Photographs ranging from early William Henry Fox Talbot and Julia Margaret Cameron prints, to 20th century images capturing modern British society.
The Bodleian boasts an extraordinary selection of photographic materials across its extensive archives and printed book collections. The holdings range from the experiments of early photographers in the 19th century to the negatives and prints of contemporary artists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A small number of these works have been digitized. In Digital Bodleian are:
- Prints of William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877), pioneer and inventor of modern photography.
- Examples of the photography of Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), including images from one of the Bodleian Libraries’ most treasured photographic items: the Henry Taylor album, comprising a selection of prints compiled by Cameron as a gift for her close friend, the dramatist and poet, Sir Henry Taylor.
- Prints from the Hyman Collection of British Photographs, 20th century, including portraits and landscapes, as well as photographs of natural, industrial and social documentary subjects.
Digital Bodleian also hosts items from other Oxford organisations, including:
- From Lincoln College’s archives: a series of images taken by Arnold Fairbairns to illustrate a history of Lincoln College by Stephen A. Warner (1880-1948).
- From the History of Art Department’s Visual Resources Centre: photographs of the Sistine Chapel taken by French photographer Adolphe Braun (1812-1877) and his sons, Henri and Gaston.
Further photographic materials held by the Bodleian Libraries, and yet to be digitised, may be located by searching Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts (for archives and manuscripts) and SOLO (for published collections).