Egypt and the Holy Land
The Francis Frith Collection was founded by the pioneering Victorian photographer Francis Frith in the 1860s. Although he is famous nowadays for the photographic record he began of Britain in the 19th century – a project that was continued by his sons, and later his grandson – in his own day he became a sensation for the series of very early photographs that he took of Egypt and the Holy Land. When he was only in his thirties, Francis Frith began a series of trips to the area which lasted from 1857 until 1860, recording in his memoirs that he wished to ‘track the Sun back to his rising, and see the lands upon which his beams first fell’.
Francis Frith's legacy - The Francis Frith Collection - uniquely chronicles Britain between 1860 and 1970, and is available to browse on the Internet. Visitors are invited to add their own memories - inspired by individual photographs or towns - and it is these which bring the scenes depicted to life.
However, it is Francis Frith’ reputation as a photographer was based on these early journeys to Egypt and the Holy Land, and his images were widely seen in an array of publications. Enjoy this feature about the founder of The Francis Frith Collection's amazing photographic adventures.
Francis Frith in Turkish costume
In his memoirs of his expeditions to Egypt and the Holy Land, Francis Frith appears to have been entranced by the people he encountered, and captivated by the mystery of the lands he travelled through. A devout Quaker, Frith was interested and tolerant of the different ways and beliefs he came across. Talking of the people he met, he wrote ‘I have spent months, fearing no evil, amongst men whom we call real savages … whose souls appear to be, if anything, rather more religiously enlightened than is the soul of an average, modern scientific professor’, a remarkable departure from the viewpoint of many of his contemporaries who visited these lands
Colossal Figure at Abou Simbel c1857, Nubia
Francis Frith used the collodion process for his photographic expeditions. This process used gunpowder dissolved in ether and alcohol. It provided a relatively stable bond in the form of a thin film between the light-sensitive chemicals and the glass plate, and allowed an image to be made which was a sharp as a daguerreotype, but which could be reproduced in the same way as a calotype. A further advantage was that it was more sensitive to light, allowing shorter exposure times. What makes the achievement of Francis Frith in Egypt remarkable is his reliance on water to produce a wet plate; in the extreme heat of the country, this is no small feat. The chemicals he used were also highly explosive. When we contemplate the photographer working in something like a mobile laboratory, dealing with very unstable chemicals in the heat of the Egyptian desert, we can feel nothing less than admiration.
Pharaoh's Bed c1857, Island Of Philae
After the Aswan Dam was built, the island of Philae disappeared beneath the waters of the Nile, and the temple that stood on the island was moved to the island of Agilkia, which was reshaped to resemble Philae. Frith’s photograph shows the original island of Philae with its temple in the 1850s, whilst in the modern image we see it on its new location.
The Citadel Gateway c1857, Cairo
Of all the places photographed by Frith, it is arguable that Cairo has undergone the most obvious changes. The Citadel still dominates part of the Cairo skyline, although the sprawl of the modern city has now covered all the rock on which the Citadel is built. The Citadel gate shown in Frith’s photo has now been tidied up and bypassed, and the main entrance to the Citadel complex is via the north or south gates.
Osiridae Pillars And Great Fallen Colossus c1857, Thebes
This was the toppled colossus which inspired Percy Bysshe Shelley to write his poem ‘Ozymandias’:
‘I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp’d on these lifeless thing,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
Hall of Columns, Interior c1857, Thebes
It was not until Frith’s second trip to Egyp that he had perfected his photographic technique so as to be able to take a picture amongst the tumble of the interior of the Hall of Columns at Thebes. The subdued light would have increased exposure time. Frith also bemoaned that he could give no idea of the size of the hall through either a picture or in words. Even today, it is an almost impossible place in which to take a successful photograph.
The Old Town c1860, Gaza
‘There is nothing more melancholy than the existence of a place, while its ancient inhabitants have become extinct. Gaza is still a city, but the Philistines have disappeared…’ For Francis Frith, Gaza’s association with the Philistines was of some importance when he visited it, but the place also has other Biblical links, notably with the story of Samson. Today, of course, it is part of the much disputed Palestinian Authority.
