A period albumen Carte-de-Visite (CDV) portrait of Prince Arthur (1850–1942), seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, later Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. The young Prince is shown seated beside a studio furnishing and dressed in formal civilian attire. Printed beneath the portrait: “H.R.H. PRINCE ARTHUR” and “STEREOSCOPIC COY – COPYRIGHT.” The photograph was produced by The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, one of the major commercial photographic firms of 19th-century Britain. The National Portrait Gallery records several cartes-de-visite of Prince Arthur by the same company, dating them broadly to the 1860s–1870s. The reverse bears the firm's elaborate green printed photographer's backmark, including its London addresses at: 110 & 108 Regent Street and 54 Cheapside together with its designation as photographers to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh, medals and reference to the International Exhibition of 1862. Comparable studio markings are documented on museum-held examples. An old manuscript identification at the top of the reverse reads: “Duke of Connaught.” Prince Arthur pursued a distinguished career in the British Army and was created Duke of Connaught and Strathearn in 1874. He later attained the rank of Field Marshal and served as Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916. An attractive piece of Victorian royal photography combining an original albumen portrait of Queen Victoria's son, the classic Carte-de-Visite format, an important London royal photographic studio, and a particularly elaborate period photographer's backmark.
Auction 01: Auction 01 – Historical Letters, Documents & Autographs — Melis Antiques & Art