H J S Cotton as King Cophetua', 1867

Photograph entitled 'H J S Cotton as King Cophetua' taken by Julia Margaret Cameron in 1867. Albumen contact print from wet collodion negative. This photographic study of Henry John Stedman Cotton (1845-1917) forms part of the Herschel Album, created by Cameron for her friend Sir John Herschel (1792-1871). Stedman was a member of the Indian Civil Service, becoming chief commissioner of Assam in 1896. After retiring in 1902 he was knighted and became MP for Nottingham East. King Cophetua was a character from Alfred Tennyson's 1842 poem, 'The Beggar Maid'.