Gezicht op een vallei in Borrowdale before 1870

This is an albumen print titled *Gezicht op een vallei in Borrowdale*, made by Garnett & Bowers. Consider for a moment, the cultural context of landscape photography in the 19th century, particularly within the British Romantic tradition. Landscape wasn’t just scenery; it was about national identity, about claiming territory. The very act of photographing Borrowdale, a jewel in the Lake District, was about possessing it visually, framing it within a specific cultural narrative. Garnett and Bowers, who they were, what class they belonged to, their relationship to the land, all shaped what and how they photographed. Did they see the working class communities who lived and labored in these landscapes? Or did they, perhaps, elide them from view? The aesthetic choices—the soft focus, the composition—all contribute to a particular vision of idealized nature. This photograph isn’t just a document; it’s a statement, a carefully constructed narrative about British identity and the romantic allure of its countryside.