Robert Howlett

(b 1830; d Kensington, London, 2 Dec 1858). English photographer. Considered one of the most skilful photographers of his day, Howlett is best known for his portraits of Isambard Kingdom Brunel standing in front of the anchor chains of the 'Leviathan' (the Great Eastern). In 1857 Howlett and the publisher Joseph Cundall (1818-95) were commissioned by the Illustrated London Times to photograph the building and launching of Brunel's ship, the Leviathan. The photographs were then used to make engravings to illustrate the number devoted to the Leviathan, which was published on 16 January 1858. Many prints from Howlett's photographs were published posthumously by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company.

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Howlett, Robert (1831-58), British photographer, celebrated for his 1857 portrait of Isambard Kingdom Brunel against the checking drum of the The Great Eastern, and for his photographs of the ship's construction. He also invented a portable photographic tent and published a manual, On the Various Methods of Printing Photographic Pictures upon Paper. Howlett made photographic studies for the painter William Powell Frith, who used them for Derby Day (1858), and went into partnership with Joseph Cundall c.1855 to form Cundall, Howlett & Co., later Cundall, Howlett & Downes, producing cartes de visite, views, and publications.

— Kelley E. Wilder