Henry Irving was a British photographer who photographed trees and flowers in and around London from about 1899-1922. He often photographed one tree from the same standpoint in both summer and winter, and made detailed studies of its bark and foliage. The pairings reveal the passage of the year. The museum purchased the photographs directly from the photographer over the course of 6 years between 1899 and 1905.

Irving mastered two complex photographic techniques: the platinum print and the autochrome, which is an early colour process. A number of autochromes and glass negatives are held by the Natural History Museum. The V&A collection holds 183 of Irving's tree, bark and foliage studies, all platinum prints of exquisite quality. The platinum process was a refined printing technique that allowed for a plethora of grey shades and great amount of detail. Irving’s mastery of the process becomes apparent in the refined outline of individual branches and the detailed texture of the bark, leaves and flowers. The prints mark the high tide of the platinum process, which became less common after the outbreak of the First World War. Platinum proved an excellent catalyst for explosives, and was therefore too precious a material to use for printing.

Though Irving was never a member of the Royal Photographic Society, his photographs were exhibited during his lifetime in the annual exhibitions of 1899 (1 print), 1910 (1 print), 1911 (4 prints), 1913 (6 prints), 1914 (1 print), 1915 (3 prints), 1921 (7 autochromes) and 1922 (13 prints). His work was published in books for fine art students as aides to draw from nature, as well as numerous botanical publications held by the NAL.