Bourne, Samuel, 1834-1912

Samuel Bourne (1834-1912) was born in Shropshire, England, and began taking photographs around 1855. He joined the photography firm Howard & Shepherd around 1864, which eventually became Bourne & Shepherd and had offices in Calcutta, Simla, and Bombay. Bourne sailed for India in 1863, the first of three lengthy trips he took between 1863 and 1869. During these trips he photographed in all regions in India, Nepal, the Tibet Region, and Burma. One of his trips was devoted to finding and photographing the source of the Ganges in the Himalayas. In 1870 Bourne returned permanently to England, and Charles Shepherd also left India in 1878. Following Bourne's departure from the firm, Colin Murray was hired as chief photographer and then became manager of the firm. Reportedly, it is likely that some of the unsigned Indian images and most of the Burmese images included in this collection are his work. Back in England, Bourne became a businessman and magistrate. He died in 1912. Colin Murray died in Calcutta in 1884. The firm Bourne & Shepherd is still in business as of 2012, one of the oldest photography firms in continuous operation. The over 2,000 glass plate negatives Bourne left with Bourne & Shepherd were destroyed in a fire in 1991.

From the guide to the Samuel Bourne photographs, circa 1863-1875, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)

B. in Great Britain in 1834; d. in April 24, 1912.

From the description of Samuel Bourne : Artist File. (International Center of Photography). WorldCat record id: 680692806