Sepia Saturday 275: Summer holidays in Derbyshire, an early Kodak album

My contribution for Sepia Saturday this week has nothing whatsoever to do with the image prompt, I'm afraid. It does, however, follow on from my article last week, which featured an album of nitrocellulose negatives taken during a grand tour of Europe in 1904. Regular readers will recall that series of images as having been taken by an experienced and skilled photographer using a fairly sophisticated modern folding camera, possibly with a view to eventual commercial exploitation.


Cloth-covered Kodak photograph album, dated August 1903
Collection of Brett Payne
Today I'm featuring an album from my own collection which, although superficially similar in that it contains a series of 3¼" x 4¼" 118- or 119-format prints taken during a summer holiday in Derbyshire, England, is actually quite a different set in many ways. The album has 12 white card leaves bound in a light brown cloth-covered stiff card cover, now slightly grubby and showing slight wear on the edges, with "Kodak" printed in large black decorative writing on the front. Each of the leaves has paper sleeves on each side, designed to hold 3¼" x 4¼" paper prints.


Cloth-covered Kodak photograph album, dated August 1903
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
The inside front cover has "Kodak, Ltd. London" printed on the lower right, as well as the following inscription handwritten in black ink:

Summer holidays -
August 1903
Derbyshire (Matlock & Buxton)

I've been unable to find this specific album design advertised in Eastman Kodak Co.'s (U.S.) catalogues for the late 1890s and early 1900s. During this period they appear to have changed from albums with thick card leaves and standard-sized paper slots for different print formats, to loose-leaved albums with a higher number of pages constructed of thinner grey or black card, onto which the prints were intended to be glued with Eastman's Photo Paste ($0.25 per 5 ounce tube). Presumably this was in response to the rapidly increasing variety of print formats being introduced, and the large proportion of amateur prints perhaps not being mounted on card.

However, this particular paper slot-style album with 12 pages, designed to hold two 12-exposure films' worth of prints, was sold (and perhaps manufactured) by Kodak Ltd. at one of their six branch outlets in London, and may have been of a design not offered in the United States.



Each of the 24 sleeves in the album contains a print, some of which are trimmed rather roughly. Although the average size is around 3¼" x 4¼" (82 x 108mm) they range in size from 67 x 98mm to 97 x 113mm. The prints can be separated into three groups, based on size, printing characteristics and subject matter.


Locations photographed in Derbyshire, August 1903
The first ten prints (pages 1-10) have been roughly trimmed and are slightly smaller (78 x 102mm) but more varied in size. The black and white prints were taken at Buxton, Tideswell, Monsal Dale, Dovedale and Haddon Hall.


"The Crescent, Buxton," August 1903
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 98 x 67mm
(Page 6, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
This image shows a group boarding a horse-drawn carriage at The Crescent in Buxton, perhaps for a day excursion to Tideswell and Monsal Dale. Baedeker's 1901 guide to Great Britain describes it thus:

The Crescent, the most prominent building in the town, has the Tepid Baths (1s.-2s. 6d.) and the Chalybeate Wells at the W. end and the Hot Baths (1s. 6d.-3s. 6d.) at the E. end. In front is the Pump Room.

"The Cathedral of the Peak, Tideswell Church," August 1903
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 77 x 103mm
(Page 4, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
Kelly's 1899 Directory of Derbyshire gives the following:

The church of St John the Baptist is a cruciform building of stone, belong almost exclusively to the Decorated style of the latter half of the 14th century, consisting of an unusually large chancel, clerestoried nave ... a lofty embattled tower at the west end, with battlemented turret-like pinnacles at the angles, terminating in crocketed spirelets ... the old chancel screen ... has been successfully restored.

"Nab's Dale," Dovedale, August 1903
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 80 x 95mm
(Page 7, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
Baedeker's guide gives details of the new railway from Buxton to Ashbourne, opened in 1899, which allowed the holidaymaker to travel the 23 miles in under an hour:

... afford[ing] the most convenient approach to the beauties of Dovedale. Passengers should alight at Alsop-en-le-Dale, walk down the valley, and rejoin the railway at Thorpe Cloud ... Alsop-en-le-Dale is the station for the head of Dovedale, a picturesque and narrow limestone valley, hemmed in by fantastic rocks, freely interspersed with woods ... The prettiest part of the valley begins at the Dove Holes ...

Nab's Dale, shown in the photo above, is close to Hanson Grange and Alsop-en-le-Dale and appears to be the point at which our photographer and party alighted from the train and entered Dovedale.


