George Shadbolt
Illustration — A photograph by George Shadbolt, entitled Country Lane, likely to have been taken in the area of Hornsey, North London. George Shadbolt (1817–1901) was a British writer, editor, student of optics and photographer with a strong interest in innovative techniques, who was active during the 1850s–1860s. Reported to have made the first microphotograph, he was also an early advocate of photographic enlargement, as well as compound and combination printing.
Also recorded as Shadbolt
George Shadbolt
https: Gallery: https: Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-29) · CC BY 4.0
- Born
- 1817
- Died
- 1901
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Occupation
- botanist · photographer
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Illustration — A photograph by George Shadbolt, entitled Country Lane, likely to have been taken in the area of Hornsey, North London. George Shadbolt (1817–1901) was a British writer, editor, student of optics and photographer with a strong interest in innovative techniques, who was active during the 1850s–1860s. Reported to have made the first microphotograph, he was also an early advocate of photographic enlargement, as well as compound and combination printing.
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wikidata · Q5544446 · wikipedia · George Shadbolt
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Identity
Identity
Shadbolt's dislike of the glare of albumen printing paper led him to forsake it for salted paper. His technical interests probably motivated his praise of Henry Peach Robinson, whose combination prints were highly controversial. For seven years Shadbolt was editor of the publication that later became the British Journal of Photography. One of his sons, Cecil V. Shadbolt, is remembered as a contributor to balloon photography. After 1864, Shadbolt's success as a mahogany dealer prompted him to retire from photography, although he maintained his professional affiliations. One of the founders of the Photographic Society of London (later the Royal Photographic Society), he also was active in the Amateur Photographic Association and the Photographic Exchange Club. Cecil predeceased him, and was buried, alongside members of his family, at West Norwood Cemetery. Shadbolt was later buried in an adjacent plot, grave 29,652, square 113. From about 1880 until the early 1890s George Shadbolt and his family lived at "Beechcroft' on Lubbock Road, Chislehurst, Kent.
George Shadbolt is recorded as botanist and photographer.
Green Meadows, 1854, by George Shadbolt
George Shadbolt · The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1817
George Shadbolt born.
1901
George Shadbolt died.
Primary material
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Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q5544446: George Shadbolt
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “George Shadbolt”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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Wikidata, structured authority record Q5544446: George ShadboltWikimedia Foundation
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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