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1519

YEARBOOK OF PHOTOGRAPHY
The Yearbook of Photography was published by the
weekly periodical Photographic News and was usually
edited by that publication’s editor. It was for many years
the alternative to the British Journal of Photography’s
Photographic Almanac (1859–1963) but never quite
grew in the same way or gained the same following.
By 1894 the Almanac numbered 1336 pages against
the Yearbook’s 612 pages. It remains important as
there were advertisers who only took space with one
publication and the editorial content provides a useful
alternative to the Almanac.
The Yearbook fi rst appeared as the Photographic
News Almanac, known as Almanack in 1859, or the
Year Book of Photography in 1859 a title that it kept
until 1863. The 1859 Almanack was published on 10
December 1858 at a cost of 6d and described in the
Photographic News of 17 December 1858 (177). The
intention is to ‘disseminate useful and important infor-
mation, alike to the practised operator and amateur...
It will be found to be of the greatest assistance not
only to the private amateur, but also to the professional
photographer; to the former, on account of the numer-
ous hints it contains, which if attended to, will ensure
success under the most unfavourable circumstances;
and to the latter, for the information on subjects which
are so liable to escape memory.’
It became the Yearbook of Photography and Pho-
tographic News Almanac in 1864 and last appeared
with the 1907/08 edition after which it’s parent, the
Photographic News, was absorbed by Amateur Pho-
tographer.
The original Almanack absorbed William Lay’s Pho-
tographic Almanac and Ready Reckoner for the Year
of Our Lord 1859 which appeared for one year only. It
was incorporated into the second volume of the Photo-
graphic News Almanac for 1860. Lay’s Almanac and the

fi rst issue of the Photographic News Almanac lay claim

as the world’s earliest photographic almanacs.

The fi rst editor was G. Wharton Simpson (1825–

1880) who remained in that position until the 1880

edition; H. Baden Pritchard (1841–1884) edited the

years 1881–1884; Thomas Bolas (1848–1932) ed-

ited 1885–1889; T. C. Hepworth (died 1905) edited

1892–1893; E. J. Wall (died 1928) edited 1897-1898;

Percy R. Salmon (died 1959) edited 1901–1905 and F. J.

Mortimer (1874–1944) edited 1906–1908. The missing

years were not credited.

The content of the Yearbook was remarkably constant

over its history from the 1859 Photographic Almanac.

The editorial pages usually began with a calendar for

the year and astronomical information, followed by a list

of the principal photographic societies and their offi cers

for Great Britain. A review of advances within photog-

raphy for the previous year provided a useful survey of

new processes, apparatus and survey of the profession

as well as the principal deaths for the year. This was

followed by an extensive list of photographic processes

and formulae. A number of essays by noted amateur

and professional photographers on practical aspects of

photography completed the book. In, for example, the

1866 volume the essays included J. H. Dallmeyer on

lenses, Jabez Hughes on constructing a photographic

darkroom, Rejlander refl ecting on photography and

art, Thomas Richard Williams on portraiture and Henry

Peach Robinson on managing sitters amongst others. All

volumes contained substantial advertisement sections. In

later volumes the amount of formulaic information was

reduced to make way for surveys of new equipment and

a trade directory. The essays during the 1880s and 1890s

began to become more technical in nature refl ecting the

editors’ own interests and the general editorial slant of

the Photographic News.

Michael Pritchard