710
stiffl y in an armchair, his head fi xed in a rest and his
hands clenched so as not to move. Elaborate studio
props fi ll out the scene: patterned carpet; upholstered
footstool with top hat; painted backdrop with a trompe
l’oeil birdcage, trellis, fl owering plant, and bench;
heavy cloth drape; and sculpted bust. Typical products
of the Beard portrait studio would have employed these
objects in highly conventional ways. Hogg, by contrast,
showed greater compositional dexterity in this and other
examples of his work.
Although Hogg seemingly practiced photography
with experimental and didactic motivations, he main-
tained a keen awareness of contemporary debates
relating to commerce, taking a public stand against the
two most bitterly resented patent holders of the period,
Beard and William Henry Fox Talbot. In 1845 Hogg
anonymously published a pamphlet entitled Photog-
raphy Made Easy, its agenda to rally support for John
Egerton, the defendant in a case brought by Beard that
was resolved in the latter’s favor in 1849—after 5½ years
in the courts. In 1853 Hogg took issue with Talbot’s pat-
ent on all photo-engraving processes, which prevented
him from illustrating his book The Microscope with
photographs transferred onto wood blocks.
Hogg’s involvement with photography comple-
mented several other areas of achievement. During a
forty-fi ve-year medical career, he served for twenty-fi ve
years as a surgeon to the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic
Hospital and published books on color blindness (1863),
cataracts (1871–82), ophthalmic surgery (1863), and the
impairment of vision due to spinal injury (1876). Other
medical topics of interest to him were dentistry, skin
disease, and arsenic poisoning.The Microscope remains
the best known among Hogg’s many books; fi rst pub-
lished in 1854, it was in its fi fteenth edition by the time
of his death. His work in microscopy led him to posit the
connection between diseases and contaminated water,
and Hogg was among the fi rst to call for the purifi ca-
tion of London’s water supply. Committed to presenting
scientifi c ideas to a popular readership, he produced
a series of “illustrated educational books” under the
auspices of the Illustrated London News (1850–66),
and he edited the periodical’s annual Almanack for an
astonishing 51 years.
In 1894, perhaps reviewing the artifacts of a long
and intensely productive life, Hogg gave a collection
of 20 daguerreotypes to the Royal College of Surgeons.
These images, together with the text of his Manual and
other writings on photography, demonstrate that Hogg
possessed aesthetic sensibilities in addition to scientifi c
acumen. He was certainly moved and inspired by the
possibilities offered by the new technology: “When we
consider that Photography enables us to preserve from
the decay of time and the fi ckle tenure of mortality, the
true type of the features of those we love, our admiration
and gratitude can scarcely be excessive.” Hogg died in
London in 1899.
Britt SalvesenBiography
Jabez Hogg was born in Chatham on 4 April 1817.
Trained as a physician under Dr. Hugh Welch Diamond,
he was an early practitioner of the daguerreotype,
ambrotype, and calotype processes. His Manual of
Practical Photography was fi rst published in 1843.
Hogg served on the staff of the Illustrated London
News from 1843 to 1895, and also practiced medicine
(specializing in ophthalmic surgery) for 45 years. He
is best known as a pioneering microscopist. He died in
London in 1899.See also: Daguerreotype, History: 1, Patents;
Diamond; Hugh Welch; Illustrated London News;
Beard, Richard; Daguerre, Jacques-Louis-Mandé;
Wolcott, Alexander Simon, and John Johnson; and
Talbot, William Henry Fox.Further Reading
Bennett, Stuart, “Jabez Hogg Daguerreotype,” History of Pho-
tography 1/4 (October 1977), 318.
Hogg, Jabez, Elements of Experimental and Natural Philosophy,
London: Ingram, Cooke and Co., 1854.
Hogg, Jabez, The Microscope, 2nd ed., London: Herbert Ingram
and Co., 1854.
Hogg, Jabez, A Practical Manual of Photography, 4th ed., Lon-
don: M. Clark, 1853.
Jabez Hogg and Mr. Johnson, Photographic Collector 4/1 (Spring
1983), 8–9.HOLLYER, FREDERICK (1837–1933)
British engraver, photographer of fi ne art, and
portraitistFrederick Hollyer was born in London in 1837, the
youngest of four boys. His father, Samuel Hollyer
(1797–1883), was a line engraver, fi ne art publisher and
collector of watercolours. Frederick began his career as
a mezzotint-engraver, reproducing two works by Edwin
Henry Landseer, the Shepherd’s Grave and The Old
Shepherd’s Chief Mourner, published in 1869 (V&A).
Around 1860 he took up photography and became a
member of the Photographic Society of London in- The same year he photographed sketches by the
artist Simeon Solomon who introduced him to the Pre-
Raphaelite artists and their followers. In 1870 Hollyer
opened a studio at 9, Pembroke Square, Kensington,
London. In the early 1870s he was employed by the
eminent artist Frederic Leighton to photograph his
paintings and drawings.