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Hill, David Octavius and Robert Adamson
(1802-1870 and 1821-1848)A Selection of Portraits

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Fotografie des 19. – 21. Jahrhunderts (Katalog nur online verfügbar)
Auktionsdatum 29.11.2025

A Selection of Portraits. 1840s. 52 carbon prints, mounted to boards, printed 1915 by Jesse Bertram. Each circa 20 x 14 cm or reverse (39 x 27 cm). Each numbered in pencil by another hand on lower left corner of recto, and annotated in black ink on the verso. Presented in canvas-backed clamshell box with interleaf.

David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, pioneers of Scottish photography, formed a groundbreaking partnership in 1843, establishing Scotland’s first photography studio at Rock House on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. Renowned for their collaborative work, they produced approximately 3,000 calotypes over four years, capturing a diverse range of subjects, including notable Scottish figures, local landscapes, urban scenes, and the daily lives of Newhaven fishermen and their wives. Their innovative use of the calotype process and their artistic compositions significantly contributed to the early development of photography as an art form.
This group of 52 carbon prints, printed in 1915 by Jesse Bertram from the original calotype negatives, reflects the breadth and depth of Hill & Adamson’s vision. The selection includes expressive portraits of working-class sitters, women in traditional Scottish dress, and evocative scenes of Greyfriars Kirkyard and other Edinburgh locations. Among the most distinguished sitters depicted are the literary critic and historian Thomas Carlyle, the painter Horatio McCulloch, the Free Church leader Rev. Dr. Thomas Chalmers, and the artist John Henning. These images, deeply rooted in their time yet remarkably modern in their psychological intensity, stand as both historical documents and timeless works of photographic art. – Board slightly age-stained around the edges; prints all in near excellent condition with no signs of image deterioration.