Morlock
11 years ago
Very nice images. IIRC there are a few images about of Cornish mines illuminated by Limelight about on the web.
Aditaddict
11 years ago
It's quite a small book , with only 39 pages
It was reprinted in 1965 and does show up on Amazon now and again , i have just found a copy of the reprint for £25
JohnnearCfon
11 years ago
He also did similar shots in Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Peter Burgess
11 years ago
"JohnnearCfon" wrote:

He also did similar shots in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

... and the South Gloucestershire coalfield.
exspelio
11 years ago
Using Mg flares for lighting, now that WOULD be fun in a Coal Mine 😮 😮
Always remember, nature is in charge, get it wrong and it is you who suffers!.
JonK
  • JonK
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11 years ago
"King Edward Mine" by Tony Brooks and John Watton gives a lot of background on early underground photography - particularly on Burrow.
Roy Morton
11 years ago
The link article mentioned that a copy of Burrow's 'Mongst Mines and miners' was likely to fetch £2,500 +.
Some years ago I attended a series of private lectures by Allen Buckley, and one of the elderly students turned up one evening with a copy of the said book. It was bound in white kid leather with the title in gold leaf on the front.
On opening it, all the prints (real photographs) were presented on their own page with accompanying text opposite. A fly leaf of fine tissue paper separated them from one another.
The book was in mint condition and was still in its original white presentation box. He was curious if it was worth anything; Between Allen and I there was religious silence....and a fair bit of drooling to boot.
Just to have handled it was like having shook hands with the man himself.
"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"
Graigfawr
11 years ago
"Roy Morton" wrote:

all the prints (real photographs)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodburytype  An astonishingly accurate process of printing with results almost indistinguishable from real photographs.

"Roy Morton" wrote:

bound in white kid leather with the title in gold leaf on the front



The only copy that I've been fortunate enough to handle was bound in publisher's (i.e. not library) red cloth with an elaborate title in gold leaf. Maybe you saw a deluxe version?

Truly wonderful photos by a very talented photographer.

For his place in the development of underground and flash photography, see the book by Chris Howes [editor of 'Descent' magazine] "To photograph darkness", Gloucester, 1989, 352pp.
exspelio
11 years ago
"Roy Morton" wrote:

The link article mentioned that a copy of Burrow's 'Mongst Mines and miners' was likely to fetch £2,500 +.
Some years ago I attended a series of private lectures by Allen Buckley, and one of the elderly students turned up one evening with a copy of the said book. It was bound in white kid leather with the title in gold leaf on the front.
On opening it, all the prints (real photographs) were presented on their own page with accompanying text opposite. A fly leaf of fine tissue paper separated them from one another.
The book was in mint condition and was still in its original white presentation box. He was curious if it was worth anything; Between Allen and I there was religious silence....and a fair bit of drooling to boot.
Just to have handled it was like having shook hands with the man himself.



Hope you did not drool on the tissue!!
Always remember, nature is in charge, get it wrong and it is you who suffers!.
Roy Morton
11 years ago
I investigated various alternative photographic processes for A level and Woodbury was certainly one of the extremes as far as replication is concerned, leaving aside mercury fumes of course.
I cannot begin to imagine what thought processes lead to the development of such a process.
As was previously mentioned, the finished 'print' held a remarkable amount of detail. I came across some Burrow postcards with surface scenes of Dolcoath. Close inspection using a loupe, quite clearly showed the cotton threaded through the buttons on the miners Duck Suits.
Thanks also go to the Zeiss lenses he used. :thumbsup:
Below are 2 examples of Burrow postcard sized prints.
One shows a group in the count house yard, (two directors and a miner) and the other shows the reverse side of one of his pictures.

🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-94762[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-94762[/linkphoto][/link]

🔗Personal-Album-342-Image-94763[linkphoto]Personal-Album-342-Image-94763[/linkphoto][/link]

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

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