The collection contains an album of 53 photolithographic prints of Franks Hall, a country house in Horton Kirby, Kent. The original photographs were taken by Charles Latham in 1894 and these photolithographs were produced by Hudson and Kearns.
This apparently published album is entitled: "Franks Illustrated" and contains one page of historical text. The reason for publication and the name of the then owner of the house cannot be identified from the album. It bears the bookplate of William John Mercer, who has no known connection with the house, and an address label for Latham & Hudson & Kearns.
The album contains images of gardens and the interior and exterior of the house. Several of the exteriors include posed figures. The images are annotated.
Franks is a Grade I listed house with a registered garden. Large sections of the house have been demolished and nearly all the contents have been lost: The album therefore provides a unique record of the contents of this significant house. Four of the images were included in a Country Life article of 20 March 1897. Latham worked for this magazine but was always an independent photographer. A few of the images appear in NMR sales particular SC539.
The collection was acquired by the NMR in 2009.
© Historic England Archive
Photographer: Latham, Charles
Elizabethan Country House
