Work by famous photographer goes unsold

Stark images of first world war destruction in France fared better than stunning Canadian scenery when the work of a famous Norfolk photographer went under the hammer yesterday.

Stark images of first world war destruction in France fared better than stunning Canadian scenery when the work of a famous Norfolk photographer went under the hammer yesterday.

Forty two lots from the collection of Sheringham based Edwardian society photographer Olive Edis were expected to reach �15,000 to �20,000 at the Dominic Winter saleroom in Gloucestershire.

They only realised �9960 as 19 lots were unsold, with senior valuer Chris Albury saying some of glass slides were of limited specialist interest, while the arts market at sales was being hit by the recession.

However three pictures of the shelled and shattered battlefields in France, taken as part of a war museum project, all sold for between �620 and �740 - around the guide price.

And while a shot of a native American made �940, well over the �700 guide, many of the pictures taken for the Canadian Pacific Railway failed to sell.

A picture of Olive Edis herself - whose portrait studies ranged from royalty to north Norfolk fishermen - crouching by a garden water trough made �700 after stiff competition.