Cleveland Museum of Art

Partridges (recto)

Captain N. Baily

Date

c. 1861

Medium

albumen print from wet collodion negative

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

N. Baily carefully arranged a simple composition of two partridges hanging by a thin rope against a plain wood wall. Like many photographers in the 1850s and '60s, he was interested in displaying the camera’s ability to record in detail the variety of shapes and textures present in the still life. Little is known of Baily, a British amateur photographer. He was a member of the Amateur Photographic Association and participated in several of their album exchanges. Still lifes incorporating game, fowl, and fish were popular among amateur photographers during this period. Many members of the Amateur Photographic Association were gentlemen that formerly belonged to the British armed forces and would have participated in hunting as a pastime.

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