Archibald Burns

Amateur Photographer

Archibald Burns appears to have been an amateur photographer in the 1850s and early 1860s before becoming a professional  photographer.  

He became a PSS Member in 1857 and an EPS Member four years later.

PSS Exhibitions

3rd PSS Exhibition, Dec 1858

In December 1858, from his address at 4 Calton Hill, he sent 10 stereograms from negatives by Fothergill’s Process to the 3rd PSS Exhibition

4th PSS Exhibition, Dec 1859

He exhibited two frames, each with 10 stereoscopic views from negatives by Fothergill's Dry Process in the 4th PSS Exhibition in 1859.

Edinburgh Photographic Society

EPS Exhibition   -  1861

Archibald Burns went on to become one of the original members of EPS in 1861.  He exhibited in the first EPS Exhibition in 1861, and gave lectures to EPS including:

-  1861:  "The Fothergill Process"

-  1868:  "The Coffee Process"

EPS Meeting   -  1868

At the EPS Meeting on 23 September 1868, Archibald Burns and Alexander Nicol exhibited several negatives showing results obtained by the coffee process, which were "much admired for their beauty and exceeding softness".

Those from Archibald Burns had been produced using a six inch focus lens and exposures varying from twenty seconds to two minutes. 

He had used essence of coffee and an old rotten sample of collodion, similar to the quality he usually used in  the Fothergill process.  The colours of his negatives ranged through all tints from blue-black to coffee-brown.   [BJP 1868  p.477]

Photographs in Collections

The Edinburgh Room of Edinburgh  Central Library has a contract print album of 100 photographs, taken from an an original album (of 1866?).

Almost half of the photographs in this album are by Archibald Burns.  Others are by AA Inglis, J Patrick, WD Clark, JCH Balmain, GW Wilson, James Valentine, and unidentified photographers.

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