Emerson, Peter Henry, British, 1856-1936, and Goodall, Thomas Frederick, British, 1856-1944,...

Emerson, Peter Henry, British, 1856-1936, and Goodall, Thomas Frederick, British, 1856-1944, Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads, illustrated with forty beautiful plates from nature executed in platinotype, London: Sampson, Low, Martson, Searle and Rivington, 1886

FIRST EDITION, ONE OF 25 DELUXE COPIES, of a total limited edition of 200 copies, oblong folio (288 x 402mm.), title printed in red and black, 40 platinum prints mounted on India paper, each with a printed tissue guard and accompanying text, original brown roan-backed pictorial vellum gilt, upper cover with title in gilt and an illustration of the Norfolk broads after a design by Goodall, spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt

Provenance: Private Collection, United States.

Note: A very rare deluxe edition of Emerson’s first photographic book illustrated with 40 fine platinum prints and limited to just 25 copies. This deluxe issue has the platinum prints mounted on India paper and is bound in vellum with an illustration of the Norfolk Broads on the upper cover after Goodall in black and gold. The standard issue was limited to 175 copies with the platinum prints mounted directly onto plate paper and bound in green cloth.

Emerson’s outstanding photographs depicting rural life in the Norfolk Broads are accompanied by the lyrical prose of Emerson and his friend, the artist Thomas Goodall. Emerson was an advocate for photography as a truthful, expressive art form grounded in naturalistic observation. Life and Landscape embodies this vision, blending documentary realism with artistic composition, and is a masterwork in the history of photography. The combination of text and platinum prints established photography as a medium capable of serious artistic and literary expression, and Emerson’s style had a profound influence on Alfred Stieglitz and generations of photographers since (See Parr/Badger, The Photobook: A History, I, pp. 70-71).

We would like to thank Richard Fattorini, independent consultant and valuer, rare books, manuscripts, historical photographs and maps, for his help with authentication and research for this lot.