The Francis Frith Collection was founded in 1860 by the pioneer Victorian photographer Francis Frith, who established his reputation with a series of stunning photographs taken in the 1850s of the Middle East. On his return Frith spent much of his life traveling the roads and lanes of Britain by pony and trap, photographing cities, town, villages and picturesque contryside, a project that was coninued by his successors until 1970.
Today the collection contains over 365,000 photographs of some 7,000 towns and villages throughout Britain. Taken between 1860 and 1970 these form a topographical record of Britain without equal and is recognised as the only photographic collection of national importance remaining in private hands. Subject matter ranges from views of small market towns and quiet villages to the crowded streets of industrial cities, from sweeping landscapes to the packed beachs of seaside resorts in the hey-day of the great British holiday. The Francis Frith Collection also includes many unusual images, such as historically important views of Egypt and the Holy Land, architecture, royalty and Victorian portraits.
Durham, The Cathedral from the River, 1921.
The Francis Frith Collection, Teffont, Salisbury, Great Britain
The Francis Frith Collection / Art Resource, NY
