Hollyer was the photographer of choice for the artistic set of the late 19th century. His Portraits of Many Persons of Note fills three volumes with nearly 200 portraits and comprises a pictorial Who's Who of late Victorian and Edwardian celebrities. Hollyer photographed a drawing by a R. Clifford of Charles George Gordon. Gordon, also known as "British Gordon," and "Gordon Pasha", was a British soldier who had earned fame for his services in the Crimean War and in Africa.