[John Henry Mole]

Art Historical Context

This albumen silver print from the 1860s captures a formal portrait of John Henry Mole, created by the photographic firm John and Charles Watkins. Measuring just 10.2 by 6.3 centimeters, the small scale suggests it was likely produced as a carte-de-visite, a popular format at the time that allowed people to exchange and collect images of notable figures, friends, or family members. The work belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s photographs collection and entered the museum through the Albert Ten Eyck Gardner Collection in 1970. Albumen prints were the dominant photographic process of th...

About the Artist

John and Charles Watkins · 1840–1875

**John and Charles Watkins: Pioneers of Victorian Portrait Photography** John Watkins (1823–1874) and his younger brother Octavius Charles Watkins (1836–1882) were prominent British portrait photographers whose collaborative studio captured the luminaries of Victorian Britain.) Born in Raglan, Monmouthshire, Wales, John began his career around 1840, establishing a studio at 34 Parliament Street i...