« English Village 1890 »

This is one of two enormous contact prints from glass plate negatives that were labeled Evesham, a town in the Cotswolds vale on the River Avon, but I am not ready to declare that after looking at Google Earth views of Evesham today, there are too many discrepancies and too many English towns and villages – I may never know unless someone recognizes it.

The camera that took this lovely view is not in the category of, "I'm going out; should I take my camera?"; the large view camera was the reason for going out! The river runs through this lush scene that has gardens and greenhouses in the foreground, substantial houses, streets, a church, and hills beyond. The only signs in sight are Holmes & Ash Implement Depot, J. Barrett, Draper, a toy shop and W. Hudson Castle and Commercial Hotel. The haze over the town is largely due to smoke from the many chimneys; coal would have been the fuel for heating and cooking. I do not see a single person or vehicle in this view; at some later date I will post the amazingly different second view which is full of both.

I never look at photos from the past without thinking of how many things we will never see because the camera had not been invented, and so much we only see now because someone made the effort to record it before it was gone, never realizing that it would disappear.