LONDON would be nothing, nothing I tells ya, without the Thames. It’s the lifeblood, the main artery and often, to be fair, the urinary tract of the city and has consequently been celebrated in art for centuries.


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A bit more than a century ago, 135 years to be exact, photographer Henry Taunt lugged his big old Victorian-era camera along the river and took pictures that have resounded throughout London and photographic history ever since.

To commemorate the 135 year anniversary of Taunt’s first efforts, including the one of Putney Bridge shown, modern day photographers Graham Diprose and Jeff Robins have unpacked their new-fangled digital equipment and taken shots at many of the same stations on the river used by Taunt.

The result is a fascinating exhibition, where Victorian and 21st century pictures are shown alongside each other, each pair revealing something of how the Thames has soaked up the intervening history.

“One cannot overestimate the impact Henry Taunt had on raising the profile of the Thames and the historical photographic legacy he has left us,” said Diprose. “His pictures are not only hugely technically advanced for his time but also demonstrate a prodigious talent and awareness of the medium.”

In the Footsteps of Henry Taunt is on show at the River and Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames, from Saturday, 6 October until 20 January.

More info here