Clarke, J. Palmer. HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII. Large format Photogravure, 1901, from an original portrait photograph by J. Palmer Clarke. The photograph shows the King full length, nattily dressed in jacket, jodphurs & spats. The image is 23 1/2 x 16 3/4 inches, on a large sheet with wide margins. The frame measures 43 x 35 1/2 inches. The title "His Majesty King Edward VII" is printed in the margin below the image, and at left below the image is printed "Original by J. Palmer Clarke." Just above the image in the margin, top right is the following printed inscription: "London, Published June 1, 1901 by Cadbury James Co., Ltd., 13 New Burlington Street W. Copyright Registered Berlin Stiefbold & Co. Entered According to Act of Congress in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, U.S.A." In excellent condition in the original mat and frame. The mat appears somewhat darkened by age, but the photo is fresh and clean and without any tears, holes or stains. Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, and her eldest son Albert, the Prince of Wales, (1841-1910) became King Edward VII. This photograph was taken within a short time of his accession, and well before his Coronation, which did not take place until 1902. As Prince of Wales until well into middle age, Edward was excluded from affairs of state by Queen Victoria, and lived a somewhat notorious life as a playboy prince, bon vivant, patron of the arts, gambler, gamesman, and leader of a circle of businessmen and socialites who he entertained at his estate at Sandringham. The Edwardian Era, which succeeded the "Mauve Decade" (the 1890s of Oscar Wilde and Art Nouveau) was known for its fashions and devotion to material comforts and good living. Though Edward VII died in 1910, his "Era" lasted until the foundations of class stratification and privilege for the few was destroyed by the upheavals of World War I. J. Palmer Clarke was a noted celebrity photographer of the day. The "Cambridgeshire Collection" in Cambridge, England, has among its holdings the "J. Palmer Clarke" collection, comprising 1000 boxes each containing 50 glass plate negatives. Given that this picture was copyrighted, and thus apparently distributed, in Britain, Germany and the US, at least, copies do not seem to be common, at least not in the impressively large format of this example. In over forty years of being interested in this type of
