Bidspirit 拍卖 | Queen Victoria (1819–1901) – Large

Queen Victoria (1819–1901) – Large Royal Cabinet Photograph Issued for the Diamond Jubilee, 1897 – by W. & D. Downey, Photographers by Special Appointment to Her Majesty – with Facsimile Signature - A large and impressive royal Cabinet Photograph of Queen Victoria (1819–1901) by the celebrated royal photographic studio W. & D. Downey, issued in connection with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee of 1897, commemorating sixty years of her reign. Victoria is portrayed seated in profile in the iconic appearance of her later years. She wears an elaborate dark royal gown richly decorated with lace and jewellery, together with a long white lace headdress, and holds a large open fan in her hands. The composition has a suitably formal and commemorative character for the Diamond Jubilee. At the upper portion of the photograph appears a facsimile inscription/signature: “Victoria R.I. 1837–1897” The dates commemorate the sixty years between Victoria’s accession in 1837 and her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Importantly, this is a facsimile signature forming part of the photographic issue and not an original autograph signature by Queen Victoria. The front bears the photographer’s details: “W. & D. DOWNEY PHOTOGRAPHERS” and: “57 & 61, EBURY STREET LONDON, S.W.” The reverse is particularly impressive, carrying an elaborate original W. & D. Downey royal studio backmark, headed by the Prince of Wales’s feathers and prominently inscribed: “W. & D. DOWNEY PHOTOGRAPHERS BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN AND TO THE IMPERIAL & ROYAL FAMILIES OF EUROPE” The richly decorated reverse incorporates the British Royal Arms together with a remarkable array of European royal and imperial heraldic devices, emphasizing Downey’s prestigious position as photographer to the royal houses of Europe. W. & D. Downey was among the foremost royal photographic studios of Victorian Britain, and its portraits of Queen Victoria played an important role in defining and disseminating the sovereign’s public image during the later decades of her reign. An impressive piece of late Victorian royal photography combining Queen Victoria, the Diamond Jubilee of 1897, large Cabinet Photograph format, W. & D. Downey, the “Victoria R.I. 1837–1897” facsimile signature and an exceptionally elaborate royal studio backmark.