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CHARLES JONES (British, 1866-1959) RUNNER BEAN inscribed and initialed “Bean Runner/C.J.” in penc...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
CHARLES JONES (British, 1866-1959) RUNNER BEAN inscribed and initialed “Bean Runner/C.J.” in penc...
CHARLES JONES
(British, 1866-1959)
RUNNER BEAN
inscribed and initialed
“Bean Runner/C.J.”
in pencil on verso
gelatin silver print
57?8 x 41?4 in. (14.9 x 10.8 cm)
circa 1902
ESTIMATE: $4,000-6,000
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, LONDON
While the photography of fruits, vegetables and plants in a studio is a common practice of contemporary commercial photographers, its occurrence in the early twentieth century was far more remarkable. Yet this is exactly what photographer Charles Jones did. Trained and employed as a gardener, it is believed that Jones took many of these photos while he was working in other people’s gardens. Commingling his love of photography with gardening, Jones used the glass plate negatives as protective cloches in his garden. Part of the wonderment of Jones’ work is the fact that it was essentially lost until 1981, when the collector Sean Sexton stumbled upon the entire body of work at an antique market. Each photograph is scrupulously labeled on the verso with the full name of the subject and the photographer’s initials: C.J.