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NOTMAN, William, & Fennings Taylor.
Portraits of British Americans.
First edition in book form, first issued in 16 parts, presentation copy to the governor general of Canada, inscribed in each volume. "To His Excellency The Right Honourable The Earl of Dufferin Governor General of Canada With the respectful Compliments And true regards of the Author Fennings Taylor Ottawa, 2nd October 1878". Notman was born in Scotland. Driven by bankruptcy to settle in Canada, he established a photographic business in the late 1850s, going on to become the most important studio in the region and entering the American market with considerable success. The text is by John Fennings Taylor, his first published work, the DCB describing the sketches as "a deft blend of presentism and patriotism … pervaded by an exuberant sense of momentous achievement, stemming from Taylor's conviction that 'events of great national importance [were] hourly passing into history." An important resource for Canadian portraiture of the period, and exemplary of "the nascent romantic nationalism of the confederation era." Complete sets in matching bindings are far from common: Gernsheim had never seen a complete one.
3 volumes, octavo (214 × 142 mm) bound for presentation in tan half calf, on marbled boards red and green morocco labels to spines, raised bands, marbled edges and endpapers. With 84 mounted carte-de-visite-sized albumen prints from the negatives, 75 × 38 mm. Some shelf-wear, joint of Volume I a little chipped towards the tail, light toning, some offsetting to tissue guards, albumen prints variably faded as usual, but on the whole clean and clear, a very good set.
