Chiswick Auctions’ upcoming 19th & 20th Century Photographs sale on 6 June brings together some of the most important works in the history of photography, from rare Victorian prints that helped inspire the preservation movement, to classic 20th century images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams and Eadweard Muybridge.
Among the standout highlights is a group of 14 rare carbon prints from the Society for Photographing Relics of Old London, published between 1867 and 1878. These carefully composed images documented buildings under threat of demolition and were instrumental in shifting public opinion toward architectural preservation.
Originally formed to record the 17th-century Oxford Arms coaching inn in Warwick Lane, the Society commissioned photographers Alfred and John Bool to create a lasting visual record before its destruction. The photographs proved so popular that the Society went on to produce 120 further images over the next decade with Henry Dixon also contributing. While the Oxford Arms could not be saved, the powerful response to these images led directly to the foundation of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877, an organisation that continues to this day.
Lot 36: THE SOCIETY FOR PHOTOGRAPHING RELICS OF OLD LONDON, 1867-1878
Estimate £800 - £1,200
This auction also features highlights from two private collections that shaped the photography market in the late 20th century. Among them are two plates from Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering series Animal Locomotion (1887), formerly in the collection of Sir Elton John and sold at auction in New York in 2004. The two studies, Walking and Throwing a Spear, capture human motion in arresting sequential form.
More than 70 lots come from the personal archive of Robert Kirschenbaum (1936–2023), former head of the Pacific Press Agency in Tokyo. Over five decades, Kirschenbaum built personal relationships with some of the world’s greatest photographers, many of the prints in this sale were gifts directly from the artists themselves.
A standout lot is Henri Cartier-Bresson’s 1932 image Cyclist, Hyères, a masterclass in spontaneous composition. Captured on a 35mm Leica camera before Cartier-Bresson became a full-time photographer, this early image captures a bicycle in motion, curving through an iron staircase in southern France. A testament to his intuitive eye, this image remains one of the defining moments in 20th century photography.
Lot 139: Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), CYCLIST, HYÈRES, FRANCE, 1932.
Estimate £6,000 - £8,000
Rounding out the sale is a rare first edition portfolio from The Royal Photographic Society’s Pictorial Group, published in 1931. Titled Pictures from the Tyng Collection, the six large-format photogravures include Rudolf Koppitz’s dramatic ballet composition Bewegungs Studie (Study of Movement), originally created in 1925 and widely regarded as one of the great modernist works of the era.
Lot 98: The Royal Photographic Society, 1931 PICTURES FROM THE TYNG COLLECTION, 1931
Estimate £2,000 - £3,000
Whether documenting the vanishing streets of Victorian London or redefining artistic photography in the 20th century, these images offer collectors a rare opportunity to acquire pieces that shaped both visual culture and historical memory.
Get in touch with our specialists at photographica@chiswickauctions.co.uk or submit an Online Valuation.