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Item Specifics
Type: Glass Plate Negative (5 x 6.5 inch) & Silver Gelatin Print Pair (8 x 10 inch)
Subject: Richard & Cherry Kearton Photographing Carrion Crow\'s Nest Up a Tree
Location: Boreham Wood, Elstree (\"not far from where the studios now stand\")
Date Captured: c. 1896–1899
Features: Inscribed Master Labels, Hand-Signed Reverse, Official Copyright Stamp, Family Provenance
Item Description
IMPORTANT MATCHED TWO-PIECE HISTORICAL KEARTON ARCHIVE PAIR
Original Master Glass Negative & Vintage Signed Silver Gelatin Print (c. 1896–1899)
An extraordinary paired archive lot from the foundation of natural history photojournalism, depicting brothers Richard Kearton and Cherry Kearton balanced precariously on a long extension ladder high up in a bare tree to photograph a Carrion Crow\'s nest.
This lot comprises two matching historical items:
Original Silver Gelatin Glass Master Negative: Retaining its historic studio masking border and original handwritten archival layout labels.
Matching Vintage Silver Gelatin Print: Fully annotated and hand-signed on the reverse by Cherry Kearton.
Kearton Family Provenance & Inscriptions
Glass Negative Studio Labels:
Top Right Label: \"Richard + Cherry K. photographing nest in tree. Date about 1896. Pub. Wild Natures Ways 1898\"
Top Left Family Label: \"John Kearton / Graham Rd Purley\"
Upper Emulsion Inscription: \"1898. Wild Life at Home\"
Vintage Print Reverse Annotations:
Estate Lineage: Sourced directly from the Kearton Family Archive and preserved continuously within the family prior to the public dispersion of the wider collection through Chiswick sales in February 2026.
Condition Report
Glass Plate Negative: Glass structure is fully intact without cracks. Shows authentic historic studio paper masking tape and editorial margin notations.
Vintage Print: Excellent vintage tone and sharp clarity showing the full tree silhouette and ladder setup. Minor corner age wear consistent with archival storage.
Historical Significance
Before the invention of modern telephoto lenses, the Kearton brothers used dangerous, inventive methods to photograph wild birds—including hauling heavy wooden field cameras up tall trees on extension ladders. This iconic sequence taken at Elstree in the late 1890s is one of the most famous visual records of early photographic field methods ever published.
