The Milkmaid by Oscar Gustave Rejlander
Helmut Gernsheim (1913-1995)
Category
Photographs
Date
1970
Materials
Silver gelatin, Silver bromide, Paper, Card
Measurements
500 x 400 x 2 mm
Collection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1522861.7
Summary
A large mounted reproduction monochrome silver gelatine bromide photographic print of The Milkmaid by Oscar Gustave Rejlander (1857), a gelatine silver original image size 215 mm x 160 mm. The top of the print is arched, and the bottom corners are rectangular. The image depicts a young girl in cloak and bonnet, with a milk pail, at the doorsteps of a woman who holds a bowl. The girl is looking at a cat drinking from a cup on the step. The photograph was one of 59 studies prepared for the painter Cecil Gordon Lawson (1831-82) and is an outstanding example of a mid-Victorian narrative picture, being neither sentimental or banal. The surface and colour of modern gelatine bromide papers were matched to closely resemble the colour and surface texture of the 19th century original. This enlargement is made from a copy negative taken from the original print. Markings Recto: Printed in black ink on the mount centred below the image: "Oscar Gustave Rejlander: The Milkmaid 1857" Handwritten in pencil on the mount bottom left below the image: 24/100 Markings Verso: Printed in black ink centred on the verso of the mount: "Copyright the Gernsheim Collection University of Texas and Photo-Graphic Editions, London. Any unauthorised reproduction is prohibited. Part of a limited edition (24/100) set of 10 reproduction Victorian prints, entitled "Photo-Classics 1, Victorian Photography", produced by the Gernsheim Collection, University of Texas and Photo-Graphic Editions Ltd, London.
Makers and roles
Helmut Gernsheim (1913-1995), publisher