This Thursday (12th March) marks the birthday of Percy R. Salmon FRPS (1872-1959) whose career as 3D photographer, journalist and author continues to be explored by this blog.

Salmon was well into his 50s with a long list of achievements to both his name and that of his pseudonym ‘Richard Penlake’ when his most successful period as an author began.

All About Photography (London: Ward Lock & Co, 1925) ran to multiple editions that appeared at regular intervals for a quarter of a century.

Buoyed by its initial reception, his London publishers followed it up in 1928 with Photography: Picture Making Simplified that was similarly successful.

The copy held by the British Library has been stored in a protective binding and so this camera shot of the front cover (reproduced below) is slightly compromised

However, this careful preservation means that the vibrancy of the cover artwork is as fresh today as it was when painted.

The credit ‘Woolley’ in the bottom right-hand corner points to the illustration being the work of Harry Woolley (1881-1959).

Born in Manchester, he turned his back on a career as an insurance clerk and became a lithographic designer for a printing company in Bristol.

Then from the early 1920s, he worked as a commercial artist in London for leading book publishers including Ward Lock & Co as well as creating card sets for cigarette manufacturers.

The cover art he produced for Percy R. Salmon’s Photography: Picture-Making Simplified captures a key moment in the history of the medium when taking family shots had become a popular pastime.

Salmon’s accumulated knowledge as both practitioner and writer about photography meant he was the perfect choice to share that expertise with a mass market audience.

Many Happy Returns, Mr. Salmon!

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