120 years ago, Henry John Elwes and Dr. Augustine Henry embarked on a groundbreaking project to catalog British and Irish trees. Their monumental work, Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, spanned seven volumes, 2022 pages, and 412 photographs, documenting over 500 tree species. This new book delves into the previously overlooked role of photography in the original, featuring 64 litho-printed reproductions and an essay by Michael Pritchard, a renowned photographic historian and writer. The original project, fueled by Victorian curiosity, innovative printing techniques, and the marriage of art and science, showcased collotype reproductions of photographs, renowned for their tonal range and detail retention. However, despite photography's integral role, only a few photographers were credited. The credited photographers, Mr. Wallis and Mr. Foster, were directed by Elwes to capture objective images highlighting tree shape, characteristics, context, and occasional details, often including a person or group for scale. These instructions were likely shared with other uncredited photographers to maintain typological uniformity. This book, published by RRB PhotoBooks, offers a new perspective on the original work, including a softcover version (Standard edition: £35, Special edition: £75 with a collotype print) and measures 240 x 320mm in portrait format. It's a must-have for anyone interested in the history of photography, botany, and Victorian-era exploration.
