An Inventory of His Photography Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Robinson, H. P. (Henry Peach),
1830-1901
Title:
H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson Photography
Collection
Dates:
Circa 1847-1897
Extent:
276 items
Abstract:
The H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson collection
consists of 77 photographs, 193 drawings, watercolors, prints and oil paintings, and
one
glass negative by H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson. Also included are four medals awarded
to
Robinson by the Photo Club De Paris and the World Columbian Exposition, as well as
one blank
carte-de-visite backing board. The collection contains genre images and composite
photographs, including possible studies for a number of composite photographs.
Call Number:
Photography Collection PH-00033
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. Please note: Negatives cannot be accessed without curatorial approval.
Some materials may be restricted from viewing. To make an appointment or to reserve
photography materials, please contact the Center's staff at photography@hrc.utexas.edu.
Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use
Policy
before using archival materials.
Use Policies:
Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information
that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers
are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable
living
individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals
may have
legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy
may
arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be
deemed
highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University
of
Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use:
Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the
owner of
the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright
holder
which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom
Centers' Open Access and Use Policies.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson Photography Collection (Photography Collection PH-00033).
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
Acquisition:
957:0107:0001-0003: Acquisition information unavailable.
964:0057:0001-0023; 964:0058:0001-0184; 964:0153:0001; 964:0203:0001; 964:0661:0001-0019;
964:0663:0001-0009; 964:0664:0001-0009; 964:0665:0001-0004; 964:0666:0001-0003;
964:0667:0001-0010; 964:0703:0001; 964:0784:0001: Purchased from Helmut and Alison
Gernsheim, 1963.
965:0003:0001: Acquisition information unavailable.
981:0031:0005-0007: Purchased, 1981.
2008:0034:0001-0004: Gift of Robin Tomkins, grandson of H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson,
2008.
Henry Peach Robinson was born on 9 July 1830 in Ludlow, England. After an apprenticeship
in
book selling and the publication of several of his sketches in newspapers, Robinson
was
introduced to photography by a visiting daguerreotypist and began experimenting with
photographic methods. He opened a photography studio in Leamington, England, in 1857,
where
he took commercial portraiture and began some of his early artistic photography. He
started
to experiment with composite photography, or the use of portions of multiple negatives
to
create a single cohesive photographic print. Robinson eventually became famous for
his use
of this technique. Robinson created a "pictorial" effect in
his works, posing costumed actors in dramatic scenes more reminiscent of painting
than other
early photography. While many felt that this manipulation of the photographic medium
was
disingenuous, Robinson became one of the best-known photographers in England at the
time and
a leader of the Pictorialist movement, which promoted photography as an art form.
Through the height of his career, Robinson created and exhibited a number of composite
photographs, including Fading Away (1858), The Lady of Shalott (1861), and Autumn (1863), achieving popular success. He also wrote extensively on the
practice and artistic nature of photography, with his most notable work being Pictorial Effect in Photography, published in installments in
Photographic News in 1868. Robinson co-founded The Linked
Ring in 1892, an association of notable art photographers, and was elected an Honorary
Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in 1900.
Robinson continued to run successful photographic studios, employing Nelson King Cherrill
as a business partner from 1868 to 1875, and later with the assistance of his son,
Ralph
Winwood Robinson. After his retirement from business in 1888, Robinson continued his
artistic photography and writing for a number of years. After suffering a seizure
in 1900
which left him housebound, Robinson died on 21 February 1901.
Sources:
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Henry Peach Robinson:
British Photographer." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Last modified February 14 2018.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Peach-Robinson.
Harker, Margaret F. Henry Peach Robinson: Master of Photographic
Art, 1830-1901. Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1988.
Scope and Contents
The H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson collection consists of 77 photographs, 193 drawings,
watercolors, prints and oil paintings, and one glass negative by H. P. (Henry Peach)
Robinson. Also included are four medals awarded to Robinson by the Photo Club De Paris
and
the World Columbian Exposition, as well as one blank carte-de-visite backing board.
Images
depict individuals in bucolic or dramatic scenes, including posed portraits and scenes,
as
well as landscapes, including scenes of castles, bridges, and the English countryside.
The
collection contains composite photographs, which are photographic prints made from
two or
more negatives to create a unified image. Several prints and drawings are possibly
studies
for some of these composite photographs.
The materials are arranged by accession number, with similar or duplicate images grouped
together where possible. Images that are studies for other works are noted.
Related Material
Additional material related to H. P. (Henry Peach) Robinson can be found in the Lake
Price
album (964:0581:0047, TR 655.11 P853 HRC-P); the Stereograph Photography Collection
(964:0851:0011); the Card Photograph Photography Collection (964:0756:0030); The Photographic Quarterly (964:0698:0003-0004, TR 1 P412 HRC-P
v.1); Pictorial Effect in Photography (964:0697:0001-0003, TR
650 R6 1869 HRC-P); Kodak Portfolio (964:0540:0001, 0007, TR 646 L64 E28 HRC-P);
Carte-de-visite album (964:0467:0029, f TR 655.11 C527 HRC-P); Sun
Artists (964:0315:0005-0008, q TR S86 1889 HRC-P); and The
Art and Practice of Silver Printing (958:0313:0001).