"Below Reynard's Cave," Dovedale, August 1903
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 79 x 104mm
(Page 2, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
This very much overexposed shot is taken from Reynard's Cave, further down the valley and overlooking the path next to the River Dove, along which several members of the party can just be seen, and down which I myself enjoyed a fine walk with friend and fellow Sepian Nigel Aspdin about 18 months ago.


"Peveril of the Peak Hotel & Thorpe Cloud," Thorpe, August 1903
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 105 x 80mm
(Page 5, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
Upon reaching the southern end of Dovedale, marked by the characteristic peak of Thorpe Cloud, they arrived at "... the stepping-stones ... where donkeys and refreshments are in waiting ... and, a little farther on, a foot bridge leading to the Izaak Walton Hotel, a favourite angling resort," frequented by my great-grandfather and which I wrote about in The Compleat Angler. Rather than crossing the footbridge, however, our party appear to have chosen the course which Nigel and I took "... a path to the left ascend[ing] from the stepping stones to the (½ M.) Peveril Hotel, not far from the village of Thorpe and railway station Thorpe Cloud." Embarking at the station, they either returned to Buxton or proceeded to Matlock.


"Haddon Hall," August 1903 (digitally enhanced)
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 108 x 82mm
(Page 11, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
The next nine prints in the album (pages 11-19) have been trimmed somewhat more accurately, and all are within a couple of millimetres of the standard 82.5 x 108mm. They were also processed slightly differently from the first batch, and are all slightly to moderately overexposed, also show a distinct sepia tone. The borders of the negative are partly visible in 7 of the prints; none were in the first set.

They were taken at Haddon Hall (above), Chatsworth House and at several locations in the vicinity of Matlock and Matlock Bath, all of which were popular destinations for Edwardian tourists.

Haddon Hall, picturesquely situated on a slope rising from the Wye, is an almost ideal specimen of an old English baronial mansion, and, though unoccupied, is still in fair preservation (adm. 4d.)

"Haddon Hall Terrace," August 1903
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 75 x 101mm
(Page 3, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne

... the S[outh] facade and the terraced gardens [date] from the end of the 16th century.

"In the Model Village - Chatsworth," Edensor, August 1903 (digitally enhanced)
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 83 x 83mm
(Page 13, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
Baedeker again gives a detailed description of the route and the sights to look out for:

... To reach Chatsworth from Haddon by carriage ... we follow the road from the bridge [over the River Wye] to Bakewell [where] we turn to the right and proceed by a circuitous route to Edensor, a model village, on the outskirts of Chatsworth Park. The church contains a memorial window to Lord Frederick Cavendish (assassinated in 1882), who is buried in the churchyard.

"Chatsworth House," August 1903 (digitally enhanced)
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 108 x 82mm
(Page 12, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
This is one of the better known views of Chatsworth House, captured by local photographer William Potter for his commercial carte de visite landscapes as early as the 1870s. In this shot, an open horse-drawn brougham carrying four passengers is driven down the road, presumably on their way to visit the grand house in the middle distance. I wondered at first if they were waiting for the photographer, but since the carriage is slightly blurred, and the nearby tree sharp, I think they were moving at the time of the exposure.

Chatsworth, the magnificent seat of the Duke of Devonshire, is a striking contrast to Haddon, the one being as redolent of modern, as the other of medieval state ... the Gardens (small fee, to the gardener), which are fine but formal, with artificial cascades, fountains, surprise waterworks, etc. The Emperor Fountain throws a jet 265 ft. high.

"High Tor, Matlock," August 1903 (digitally enhanced)
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 83 x 107mm
(Page 19, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
Six of the remaining photographs were taken in and around the towns of Matlock and Matlock Bath, including this well known view of High Tor, Matlock Dale and the River Derwent. The postcard publishers James Valentine & Sons registered a very similar photograph in 1892, which I featured in an article on Photo-Sleuth two years ago (Before the humble postcard).

Kelly's 1899 Directory informs us:

Matlock Bath ... is a modern inland and fashionable watering place, with a station on the Midland railway, and is situated in a deep and lovely valley ... The place is celebrated for the romantic character of its scenery and the purity of its medicinal springs, and in the summer season this beautiful locality is frequented by visitors from all parts of the kingdom.

"High Tor from Lovers' Walk," Matlock, August 1903 (digitally enhanced)
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 108 x 83mm
(Page 17, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne

Among the attractions of Matlock ... Immediately opposite the High Tor is Masson Hill, nearly 800 feet high, from which and from the Heights of Abraham, about 650 feet high (to which a winding ascent has been made), an extensive view is afforded of the scenery of the surrounding country ... The Lovers' Walk, on the opposite side of the river, is another favourite place of resort; paths leading to different points from which the dale may be advantageously seen have also been cut through the wood in various directions.

