Henry Taunt

Henry Taunt
Henry Taunt wearing a medal of the Ancient Order of Foresters
Born	(1842-05-14)14 May 1842 St Ebbe's Church, Oxford
Died	(1922-11-04)4 November 1922
Nationality	British
Known for	Photography
Awards	Ancient Order of Foresters

Henry William Taunt (1842–1922) was a professional photographer based in Oxford, England. His studio was in Broad Street, Oxford.

Henry Taunt was born in Penson's Gardens in St Ebbe's, Oxford. He was the son of a plumber and glazier, also Henry, and his wife Martha, who came from West Ilsley in Berkshire. At the age of 14, Taunt joined Edward Bracher as a member of staff in 1856 at his photographic premises based at 26 High Street, Oxford. In 1868, he set up his own photographic business in Oxford. Moving from his Broad Street studio, Taunt traded from 1894-95 at 41 High Street, Oxford and later moved to 34 High Street; remaining here from 1895-1906. After this time he moved all his work to his home on Cowley Road.

Henry Taunt's black-and-white photographs are mainly views of Oxford, Oxfordshire (together with surrounding counties) and the River Thames. He produced the first pocket guide to the River Thames to be illustrated with photographs. In the 1860s, it covered the upper Thames, but it expanded its range over several editions. The wet collodion process, invented by Frederick Scott Archer, was the best means to capture negative images on glass until the end of the 1870s, by which time many of Taunt’s pictures for his ‘Illustrated Map of the Thames’ had been taken. He would row his skiff to a location, set up his dark tent, set up his camera and tripod, sensitise and coat the glass plate, immediately make the two- or three-second exposures, develop and fix the images, wash them in river water, perhaps dry them in the sun and row back to his lodgings or set up camp with his assistants. At the beginning of the 1860s this was an incredible feat of skill. Henry Taunt was at the cutting edge of Victorian location photographic technology.

In 1893, Henry Taunt was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. This was a considerable honour in recognition of the remarkable feat of cartography and accuracy of measurements that featured in the ‘New Map of the Thames’.

Books such as Three Men in a Boat or Wind in the Willows might never have been written, or certainly would not have achieved such popularity, were it not for his albums, postcards, lectures and detailed and enthusiastic descriptions of the River Thames from its Cotswold source to London.

Taunt's photographs are reproduced in many books (e.g., see below) and form a useful historical record of social history and architecture. Major collections of his work are held by English Heritage: 14,000 images, Oxfordshire County Council: Oxfordshire Studies and the River and Rowing Museum at Henley.

Further reading

• Malcolm Graham, Henry Taunt of Oxford: A Victorian Photographer. Oxford Illustrated Press, 1973. ISBN 0-902280-14-7.
• Bryan Brown (editor), England of Henry Taunt: A Victorian Photographer. Routledge, 1973 (hardback), 1980 (paperback). ISBN 0-7100-7542-1 / ISBN 0-7100-0557-1.
• Susan Read (editor), Thames of Henry Taunt. Sutton Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0-86299-616-3.
• Malcolm Graham and Laurence Waters, Oxford Then and Now: From the Henry Taunt Collection, Sutton Publishing, In Old Photographs series, 2006. ISBN 0-7509-4224-X.
• Graham Diprose and Jeff Robins, The River Thames Revisited: In the Footsteps of Henry Taunt, Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7112-2765-1.

External links

• Information from English Heritage Several different collections of Taunt photographs can be found by looking at the Photo Essays on the English Heritage ViewFinder website
• Henry Taunt Collection Photographs by Taunt of St Mary's Church, Cricklade
• In the Footsteps of Henry Taunt Photographs & maps from Taunt's 'Illustrated Map of the Thames'
• Oxfordshire County Council: Heritage Search
• River and Rowing Museum