The deluxe edition includes 40 delicate platinum prints mounted on India paper with protective tissue guards, bound in original brown roan-backed pictorial vellum gilt featuring a design by Goodall. Emerson’s personal fingerprints can be seen on one print, indicating the intimate craftsmanship that went into the creation of the volume. The book’s rarity is heightened by Emerson’s destruction of the original plates after publication, making intact deluxe copies nearly impossible to find.
"We were cleaning out my 98-year-old mother’s home and discovered the book buried in the back of her closet," said the anonymous seller. "She and my dad were avid 'yard salers' always looking for little treasures. They also collected first editions of popular books so we can only surmise that this was another one of their “treasured finds”."
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when this came through as a routine email valuation," said Jack Wallis, Head of Sale and Specialist, Fine & Decorative at Roseberys. "It is an incredibly rare and valuable thing to find. Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads is a seminal work that established photography as a serious artistic medium. Peter Henry Emerson’s influence is still felt today, from Alfred Stieglitz to contemporary photography.”
