Bidspirit 拍卖 | Prince Albert (1819–1861), Prince Consort

Prince Albert (1819–1861), Prince Consort to Queen Victoria – Royal Carte-de-Visite Photograph by John Jabez Edwin Mayall – Dated 1 March 1861, Only Months Before His Death - An important early royal Carte-de-Visite (CDV) portrait of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), husband and Prince Consort of Queen Victoria, photographed by the celebrated royal photographer John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813–1901). Albert is shown full-length in a formal studio setting, standing beside an architectural pedestal and heavy curtain. He wears a dark formal coat, decorative waistcoat and bow tie and holds a top hat in his hands, presenting the Prince Consort in his mature public image during the final year of his life. Printed within the photographic image is: “MAYALL FECIT MARCH 1st 1861.” while the lower mount identifies him: “PRINCE CONSORT.” The precise date, 1 March 1861, gives the photograph particular historical significance. Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861, aged only forty-two, meaning that this portrait was made less than ten months before his death. Albert’s death later that year profoundly transformed Victoria’s personal life and public image. She entered prolonged mourning, wore black for the remainder of her life, and the commemoration of Albert became a defining element of her later royal iconography. The reverse carries Mayall’s original studio imprint: “PHOTOGRAPHED FROM LIFE BY MAYALL, 224, REGENT STREET, LONDON.” An important and securely dated royal photograph combining Prince Albert, John Jabez Edwin Mayall, the precise date 1 March 1861, the original “Prince Consort” identification and Mayall’s 224 Regent Street backmark, with additional historical significance as a portrait made only months before Albert’s death. Note: Lot 172, the Carte-de-Visite portrait of Queen Victoria by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, is likewise precisely dated 1 March 1861. The two photographs – Queen Victoria and Prince Albert – therefore belong to the same Mayall royal photographic series of the same date, forming an important period pair of the royal couple, photographed only months before Prince Albert’s death in December 1861.