Beirut, Lebanon, 6 May 1862 Albumen print, 200 x 260 mm
Bedford did not take many photographs of the local inhabitants he encountered on the royal tour. This rare group portrait shows the men who served the prince and his companions at the encampment in Beirut. The men were appointed by the local governor to assist the prince and escort him when travelling across specific areas of the region. The camp attendants are curiously posed in front of what looks like a modern building. The figures set at three-quarter profile at each side of the composition emphasise how Bedford constructed the scene with precise symmetry.
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Below is a video provided by the Royal Collection Trust which explains the wet collodion photographic process used by Francis Bedford while touring with the prince. As a process it had only been invented in the 1850s, just over 10 years before it was used by Bedford during the Royal Tour with such skill
