{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1808857"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1808857/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PK5110/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PK5110/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2025PK5110","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1808857","accessionNumber":"RPS.2229:1-2025","objectType":"Photograph","titles":[{"title":"Portrait of David Octavius Hill","type":"generic title"},{"title":"Calotypes","type":"series title"}],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Sepia-coloured photographic portrait of a man standing at a stone entrance to a building (possibly Rock House, Edinburgh) bound as the frontispiece in an oversized album of 103 sepia-coloured photographic portraits.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Hill, David Octavius","id":"N4882"},"association":{"text":"photographer","id":"x43821"},"note":""},{"name":{"text":"Adamson, Robert","id":"A11654"},"association":{"text":"photographer","id":"x43821"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Hill & Adamson","id":"AUTH382430"},"association":{"text":"photographers","id":"AAT25687"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"salted paper","id":"AAT127389"}],"techniques":[{"text":"photography","id":"AAT54225"},{"text":"salted paper process","id":"THES394223"},{"text":"calotype","id":"AAT53484"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Salt paper print from calotype negative.","categories":[{"text":"Photographs","id":"THES48910"},{"text":"Portraits","id":"THES48906"},{"text":"Scotland","id":"THES262877"},{"text":"The Royal Photographic Society","id":"THES281081"}],"styles":[{"text":"mid 19th century","id":"x41031"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"DOP","id":"THES291628"},"images":["2025PK5110"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"LVLF","id":"THES49656"},"free":"","case":"MB006","shelf":"BY007","box":"XRP 733"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"photograph","id":"AAT46300"}],[{"text":"album","id":"AAT26690"}],[{"text":"salted paper print","id":"AAT127149"}],[{"text":"calotype","id":"AAT53484"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Edinburgh","id":"x28816"},"association":{"text":"published","id":"x30682"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Scotland","id":"x29130"},"association":{"text":"photographed","id":"x30151"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1843-1848","earliest":"1843-01-01","latest":"1848-12-31"},"association":{"text":"photographed","id":"x30151"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"PROV.1738-2017","id":"O1381625"},"association":"Shared Other number"},{"object":{"text":"67315","id":"O1100635"},"association":"Version"},{"object":{"text":"RPS.2229-2025","id":"O1808711"},"association":"Album"}],"creditLine":"The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund.\r\n\r\nDigitised with support from The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"19.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"paper","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"14.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"paper","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"63.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"album cover","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"47.5","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"album cover","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"'D.O. Hill R.S.A.'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"pencil, lower right, mount"}],"objectHistory":"The famous partnership and collaboration between the artist David Octavius Hill and the photographer Robert Adamson came into being originally in order to produce photographic portraits to assist Hill as a painter. The team produced a wide range of superb, valuable work and they were the first to consistently and successfully employ calotype process in Great Britain.\r\n\r\nIn 1843 Hill was introduced to Adamson and they began to collaborate on the production of calotype portraits as reference images for the painting ‘The Signing of the Deed of Demission’ which represents 474 dignitaries. Essentially, Hill posed and arranged the individual sitters or groups while Adamson attended to the technical aspects of the exposure, processing, and printing.\r\n\r\nSome of their most powerful images, however, were made in Scottish seashore villages and depict  fishermen and women. They also photographed  the architecture and monuments of Scotland and made calotypes of their friends posed in medieval armour or costumes.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Photograph by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, 'Portrait of David Octavius Hill', frontispiece photograph in bound album, salted paper print from calotype negative, 1843-48","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"Stevenson, Sara. 'David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson: Catalogue of their Calotypes Taken Between 1843 and 1847 in the Collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery', (Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 1981). ISBN 0903148374","id":"AUTH361378"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"The Origin of Photography: Great Britain. Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 2019, p. 52."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Hill, David Octavius","id":"N4882"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"portraits","id":"AAT15637"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["RPS.2229:1-2025"],"accessionNumberNum":"2229","accessionNumberPrefix":"RPS","accessionYear":2025,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"RPS collection - V&A identifier","id":"THES275176"},"number":"XRP 733"},{"type":{"text":"RPS identifier - other","id":"THES275192"},"number":"S482"},{"type":{"text":"Royal Photographic Society number","id":"THES275233"},"number":"8434"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-21","recordCreationDate":"2025-09-10","availableToBook":false}}