Peter Le Neve Foster and Cleopatra' needle

Abstract

Abstract One of the key figures in the early organization of photography in Great Britain, one who has received but little notice, was Peter Le Neve Foster1. He was born at Lenwade in Norfolk in 1809 to a very ancient but rather obscure though distinguished East Anglian family. He attended nearby Norwich Grammar School and then went to Cambridge. He was first at St. John#x0027;s College, then at Trinity Hall where he became 38th wrangler in 1830 and a Fellow of the College in 1835. Forsaking mathematics for law, he was called to the bar in 1836. Another Norwich notable was Dr Rigby; Peter was on friendly terms with Dr Rigby's daughter, Ellzabeth, who also came to occupy a place in the history of photography. Some time after, she was several times photographed by Hi11 and Adamson; she married Sir Charles Eastlake, who enters this account at a later stage. Peter Le Neve Foster married Georgina Chevallier in 1837 and in the same year was elected to the Society of Arts. He practised as a barrister but still f...