Henry Bessemer (1813 to 1898), the English engineer whose converter process made the mass production of steel possible, appears in this bust length carte de visite by the London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company. The mount cites the firm’s 1873 Vienna Exhibition medal and titles the sitter “Esq.,” which places the card between 1873 and his knighthood in 1879. The albumen print is on a buff mount with a red line border and red printed caption.

Bessemer is turned three quarters to the left, his gaze directed past the camera. Curling white hair frames a bald crown, and full side whiskers run down to the jaw. He wears a dark coat, a white shirt front, and a broad dark stock wrapped high over a standing collar.

Bessemer patented his steelmaking process in 1856 and opened his own works in Sheffield two years later to prove it commercially. He was knighted and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1879.

Printed in red below the image: Henry Bessemer Esq., Stereoscopic Coy, Copyright. The reverse carries the firm’s red backmark with crown, Prince of Wales feathers, and exhibition medals, reading “Photographers to the Queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family” and “110 & 108, Regent Street and 54, Cheapside.”