The old order and the new : P.H. Emerson and photography, 1885-1895

We cite from the cover : / -
"In the 1880s Peter Henry Emerson began photographing the Norfolk and Suffolk landscape, producing beautiful prints, and publishing books and portfolios for which he became well known. He described himself as an anthropologist, capturing ways of life that were disappearing due to the impact of new industries and tourism. Emerson rejected the 'storytelling' artificiality of much photography of his time. He composed his images in the camera and made final prints without studio props or faking compositions in the darkroom. He also developed 'differential focus', using focus and depth-of-field to create images that were 'naturalistic', appearing as they would to natural eyesight. This invention, as well as his development of photogravure, had an enormous impact on later photographers such as Photo-Secessionists Alvin Langdon Coburn and Alfred Stieglitz.
This ground-breaking book draws on the collections of the Royal Photographic Society at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford, as well as other collections to provide a unique account of Emerson's position in the history of photography. John Taylor's essays discuss Emerson's radical approach to photography, his historical and social context, his relationship to his contemporaries, as well as to debates and to technical innovations. He examines in depth several of Emerson's iconic images, and introduces an unrecorded, newly discovered albumen print ( Tidal Creek and Old Warehouses south of Souttwold, Suffolk), which is unsigned by Emerson but has been identified through his handwriting on the mount of the work. Philippa Wright discusses the history of Emerson's works in collections and his manipulation of his legacy. Stephen Hyde, Emerson's great-grandson, and himself an acclaimed photographer, creates a portrait of Emerson as a complex, contradictory man of his time."