Overview
With a blend of meticulous research and engaging storytelling Peter Lofts unveils a pictorial treasure trove once shut away in a Victorian portrait studio in the heart of Cambridge. An accomplished photographer himself, the author relates a story of the varied fortunes of the twelve photographers who worked there from 1867 culminating with his own tenure in the 1980's.
With skilful use of digital imaging, he has regenerated many of the glass plate negatives and created a fascinating glimpse of this famous city in a bygone era.
He highlights the partnership between two strong-minded, left-wing ladies who took over the studio in the 1930's: Lettice Ramsey, who had studied at Newnham College and Helen Muspratt. Among those they photographed were university friends and luminaries: Scientists, J. D. Bernal and C. P. Snow; political activists, John Cornford and Guy Burgess as well as the economist John Maynard Keynes; the author Virginia Woolf and other notable members of the Bloomsbury Group.
These were turbulent times. Political beliefs were polarized; recruits from Britain would lose their lives in the Spanish Civil War and at home, a handful of graduates would become traitors.
Peter Lofts enlivens this historic record with many delightful recollections of the joy of living and working in this multi-faceted city.
This item is Non-Returnable
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781836154907
- ISBN-10: 1836154909
- Publisher: Grosvenor House Publishing Limited
- Publish Date: October 2026
- Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.63 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.86 pounds
- Page Count: 176
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