Fenton abandoned photography in 1861, the year after he had made an astounding series of still life photographs in which he reached technical perfection. Many of these rich, bloomy, albumen prints are in mint condition still. printed from 20 x 16 inch glass negatives, the detail of each flower petal, each grain of pollen, has never been bettered.
For an analysis of this photograph: Juliet Hacking (ed.), 2012, Photography: The Whole Story, (Prestel), pp. 122-123
