Bidspirit 拍卖 | The Tower of London –

The Tower of London – Victorian London, c.1887 – Stereoscopic View by J. F. Jarvis - An original period stereoview / stereograph from the Victorian era, presenting a broad view of the Tower of London, one of Britain's most historically significant and recognizable Royal monuments. The stereograph was issued by American photographer and publisher J. F. Jarvis – John Fillis Jarvis (1849–1931), whose name and Stereoscopic Views information appear on the original mount. The historic Tower complex dominates the background, with the great White Tower, the oldest and principal building within the fortress, rising prominently among the surrounding towers, walls and structures. The foreground provides an evocative record of Victorian London street life, with horse-drawn carriages and carts, passengers and pedestrians passing before the ancient fortress – creating a striking contrast between medieval London and the rapidly modernizing nineteenth-century city. J. F. Jarvis and His London Views: John Fillis Jarvis was an important American photographer and publisher of stereoscopic views during the second half of the nineteenth century. His extensive output included American and European subjects and a documented group of views of London. Jarvis stereographs of such London subjects as Ludgate Hill, the Royal Exchange, Fleet Street and Westminster are represented in institutional collections. Comparable London views by Jarvis are documented around 1887. On the basis of these documented London series, together with the form and characteristics of the present mount, a cautious date of approximately c.1887 is appropriate. The Tower of London: Founded following the Norman Conquest of England, the Tower of London developed around the White Tower, constructed during the reign of William the Conqueror. Over the centuries the complex served as a Royal residence, fortress, prison, armoury and treasury and became closely associated with some of the most important episodes in British Royal history. The present stereograph records the Tower within the changing urban landscape of late Victorian London and constitutes an attractive architectural and social document for collectors of London, British Royal history and nineteenth-century stereoscopic photography. An uncommon J. F. Jarvis stereoscopic view of one of Britain's most celebrated historic landmarks.