Butler on the Map

Clacton Beach. 19 July 1891.

Samuel Butler was a prolific photographer, who travelled extensively in Europe in the 1880s and 1890s, as well as in southern England, where he lived. His 'snap-shots' (as he referred to them) of the places he visited and the people he met are charming, humorous, poignant, and very accomplished for an amateur. He also drew and painted scenes from his travels, and many of his artworks capture the strong affection he felt for the places he loved to visit. The Library holds five albums of Butler's photographic prints and about 1600 of his original glass plate negatives.

During the Samuel Butler Project a broad selection of images from the Butler Collection were uploaded to Historypin, where you can browse them by theme or by location on a real world map. To access the Historypin map and gallery click here.