Emerson (Peter Henry, 1856-1936). A near-full face portrait of a Southwold fisherman, c. 1886

Lot description

Emerson (Peter Henry, 1856-1936). A near-full face portrait of a Southwold fisherman, c. 1886 * Emerson (Peter Henry, 1856-1936). A near-full face portrait of a Southwold fisherman, c. 1886, albumen print, some surface marks and indentation impressions visible when held at a raking angle, 34 x 29 cm, mounted on contemporary card, small tear with loss to upper left corner and affecting extreme corner tip of image, signed and inscribed by the photographer to mount verso, 'An Old Sea-Dog - Taken Direct, Negative untouched, by P.H. Emerson BA MB, (Copyright)', later pencil additions below (incorrectly) speculating the sitter might be Ben Lowsey or Crikey Rogers, 35 x 30.5 cm overall QTY: (1) NOTE: A rare signed portrait by Emerson, unusually using the albumen print process, rather than platinum print process. No other examples of this captivating photograph have been located. A completely full-face portrait of the same fisherman, titled 'Old Fisherman' is reproduced on p. 153 of Nancy Newhall's book, P. H. Emerson - The Fight for Photography as Fine Art (1975). On page 155 is another photograph of the same fisherman, who there appears standing between two seated fishermen in front of a shed with the sign 'Nyl-Ghau' above the door. Both are platinum prints and belong to Emerson's Southwold series of c. 1886, copies of which are held by George Eastman House, New York. The identity of the sitter remains elusive, but this particular 'old sea dog' clearly captured Emerson's imagination, as he very rarely took close-up portraits such as this. The light here falls beautifully on the subject's hair, eyes and facial features, giving the fisherman a well-lived, contemplative and poetic expression. In the known photograph, which Emerson typically produced as a platinum print, the sitter's gaze is directly at the viewer, rather than into the distance over the viewer's shoulder, as here. It is very unlikely that the negative exists and this print is quite possibly unique.