered here, plates in the albums were inscribed and titled by Hill in pencil on the mount.  Given the present photograph’s exceptionally robust state – with no fading – and Hill’s detailed captioning, it is likely that this photograph was originally part of an album.