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In the 1860s the first
On arrival at the Ordnance Survey offices in Southampton, Burtt expressed his satisfaction with the buildings' "fireproof principles, and…military guard", and was given use of the best room in the building in which Domesday was placed in a fireproof safe, and the key entrusted to Burtt. Burtt’s description of the preparations extends to the actual photozincographic process, including James’s insistence that all plates should be developed and printed before the folios were returned. Nevertheless, the photozincography of Cornwall was completed in 11 days and Burtt returned to
In the 1860s the first facsimile
A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...
of Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
was created by the process of photozincography
Photozincography, sometimes referred to as heliozincography but essentially the same process, known commercially as zinco, is the photographic process developed by Sir Henry James FRS (1803–1877) in the mid-nineteenth century.
This method ...
(later termed ''zinco''), and was executed under the directorship of Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
at the Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
offices of the Ordnance Survey
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.
Initial stages
Having developed the photozincographic process, in a meeting arranged between James andWilliam Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, then Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
, Sir Henry expressed his ability to produce photozincographic copies of ancient documents at "a very trifling cost". James outlined for his superiors the cost of a complete reproduction of Domesday Book (an estimate of £1575 for 500 copies or £3.3s per copy) using his process. In addition to this James further outlined the cost of a single county to demonstrate the affordability of the process, using Cornwall as an example of one of the shorter entries in the volumes (eleven folio pages) and estimated the cost of 500 copies to be £11. 2s. 4d. In doing so he selected the first extract of Domesday Book that he would photozincograph.
On 24 January 1861, Sir Henry was granted permission to photozincograph the Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
fragment of Domesday as a Treasury funded experiment to determine the success of the process. Joseph Burtt, one of the Assistant Keepers of the Records was directed to assist the Record Office binder, Hood, to unbind the relevant pages from Domesday and on Monday 4 February 1861 Burtt transported Domesday to Southampton by train.
Domesday Book in Southampton
On arrival at the Ordnance Survey offices in Southampton, Burtt expressed his satisfaction with the buildings' "fireproof principles, and…military guard", and was given use of the best room in the building in which Domesday was placed in a fireproof safe, and the key entrusted to Burtt. Burtt’s description of the preparations extends to the actual photozincographic process, including James’s insistence that all plates should be developed and printed before the folios were returned. Nevertheless, the photozincography of Cornwall was completed in 11 days and Burtt returned to London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The process was carried out in the Ordnance Survey photography building nicknamed the glasshouse.
Permissions and difficulties
Having completed Cornwall, James requested permission to photozincograph the rest of Domesday. Despite his claim that the public sale of the bound and engraved copies could cover the entire cost of the photozincography of the counties, the Lords of the Treasury wished to consult theMaster of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...
regarding the comparison of James’s photozincographic reproductions with a rival process employed by Rev. Lambert Larking of Kent. Larking (a local antiquarian) had employed an artist to assist the reproduction of the county of Kent using the lithographic process – a much more expensive means of reproduction than photozincography. However, in order to secure this permission over Larking's process James had to provide the Treasury with evidence of public interest and a guarantee of low-cost production. Thomas Letts
Thomas Letts (1803 – 1873) was an English stationer and printer who popularised the diary. He was born at Stockwell, London, the son of John Letts, a bookbinder and printer of the Royal Exchange. In 1816, his father published ‘Letts's dia ...
of Letts Son & Co. Limited, London distributed a circular nationally bearing a foreword from James encouraging subscription, and by late October more than fifty subscribers to each county had been amassed. On 28 November 1861 Burtt returned to Southampton once more with Domesday for the aforementioned counties’ photozincographing, and by December James had secured permission from the Treasury to copy the remainder of Great Domesday – but he was explicitly forbidden from reproducing Kent, in defence of Larking’s lithograph. By 1864 the facsimile of the entirety of Great Domesday had been completed, and had been published in 32 county volumes including Kent following Larking's death, who granted James permission to complete the reproduction of the county due to his infirmity in the final stages of his life.T. Owen & E. Pilbeam, ''Ordnance Survey: Map Makers to Britain since 1791'' (Southampton: Ordnance Survey; London: H.M.S.O., 1992), p. 59
The volumes were published in two colours (red and black), replicating the colours used in the original manuscript.
Today
See also
*Publication of Domesday Book
The text of Domesday Book, the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086 executed for William I of England, was first edited by Abraham Farley in the 1770s. The first facsimile edition of the manuscripts was made in a project led by ...
References
{{reflist Photographic processes dating from the 19th century History of printing Domesday Book 1860s works