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Zenith telescope and observatory tent

Photograph
1860-1 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In 1856 the War Department appointed the South Kensington Museum photographer Charles Thurston Thompson to teach photography to the Royal Engineers. On one expedition these soldier-photographers documented the border between the USA and Canada. From the crest of the Rockies westwards along the 49th Parallel to the coast, they painstakingly recorded everything that crossed their path, producing 'one of the earliest signifcant body of photographs made in the Pacific Northwest'.

Object details

Category
Object type
TitleZenith telescope and observatory tent (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print from wet collodion-on-glass negative
Brief description
'Zenith telescope and observatory tent. Yahk river station', photograph by the Royal Engineers, North America, ca. 1860-1
Dimensions
  • Support card height: 265mm
  • Support card width: 330mm
  • Photographic print height: 223mm
  • Photographic print width: 270mm
Marks and inscriptions
No. 61. Zenith telescope and observatory tent. Yah'k river station. Capt Darrah and assistant
Credit line
Received from the Foreign Office 1863
Production
Photographed by a Royal Engineers photographer on a U.S.- Canada Border Survey.
Summary
In 1856 the War Department appointed the South Kensington Museum photographer Charles Thurston Thompson to teach photography to the Royal Engineers. On one expedition these soldier-photographers documented the border between the USA and Canada. From the crest of the Rockies westwards along the 49th Parallel to the coast, they painstakingly recorded everything that crossed their path, producing 'one of the earliest signifcant body of photographs made in the Pacific Northwest'.
Collection
Accession number
40093

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Record createdJanuary 7, 2016
Record URL
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