Captain Linnaeus Tripe: Photographer of India and Burma, 1852-1860 - Hardcover

Taylor, Roger; Branfoot, Crispin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3791353810 ISBN 13: 9783791353814

Publisher: Prestel USA, 2014

Synopsis

This volume on Captain Linnaeus Tripe, who photographed extensively in India and Burma in the mid-19th century, offers brilliant pictures that display the unusual combination of a surveyor’s eye and an artist’s passion. Captain Linnaeus Tripe (1822–1902) occupies a special place in the history of 19th-century photography for the outstanding body of work he produced in India and Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1850s. Introduced to photography by those who saw it as a pastime, he recognized that it could be an effective tool for conveying information about unknown cultures. Under the auspices of the East India Company, he took many photographs of Buddhist and Hindu architecture and dramatic landscapes not seen before in the West. His military training gave his work a striking aesthetic and formal rigor and helped him achieve remarkably consistent results, despite the challenges that India’s heat and humidity posed to photographic chemistry. This sumptuous volume features photographs from Tripe’s two major expeditions: to Burma in 1854 and to southeast India in 1857. Essays explore the evolution of his practice and the importance of the sites he recorded, while maps and a chronology provide an overview of his life and travels.

About this title

About the Author:

Roger Taylor is Professor Emeritus of Photographic History at De Montfort University, Leicester. Crispin Branfoot is Senior Lecturer in South Asian Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Sarah Greenough is Senior Curator and Head of the Department of Photographs at the National Gallery of Art. Malcolm Daniel is Curator in Charge, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Review:

"The most complete yet to explore the Burmese and Indian landscapes of this Nineteenth century photographer and the book is replete with copious information."

—Photo-eye

"The copious illustrations. . . are large scale, sepia toned to match Tripe's prints, and exquisitely reproduced. The commentaries accompanying the photographs are fascinating as well, fastidiously documenting Tripe's travels and subjects."

—K. Rhodes, Drew University, Choice

"The 228 page volume features the magisterial photographs [Tripe] created that brought forth these heretofore unfamiliar cultures."

—Our Man in Boston

About this edition

• Publisher: Prestel USA
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 3791353810
• ISBN 13: 9783791353814
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 228