Artist Index: Hill, David Octavius and Robert Adamson

John Henning as Edie Ochiltree. Circa 1845. Salted paper print on original board mounted to modern mat. 20,5 x 15,8 cm (52 x 44 cm). Titled in pencil on board.

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. – Some light buckling, small crease in lower left corner, otherwise in very good condition.

Lit.: Katherine Michaelson. A Centenary Exhibition of the Work of David Octavius Hill (1802-1870) and Robert Adamson (1821-1848). Edinburgh 1970, ill. p. 117.

"Newhaven Fisheries". Circa 1845/printed 1909. Photogravure printed from the original paper negative by James Craig Annan on Japan tissue. 14 x 19,3 cm. Tipped in corners to original mount (time-stained, slight traces of use). From: Camera Work 28, 1909.

A rich, dark print in excellent condition.

Lit.: Alfred Stieglitz. Camera Work, The Complete Illustrations 1903-1917. Cologne 1997, ill. p. 479.