Collection: Janette Rosing Collection

Description

The collection includes over 8,000 original black and white photographs of English architecture, landscapes and maritime history from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, when England was undergoing largescale changes, powered by industrialisation, urbanisation and developments in transport. The photographs cover every English county and were taken by leading photographers of the time including W.G. Campbell, William Russell Sedgefield, Henry William Verscholye, Samuel Smith of Wisbech, William J. Cox of Plymouth, James Mudd, and Samuel Buckle among others. Alongside these are many photographs of England by the commercial firms of J. Valentine, George Washington Wilson, Francis Frith and Francis Bedford. It includes unique early images by Linnaeus Tripe and John Wiggin of Ipswich.

The photographs reflect Janette Rosing’s keen interest in England’s landscapes, architecture and maritime history, depicting its distinctive coastal and inland landscapes, built heritage, ancient buildings and monuments, towns and villages, street life and tall sailing ships. The Collection is particularly important as the development of photography in this period was pivotal in the history of visual arts. It was when photography was established as a legitimate art form, an important means of landscape recording, and a powerful tool for documenting the world. Advances in photography allowed photographers to produce more sophisticated images, experiment with techniques and styles while developments in transport enabled them to travel further afield from their home location. The collection contains examples of photographs produced by all the photographic processes of the era, including Calotype, Collodion, dry plate and platinum.

Janette Rosing (1942-2021) was a renowned photographic consultant, connoisseur, and collector who dedicated her life to studying and amassing a collection of 19th and early 20th century photographs. Born and raised in London, Rosing began an obsession for historical photographs of England's past when she stumbled upon a photograph of Hartland Quay on the Devon coast before it was ravaged by a storm. This discovery sparked her fascination with depictions of England in old photographs, and she spent her life attending photograph fairs and auctions in pursuit of new acquisitions for her collection. Rosing's expertise in the field of historical photography was widely recognised, and she provided consultancy services to institutions such as the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, international auction houses, and museums. In the pre-internet era, she was a trusted advisor to collectors and overseas dealers and institutions on photographs being offered in London salerooms.

Archival History

The collection was acquired by the Historic England Archive in 2023

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Rights

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