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Robinson (Henry Peach, 1830-1901). Preparing Spring Flowers for Market, 1873 * Robinson (Henry Peach, 1830-1901) & Cherrill (Nelson King, active 1860s-1870s). Preparing Spring Flowers for Market, 1873, mammoth composite albumen print from multiple negatives, laid on original card mount, signed in the negative by both partners lower left, 'H. P. Robinson & N. K. Cherrill, Tunbridge Wells', a little creasing and bruising to centre left edge, image size 54 x 76 cm, additionally titled and identified in brown ink on lower fillet, original wooden frame with carved rope twist and hatched borders, overall size 73 x 94 cm QTY: (1) NOTE: Henry Peach Robinson opened his first studio in London, and worked in Leamington Spa, before relocating to Tunbridge Wells in Kent. He hired Nelson King Cherrill as an assistant in 1868, and such was his talent that the duo soon entered a business partnership. Until it was dissolved in 1875, (after which Cherrill continued as a successful photographer in New Zealand), the partnership flourished, specialising in artistic photography and studio portraits, and receiving numerous medals for their European and American exhibits. This photograph was probably first exhibited at the Photographic Society of Great Britain, Pall Mall East, London, in 1873. Other examples located are a hand-coloured version at the Getty Museum and one at Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery. A wood-engraved reproduction of the photograph appeared in the Illustrated London News, 8 November 1873. ‘Preparing Spring Flowers for Market, 1873, signed by both partners, is a composite picture constructed on similar lines to A Cottage Home, 1859, by Robinson, and his later interiors: When the Day's Work is Done, 1877, and Dawn and Sunset, 1885. However, there are very significant differences between Preparing Spring Flowers for Market and these others. In no other photograph by Robinson are the figures turned away from each other as though the one was not aware of the relationship between them. The unnatural pose of the girl standing with her gaze fixed on the distance, although within the confines of a small cottage, is most unlike any other Robinson portrayal. The effect of such posing is to create a feeling of unease in the viewer. Another difference between this picture and the others is in the treatment of the dimension of depth. The interior of the cottage in Preparing Spring Flowers for Market appears to be shallow owing to the amount of light falling on the walls behind the two girls. In the other three a better impression of depth is given because of the lower lighting levels on the areas behind the figures. These factors lead one to suppose that Cherrill was responsible for the conception, arrangement and lighting of Preparing Spring Flowers for Market. If that is so the indications are that Cherrill was very skilled in the techniques of photography but that he lacked Robinson's sensitivity and skill as an artist.’ Margaret F. Harker, Henry Peach Robinson: Master of Photographic Art, 1830-1901, (Oxford: Blackwell), 1988, p. 58.