Julia Margaret Cameron

albumen copy print, on a modern mount, framed, the Buhl Collection label on the reverse, 1868 (Cox and Ford 696)

Jane Corkin Gallery, Toronto, 1996

In ‘Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs,’ Julian Cox and Colin Ford locate only one albumen print and one carte-de-visite from this negative: the first in The Royal Photographic Society and the latter in a Private Collection. The format and size of the present print suggest that, although untrimmed, it was intended to be a carte-de-visite. A variant image from this sitting more often reproduced is Cox cat. no. 695. This albumen copy print is in generally very good condition. The margin edges are unevenly trimmed. Upon close examination, Cameron’s signature on the original is visible in the margin in the negative. In raking light, several tiny deposits of retouching, faint scratches, and soft creases are visible overall.
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Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) was among the most renowned concert violinists of the19th century, credited with restoring Bach’s sonatas and partitas to the contemporary violin repertoire, and for promoting the career of composer Johannes Brahms.  Cameron took at least five portraits of Joachim in March and April 1868 (Cox and Ford 693-6).