Cabinet card of William Ewart Gladstone
Information
Title - Cabinet card of William Ewart Gladstone
Record type - Photographs
Original Reference - P/CDV/G/6
Role - photographic business
Date - 1877
Scope & content - Black and white full-length seated portrait of William Ewart Gladstone. He is shown sitting at the base of a tree he is cutting down in his garden at Hawarden Castle. Printed inscription on recto, 'Hawarden 1877. Alfred Hays, Royal Exchange Buildings, London. Copyright'. Printed inscription on recto of photograph, 'Currey. Photo'. Printed label on verso, 'And reproduced in Permanent Photography. Of the merits of these admirable Likenesses, the British Journal of Photography of Sept. 7th, says:- "In a fine series of four portraits of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone, M.P., and his son, Mr. W.H. Gladstone, M.P., we are afforded a peep behind the scenes in connection with the private life of this energetic statesman. To preserve his brain from being overtasked by the onerous duties of public life to which he has so long and so earnestly devoted himself, Mr Gladstone, it is well known, indulges very frequently, if not almost daily, for a brief period of the year, in the arduous physical exercise of tree cutting, in the execution of which self-imposed task he is said to excel, and in which it is undoubted that he takes special personal pleaseure. In the photographs before us, Mr. Currey has taken the great statesman in the wood at Hawarden while in the act of sitting down for a moment's well-earned rest, for the aspect of the trunk of a huge tree, which he has been engaged in felling, and the plethora of chips scattered around, leave no doubt as to his diligence. In all pictures he is represented in his shirt sleeves, his straw hat lying on the ground beside him; and the expression on the face is, in one of the photographs at least, perhaps the finest we have ever seen of this gentleman, an immense amount of latent power being apparent, ready to be displayed at a moment's notice. In two of the pictures the Ex-Premier is seen alone; in a third he is photographed in connection with his son, Mr. W.H. Gladstone, M.P., whose costume, mien, and surroundings also betoken him to have been busily occupied in the avocation of a woodman, he, like his Father, bring sans coat and waistcoat. The fourth photograph shows the younger gentleman solus. In posting and photographing these distinguished subjects for camera pictures Mr. Currey has shown much skill, and these pictoral works, when published, cannot fail to find many admirers for various reasons, not the least being their non-conventionality'. Printed inscription on recto, 'Hawarden 1877. Alfred Hays, Royal Exchange Buildings, London. Copyright'. Printed inscription on recto of photograph, 'Currey. Photo'. Printed label on verso, 'And reproduced in Permanent Photography. Of the merits of these admirable Likenesses, the British Journal of Photography of Sept. 7th, says:- "In a fine series of four portraits of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone, M.P., and his son, Mr. W.H. Gladstone, M.P., we are afforded a peep behind the scenes in connection with the private life of this energetic statesman. To preserve his brain from being overtasked by the onerous duties of public life to which he has so long and so earnestly devoted himself, Mr Gladstone, it is well known, indulges very frequently, if not almost daily, for a brief period of the year, in the arduous physical exercise of tree cutting, in the execution of which self-imposed task he is said to excel, and in which it is undoubted that he takes special personal pleaseure. In the photographs before us, Mr. Currey has taken the great statesman in the wood at Hawarden while in the act of sitting down for a moment's well-earned rest, for the aspect of the trunk of a huge tree, which he has been engaged in felling, and the plethora of chips scattered around, leave no doubt as to his diligence. In all pictures he is represented in his shirt sleeves, his straw hat lying on the ground beside him; and the expression on the face is, in one of the photographs at least, perhaps the finest we have ever seen of this gentleman, an immense amount of latent power being apparent, ready to be displayed at a moment's notice. In two of the pictures the Ex-Premier is seen alone; in a third he is photographed in connection with his son, Mr. W.H. Gladstone, M.P., whose costume, mien, and surroundings also betoken him to have been busily occupied in the avocation of a woodman, he, like his Father, bring sans coat and waistcoat. The fourth photograph shows the younger gentleman solus. In posting and photographing these distinguished subjects for camera pictures Mr. Currey has shown much skill, and these pictoral works, when published, cannot fail to find many admirers for various reasons, not the least being their non-conventionality'. William Ewert Gladstone (1809-1898) was served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom four times. He had a garden at Hawarden Castle in Wales
Extent - 1 cabinet card
Physical description - 16.6 (h) x 10.8 (w) cm. Portrait. Photographic print
Copyright - No known copyright restrictions
Credit Line - Alfred Hays / RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Public Domain