King Edward VII; Queen Alexandra

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© National Portrait Gallery, London

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King Edward VII; Queen Alexandra

by London & County Photographic Co
woodburytype cabinet card, May 1887
6 1/2 in. x 4 1/4 in. (165 mm x 108 mm) overall
Given by Terence Pepper, 2014
Photographs Collection
NPG x197437

Sittersback to top

  • Queen Alexandra (1844-1925), Queen of Edward VII. Sitter associated with 478 portraits, Artist or producer associated with 10 portraits.
  • King Edward VII (1841-1910), Reigned 1901-10. Sitter associated with 505 portraits.

Artistback to top

This portraitback to top

This cabinet card is a souvenir from the 1887 Royal Jubilee Exhibition held in Old Trafford, Manchester to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne. The exhibition remained open for 166 days, receiving 4.5 million visitors, and included architectural models of 'Old Manchester and Salford', works of fine art, crafts and antiquities, alongside industrial products. It was opened by the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), on 3 May 1887. This photograph appears to have been taken on that occasion and exemplifies the technical advancements photographers made in the years after photography's invention in taking photographic portraiture outside of the studio.

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Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1887back to top

Current affairs

Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years of her reign.
In what becomes known as 'Bloody Sunday', or the Trafalgar Square Riot, the police attack a meeting of the Social Democratic Federation, led by among others) Elizabeth Reynolds, John Burns, Annie Besant and Robert Cunninghame-Graham, killing three and injuring more than 200 crowd members.

Art and science

A Study in Scarlet, the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr Watson, is published. One of only four novels (there were a further 56 short stories) featuring Holmes, the mystery turns around the discovery of a corpse in Brixton.
The essayist and critic Walter Pater publishes Imaginary Portraits in which he consolidates his doctrine of Aestheticism, 'art for art's sake'.

International

Britain ratifies the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, thus accepting the terms of the International Copyright Act (1886), which abolishes the requirement to register foreign works and introduces an exclusive right to import or produce translations.
The British annex Zululand; it becomes part of Natal in 1897.

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