This early photograph by the Abraham brothers of climbers on the Napes Needle on Great Gable in the English Lake District inspired many to take up rock climbing.

George and Ashley Abraham (George D., 1870–1965; Ashley P., 1876–1951) were brother climbers and photographers who lived in Keswick in the English Lake District. They made a photographic record of the exploits of many of the climbing pioneers, especially Owen Glynne Jones, with whom they formed a close climbing partnership from 1896 until his death in 1899. Most of their work was done between 1890 and 1920 and forms a valuable record of the evolution of early rock-climbing in the English Lake District. Climbers on Napes Needle, Great Gable, from the collection of George and Ashley Abraham. ... Climbers on Napes Needle, Great Gable, from the collection of George and Ashley Abraham. ... Great Gable is a pyramid-shaped hill lying at the very heart of the English Lake District. ... The panorama across Eskdale from Ill Crag. ... Keswick is a market town in Cumbria, England, and inside the Lake District National Park, just north of Derwent Water, one of the Lake Districts most picturesque lakes. ... The panorama across Eskdale from Ill Crag. ... Owen Glynne Jones (1867–1899) was a British rock-climber and mountaineer. ...

One of their many first ascents in the Lakes was the 74 m "Keswick Brother's Climb" on Scafell crag on July 12, 1897, now considered "Very Difficult" in the British grading system. Another memorable first ascent was of "Crowberry Ridge Direct" (graded "Severe") on Buachaille Etive Mor in 1900. Sca Fell (pronounced Scawfell or Scarfell), also known as Scafell by writers such as Alfred Wainwright, is a mountain in the English Lake District. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... In mountaineering and related climbing sports, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that attempts to assess the difficulty and danger of climbing the route. ... The Buachaille Etive Mor (Great Herdsman of Etive; pronounced /buaXel@ etIv mor/, buachaluh etiv more) is a mountain at the south eastern end of Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. ...

After their co-operation with Jones in his very successful Rock Climbing in the English Lake District (1897), they produced companion volumes, Rock Climbing in North Wales (George, in 1906) and Rock Climbing in Skye (Ashley, in 1907). These attempted to emulate Jones' exuberant style, and were of course illustrated with their own photographs.

Many of their climbing photographs, (including the classic portrait of Owen Glynne Jones), were reproduced in Alan Hankinson's Camera on the Crags. A large selection is also in the possession of the FRCC (The Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District).

The Abraham's photographic shop in Keswick, built in 1887, was taken over in due course by local mountaineer George Fisher; the modern shop still contains many memorabilia, including photographs, from the Abraham's era.

References

• Alan Hankinson (1975), Camera on the Crags, Heinemann Educational.
• A. Phizacklea (1996), Scafell, Wasdale & Eskdale, Fell and Rock Climbing Club of the English Lake District.