WHITE, JOHN CLAUDE AND HENRY HYSLOP.
BHUTAN, 1907-1908. The Coronation of Ugyen Wangchuk. Personal photograph album of Henry Hyslop, son-in-law of John Claude White containing 93 gelatin silver prints by Henry Hyslop and 16 full-page by John Claude White the official photographer of the Coronation of Ugyen Wangchuk, taken 1907-1908, prints mounted on 24 cards (240 x 290 mm) recto and verso. A printed text by Hyslop appears to have been cut from a copy of his official report to the British government mounted throughout in chronological order, some images captioned in ink. Modern half morocco and cloth, spine gilt lettered, edges gilt. Occasionally some minor marginal chipping.

Exhibited: A British Life in a Mountain Kingdom: Early Photographs of Sikkim and Bhutan, The Rubin Museum, New York, August 6, 2010 – January 10, 2011.

THE PERSONAL PHOTO ALBUM OF HENRY HYSLOP DOCUMENTING JOHN CLAUDE WHITE'S EXPEDITION AND THE CORONATION OF UGYEN WANGCHUK. John Claude White was the official photographer of the coronation ceremony in Bhutan in 1907 as well as the official representative of the Raj. He developed a deep respect for King Ugyen Wangchuck, and wrote: 'I have never met a native I liked and respected more than I do Sir Ugyen. He was upright, honest, open and straightforward.' The smaller format images (approx. 80 x 80 mm), taken by Hyslop with a handheld camera, are of great historical interest. White's party was the first to be granted permission to travel freely throughout the kingdom. All of the Hyslop images and most of the John Claude images are glossy. A letter from the king of Bhutan, with his red seal, folded is tipped in.
The Meyer collection of John Claude White Photographs formed the first dedicated exhibit of his work at the Rubin Museum in 2010, as well as the basis for their 2005 book, In the Shadows of the Himalayas, Tibet, Bhuttan, Nepal, Sikkim, A photographic Record of John Claude White. According to American Book Prices Current no other album by Hyslop and White sold at auction in the past 45 years. See Hannavy, Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, vol 2, p 1496; Meyer, Kurt and Pamela Deuel Meyer, In the Shadows of the Himalayas, Tibet, Bhuttan, Nepal, Sikkim, A photographic Record of John Claude White, 2005; White, Sikkim and Bhutan, Twenty-One Years on the North-East Frontier 1887–1908.