"Mother & a piece of Monica!" August 1903 (digitally enhanced)
Unmounted silver gelatin print, 108 x 82mm
(Page 16, Kodak album, Summer Holidays)
Image © Copyright & collection of Brett Payne
A single photograph in this album is directed specifically at members of the holidaying party. Two female figures (Mother and Monica) are seated outdoors on a bench reading newspapers, umbrellas at the ready should the sun prove too hot or a shower present itself. Sadly, it is overexposed - the image above has been digitally enhanced, but even this is not sufficent to reveal Monica's features, obliterated by a careless flash of sunlight or perhaps by some light leakage into the body of the camera. The bench is situated in front of a tree, and what I think is the River Derwent through a gap in the branches immediately to the left of Mother.

In 1887 an iron bridge of 85 feet span was constructed ... connecting the Promenade with Lovers' Walk, and at the same time the Promenade was laid out ...

Detail of "Mother & a piece of Monica!"
There is, however, enough in the image to show three umbrellas leaning against the bench, and a valise or case which may be for the camera. The three umbrellas imply that there were only three in the party on this particular day: "Mother," Monica and the photographer, who could be the husband of either "Mother" or Monica, a son of "Mother" and brother of Monica, or indeed Monica's sister.


Composite of Derbyshire holidaymakers
Click image to enlarge
Fortunately we have a better image of Monica, taken on the Terrace at Haddon Hall (see lower left, above). The enlarged detail from several photos show several other people, and there may or may not have been more in the party at other stages of the holiday. It is even possible that one of the elderly men with luxurious white beards (at right) may have been "Father." Unfortunately, none of them appears carrying a leather case which would have held the camera, and I suspect that the photographer never appears in the photographs.

The last five prints (pages 20-24) were taken in Wiltshire the following year. While I have included them in the slideshow at the beginning of this article, they appear to have been inserted later to fill up empty slots in the album, and I'll leave discussion of them for another time.


Kodak Developing and Printing Outfits, from 1903 Kodak Catalogue
Image courtesy of the Digitized Kodak Catalog Project
The Derbyshire snapshots appear to have been taken in two sequences, the first of ten images, the second of nine. It is my belief that they were probably prints from two consecutive rolls of film, each containing 12 exposures, five of which were discarded as being of too poor quality to print or preserve in the album. The uneven trimming of the prints suggests to me that they were developed and printed by an amateur at home using one of Kodak's readily available kits, rather than taken into a chemist or other processing facility.


"Take a Kodak with you"
Eastman Kodak Co. advertisement featuring "The Kodak Girl"
From the Ladies' Home Journal, 1901
Courtesy Duke University Advertising Ephemera Collection, Item K0034
The Kodak folding cameras of the late 1890s and early 1900s were specifically marketed towards women, the design intended to mimic a purse or pocketbook, although one would be hard pressed to fit a No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak in any standard pocket.


No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak, from 1903 Kodak Catalogue
Image courtesy of the Digitized Kodak Catalog Project
Constructed of aluminium covered with black morocco leather, the No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak (like its smaller cousin, the No 1) was designed to be compact and simple to use. Costing only $17.50 (and an extra $1.25 for a black sole leather carrying case, with strap), it was the cheaper version of the No 3 Folding Pocket Kodak DeLuxe camera featured in last week's 1904 Grand Tour article, but it used the same 118-format film, and therefore produced a print of the same size, 3¼" x 4¼".


"All Out-Doors Invites Your Kodak"
Eastman Kodak Co. advertisement from Life magazine, 1911
Courtesy Duke University Advertising Ephemera Collection, Item K0443
With the standard Rapid Rectilinear lens and Eastman Automatic shutter, and in the unsteady hands of an amateur new to framing a photograph, assessing lighting conditions, etc., the quality of of the resulting pictures is likely to have been variable at best. Judging from these prints, I feel it most likely that the camera was hand-held, in stark contrast to the 1904 Grand Tour series, the majority of which are likely to have been taken using a tripod. An unfamiliarity with the equipment may also have meant that the film was loaded with enough care, perhaps even with some exposure to bright sunlight, resulting in what appear to be "light leaks" on many of the prints.


Nigel at the start of the walk down Dovedale, 13 September 2013
Image © 2013 Brett Payne
As amateurish as the photographs in this album are, I was delighted with the purchase since, as suggested earlier, the route taken by the party was very similar to the very enjoyable 15 kilometre walk that Nigel and I took from Hartington down Dovedale to Thorpe Cloud, and then to Tissington in September 2013. It's also an area which my great-grandfather Charles Vincent Payne, as a keen trout angler, must have known well. I hope you've enjoyed the journey of discovery too.