Lot 8
  • 8

George Wilson Bridges (1788 - 1863)

Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
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Description

  • George Wilson Bridges
  • South West view of the Erechtheum in negative, c. 1848
Calotype negative, extensively inked in the area of the sky. Titled on the reverse of the cover sheet, and with the positions of the various buildings (including the Portico of the Temple of Pandrosus, The Temple of Pandrosus, the Conservatory, and the Portico of the Temple of Minerva Polias) identified in ink on the reverse, and with 'Bridges' discreetly inked. Separated from its cover sheet.

Literature

Taylor, Roger, Impressed by Light,  Metropolitan Museum of Art et alii, 2007.

Condition

A tiny (1mm) tear has left paper missing from the upper right corner, but with that exception the condition is quite excellent.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

The identities of the two Europeans lounging in this view will have to remain hypothetical, but it is more than probable that they are Bridges' fellow travellers to Athens in the late 1840s, Kit Talbot and Calvert Richard Jones, both intimate members of the circle of William Henry Fox Talbot.
George Wilson Bridges famously found it difficult to achieve satisfactory prints from his own excellent negatives and sent them back to England to be printed. He therefore did not see his own results in full until many months after each image was made. It is possible that the inked 'Bridges' on the reverse of several of the sheets in the present group was written there when they arrived to be printed at the Reading Establishment of W.H. Fox Talbot and his manager Nicholas Henneman.