There is an advert doing the rounds on television at the moment for some new family history database service which is supposed to make tracing your ancestors as easy as sending a Paypal transfer for £100. Just press a computer key and: "Oh goodness, my grandmother was the daughter of the Duke of Beaudung", says … Continue reading In Search Of Edward Gregson : Part 1
Tag: Victorian Photographs
Stone Antiquities And Tree Trunk Props
This little Victorian Carte de Visite dates from a time when photographs were for special occasions, rather than the result of a selfie-click on a smartphone. Young men or women would have their photographs taken on birthdays and holidays, wearing their very best clothes, and posing against a background of stone antiquities and tree-trunk props (the props … Continue reading Stone Antiquities And Tree Trunk Props
Saving Souls
Like some latter-day Victorian parson, I occasionally think I am in the business of saving souls. Many of the nineteenth century studio portraits that come into my possession are showing their age: spots of mould eat into the very soul of the image. A little careful renovation makes them fit for another century or two. … Continue reading Saving Souls
What More Can Be Said?
There is something very distinctive about this Victorian lady, who was photographed by Dupont's studio in Brussels in 1893. There is a signature on the reverse, but it is indecipherable. It also says the word "Eindhoven" which I assume was where she was from. The Dupont family had been leading photographers in the Belgian capital … Continue reading What More Can Be Said?
Howard & Louise Bantes
This is a nineteenth century photograph (but only just) from the studio of Borman and Johnson of Main Street, Danbury in Connecticut. Before Norman and Johnson took over, the studio belonged to a certain Mr Blackman. On the reverse, the names of the two children are listed as A Howard Bantes, age 12; and Louise … Continue reading Howard & Louise Bantes
Oh Susanna – It’s Time To Go Back Home
This is a photograph from 120 years ago of Susanna, Dewi, Arthur, Tom - and someone's father. But who? If they are yours, it's time to claim them back.
E.M. At 17
I can find no record of any Victorian photographer called "A. Lowe" who was based in Melton - indeed I am not even sure where Melton is, unless it is a shortened form of Melton Mowbray. On the reverse of this little Carte De Visite is written, "E.M. 17 Yrs 1900". As with all such … Continue reading E.M. At 17
Transcending Silver Salts In Hebden Bridge
A good vintage photograph is one in which the personality of the subject being photographed somehow transcends the chemical process of silver salts and hypo fixer, and flows straight off the pasteboard card. This photograph of an unknown woman from the Hebden Bridge studio of Crossley Westerman is one such photograph. Westerman established his "Electric … Continue reading Transcending Silver Salts In Hebden Bridge
20 Images : 3. Booth Denton – The Grocer Of Mirfield
Booth Denton of Knowle, Mirfield If you spend your life digging in the genealogical allotments of ephemera, you learn to welcome an unusual name. You can keep your "John Smiths" and your "Tom Browns" : give me a "Roderick Trencheon-Philpotts" any day. Or, more specifically, give me a Booth Denton - which is the name … Continue reading 20 Images : 3. Booth Denton – The Grocer Of Mirfield
alanburnett.com 