Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2013 | Page 54
ANTIQUES
Antiques and Collectables with Philip Hoare F.T.V.I
KEEP A LOOK OUT
for priceless pics
Photography is a category that can easily slip
kept careful control as to which images were
was perfected which meant that prepared
under the radar when we think of what might
allowed to be distributed.
plates that did not need instant processing
be of value lurking around the house. The
Taking a photograph in the 1860s involved
could be purchased and taken anywhere.
family album is what people said was the first
much preparation, apparatus and thought,
This simplification allowed the enthusiastic
thing they would grab if they had to run from a
with the business of wet plate sensitisation
amateur and the commercial firms to
house fire. Priceless, but of no financial value.
and exposure needing considerable scientific
get to areas previously barely visited by
acumen. But it was not only professionals
photographers. This coincided with the
older albums or archives, then it is worth
who rose to the challenge. Perhaps the most
'Scramble for Africa' and the rush to carve
checking that the contents are not significant.
well known female photographer of the 19th
up the world into colonies for the western
No-one is going to want snapshots of great
century, Julia Margaret Cameron, took up
powers. From those last decades of the
aunt Agnes unless she sat for somebody
photography in 1863 at the age of 48 when
century we see a lot of prints for which there
famous or ventured to some exotic location.
living at Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater Bay.
seemed to be a huge market.
However, if we are lucky enough to inherit
From the 1860s, with the advent of the
Over the following 12 years she produced
Travellers to the Grand Tour destina tions
small carte de visite format, photographs
a remarkable body of work, mostly moody
such as Italy, the Rhine and Egypt
became very cheap with celebrity portraits
portraits of her famous friends, like Tennyson
all returned home laden with bought
especially in demand. Queen Victoria graced
and family.
photographs that there is little demand for
many mantelpieces and interestingly she
At around that date the dry plate process
today. But albums compiled off the beaten
track by explorers or soldiers can be unique
and of significant worth. Especially popular
are Arctic and Antarctic voyages and
photographs of the big emerging economies,
China and India.
The advent of the Kodak Brownie in the
1890s and the postcard craze of a few years
later killed off the old photograph trade,
which is not to say 20th century material is
not potentially valuable. The 1920s or 30s
for places like the Persian Gulf is still very
'early' and there were still plenty of places yet
to be visited. There are collectors for almost
everything, from railways to big game and
whaling to cricket and civil rights.
Free valuation days for
antiques, jewellery and silver.
Every Friday, 10am-4pm at Spithead Business Centre
Voluntary donations to Earl Mountbatten Hospice
VALUATIONS • COMMISSION SALES • RESEARCH
54
www.visitislandlife.com
PHILIP HOARE
Unit A15, Spithead Business Centre,
Newport Road, Lake, IW PO36 9PH
MOBILE: 07773 877242
EMAIL: [email protected]
www.philipahoare.com