The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co.



An Age of Confidence

Bedford Lemere & Co were taking photographs at a time of extraordinary change and unparalleled optimism. Bedford Lemere were the pre-eminent English firm of architectural photographers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Over the years Bedford Lemere & Co. photographed country houses, hospitals, factories, banks, shops, cruise liners, railway stations and during the First World War, armaments manufacture. Their clients were many of the leading architects and contractors of the day, and the principal architectural journals and clients also included stores, banks, industrialists, estate agents, hoteliers and any others who wanted their property to be shown in the most flattering light. It was the nature of the firm’s commissions that caused their photographs to accord so completely with the spirit of the age.

Bedford Lemere & Co’s photography work centred on London, but it received commissions throughout the British Isles and occasionally from abroad. The firm's work was technically outstanding and executed with a distinctive sympathy for its subject matter.

  1. A hugely important collection of photographs and images of the built environment in England from 1870 until the 2nd World War
  2. Explores the collection’s social significance and the evolving role of commercial photography
  3. Contains beautifully produced photographs of exceptionally high quality
The years between 1890 and 1930 – the period covered by most of the Bedford Lemere photography in this book called The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co. saw the invention, the introduction or the acceptance of innovations that the 20th century would take for granted. In technology these included motor cars, the telephone, deep level tube railways, the aeroplane, electric light and wireless; in entertainment, this period saw the cinema, the building of many of London’s leading theatres and the multiplication of restaurants and grand hotels. In public life, local government reforms and new civic responsibilities led to the building of new town halls, schools and libraries. Professional bodies and private clubs thrived. Expanding business, new official duties, new technologies and thriving institutions all called for new buildings, while building itself was revolutionised by the introduction of steel frames and reinforced concrete.

The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co Book shows perfect illustrations of the buildings of a confident age.

Bedford Lemere Photography Book


Today the Bedford Lemere collection, held by the National Monuments Record, is an important source of photographs and images of English architecture and life from 1870 until the Second World War. This book, The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co features over 250 striking photographs from the collection. Printed from the original negatives they include stunning images of the rebuilding of London around 1900, and of early cinemas, power stations, car showrooms, department stores and factories of many kinds. Especially evocative are the Bedford Lemere's photographs of those – mostly women, old men and children – involved in war work between 1914 and 1918.

This book, The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co will appeal to anyone with an interest in photography, architecture and social history and is complemented with an informative introduction and captions by the books author, Nicholas Cooper. Nicholas Cooper is a member of the Architectural Panel of the National Trust and has written extensively about houses of the 16th/17th and the 19th/20th centuries.

Contents of The Photography of Bedford Lemere & Co. Book

An Age of Confidence

Introduction
  1. London rebuilt
  2. Public buildings and private institutions
  3. Commerce and industry
  4. Transport and technology
  5. Houses
  6. Leisure and entertainment
  7. The War

Exclusive to English Heritage. A selection of Bedford Lemere, high quality mounted prints starting from £20.00

1. Mounted Print: Car Lift Mitchell Motor Works

2. Mounted Print: Admiralty Arch 1923

3. Mounted Print: K2 Telephone box in 1926