Frederick W. W. Howell

Frederick W. W. Howell
Born
Sutton Coldfield
DiedJuly 3, 1901(1901-07-03) (aged 44)
Skagafjörður, Iceland

Frederick William Warbreck Howell (May 16, 1857 - July 3, 1901) was a British explorer, artist, and photographer known for his images of Iceland and the Faroe Islands towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Early life and education

Howell was born in Queensferry, Flintshire to Edwin and Jane Howell and grew up in Sutton Coldfield, England.[1][2] Not much is known about his earlier life. In 1885, he was the principal at Erdington College and had been described as a "schoolmaster."[3] He was married to Elizabeth Annie Wright in 1880 and had three children.[4]

Career

Howell traveled to Iceland in 1890 and 1891 as a mountaineer and published a book of his drawings, Icelandic Pictures Drawn with Pen and Pencil, in 1893.[5] In 1896 he published a book about mountain climbing titled To the Peak of the Öræfa Jökull.[6] Howell was claimed to be the first man to ascend to the peak in 1891, though he was in the company of local guides Pall Jénsson and Thorlakur Thorlaksson.[7][8][9] Howell had tried to ascend the peak the previous summer but had not been successful.[1] He described the ascent as a "deeply religious experience," praising his Free Church Protestant God and downplaying the contributions and culture of his Icelandic companions.[10]

He returned in 1900 with a camera and glass plates intending to explore and document the landscapes.[11] His images were said to have shown Iceland and the Faroe Islands "on the edge of modernity", and documented locations "overlooked by most other travellers."[12] Howell wrote a manuscript about his travels and submitted it for publication to the Royal Geographical Society, but it was rejected.[13] He toured England giving lectures on his travels, illustrated with his own drawings and photographs.[14] In 1899 he was said to have been the first person to cross the great glacial ridge at Lang Jokull.[4]

Librarian Willard Fiske purchased over 400 photographic prints from Howell which he bequeathed to Cornell University upon his death in 1904.[15][16] In 1923, the collection's first curator, Fiske's former assistant Halldór Hermannsson, assembled and mounted the images into six albums and added captions.[17]

Example works

  • An Icelander and his steed in Seyðisfjörður
  • Group of Faroe people at Trangisvaag
  • Fish washing in Eskifjörður
  • A mail train
  • An older house covered in chamomile
  • On the South Coast of Snæfellsnes
  • In the ice-fields, Öræfajökull
  • Steinunn Hjartardóttir

Death and legacy

Howell drowned in the Héraðsvötn River in July 1901.[11][14] He was buried in Miklibær, Skagafjörður.[18] His photography was chosen to be in a touring exhibition in 1982 entitled The Frozen image: Scandinavian photography arranged by Martin L. Friedman.[19] In 2004 Frank Ponzi published a book of Howell's photographs with annotations, called Howell's Iceland.[20] In 2005 his great-granddaughter, Judith Corney recreated some of his Icelandic travels.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Geographical notes". Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society: 619. 1890. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  2. ^ "1861 England Census for Fredrick Wm W Howell". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  3. ^ "Erdington College (employment ad)". The Christian. January 15, 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Philipsborn, Chris (September 30, 2005). "Walking in the Shadow of an Adventurer". Isle of Wight County Press. p. 3. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  5. ^ Howell, Frederick W. W. (1893). Icelandic Pictures Drawn with Pen and Pencil. Religious Tract Society. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  6. ^ Howell, Frederick W. W. (1896). To the Peak of the Öræfa Jökull. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  7. ^ "Replies". Notes and Queries. 167 (9). Oxford Publishing Limited: 157. September 1, 1934. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  8. ^ Jackson, Jerilynn M (2019). The secret lives of glaciers. Brattleboro, VT: Green Writers Press. p. 255. ISBN 9780996267670. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  9. ^ Vincent, Benjamin (1895). Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. Bradbury, Agnew & Co. p. 527. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  10. ^ Egeler, Matthias (2024). Landscape, Religion, and the Supernatural - Nordic Perspectives on Landscape Theory. Oxford University Press. pp. 300–301. ISBN 9780197747360. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ^ a b Johnson-Roehr, S. N. (2024-06-17). "On the Anniversary of Iceland's Independence". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  12. ^ Guðmundsson, Helgi Hrafn; Illugadóttir, Vera (August 21, 2013). "Lemúrinn: The Presence Of A People". Reykjavik Grapevine. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  13. ^ Capelotti, P. J. (2013). Shipwreck at Cape Flora - The Expeditions of Benjamin Leigh Smith, England's Forgotten Arctic Explorer. University of Calgary Press. p. 221. ISBN 9781552387122. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. ^ a b "Icelandic Explorer Drowned". Shepton Mallet Journal. July 19, 1901. p. 2. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  15. ^ "Icelandic and Faroese Photographs of Frederick W. W. Howell". Cornell University Rare and Manuscript Collections. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  16. ^ "The Fiske Icelandic Collection in the Cornell University Library". Nordic History Blog. 2026-03-13. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  17. ^ "Icelandic and Faroese Photographs of Frederick W. W. Howell, Searching". Cornell University Rare and Manuscript Collections. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  18. ^ Árna, Hjalti (2026-03-13). "Frederick W.W. Howell". Flickr. Retrieved 2026-03-13.
  19. ^ The Frozen image: Scandinavian photography. Walker Art Cente. 1982. ISBN 0896593118. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  20. ^ Ponzi, Frank (1900-07-22). "Brennholt Publishing". Brennholt Publishing (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2026-03-14.
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