tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post9201313510924502725..comments2024-03-04T06:12:38.695+13:00Comments on Photo-Sleuth: An early Seaman portrait : Mary Louisa Gaunt (1869-1965)Brett Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07706734864792449845noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-44787686751699477682011-05-26T08:40:50.448+12:002011-05-26T08:40:50.448+12:00Thank you, Nigel. Although I haven't been the...Thank you, Nigel. Although I haven't been there either, I found a decent photograph of Renishaw Hall <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kev747/2461724266/" rel="nofollow">here</a> and agree that the crenellations are very similar. The pointy things at the end - are they finials, I don't know - are slightly different, but Seaman's version - or should I say Seavey's - is, after all, a painting.Brett Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706734864792449845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-10122195587767703752011-05-26T08:28:15.007+12:002011-05-26T08:28:15.007+12:00I am a volunteer driver for a homeless charity in ...I am a volunteer driver for a homeless charity in Derby and yesterday morning I was asked to go up to Renishaw Hall to collect a donation of items. Silly me forgot to take a camera ! But now I have been there, seen it, and it is a splendid house indeed, I cannot help feeling that Seaman was once called there to photograph the house and the Sitwell family, and perhaps cheekily thereafter had it painted onto a canvas for one of his backdrops!! You had better ask the archivist at Renishaw, but I will put my money on being correct in my comment of October 18 2008, despite the fact that then I had never seen the house then, except on line etc.Nigel Aspdin (Derby, UK)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11287696605570389587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-77786588633171317432011-03-28T07:54:14.514+13:002011-03-28T07:54:14.514+13:00Thanks for that additional material, John - very r...Thanks for that additional material, John - very relevant.Brett Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706734864792449845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-49949892620594941732011-03-28T02:27:15.014+13:002011-03-28T02:27:15.014+13:00In 'A tour of Mr Seaman's studio' prin...In 'A tour of Mr Seaman's studio' printed in the Derbyshire Times 1886, the backdrops are described as follows 'At the further end of the room are arranged a large number of Seavey’s celebrated backgrounds and several local backgrounds taken from photographs, and notably Chatsworth Gardens, with the Emperor Fountain playing. All these are so constructed that with very little trouble backgrounds required can be let down by ropes and pulleys, and by these means a visitor may be taken so as to appear almost in any place he wishes. He can appear to be by the seaside, or in Chatsworth Gardens, or in the precincts of a large mansion.'<br /><br />The article, with annotations from me can be found on Brett's website at:<br /><br /><br />http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~brett/photos/seaman_tour.htmljb3dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801132226573338221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-77079697982808806902008-10-20T12:41:00.000+13:002008-10-20T12:41:00.000+13:00Thanks for the work on this, Nigel.I hadn't though...Thanks for the work on this, Nigel.<BR/><BR/>I hadn't thought of the possibility that studio backdrops might represent real scenes and buildings from the nearby countryside, but I suppose it is quite likely. Certainly a local artist would use local scenes for inspiration. Interesting to hear of the possible connections with the Sitwells and D.H. Lawrence/Lady Chatterley's Lover.<BR/><BR/>I was aware of some of the general background about Chesterfield's spire, but not the detail.<BR/><BR/>Regards, BrettBrett Paynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706734864792449845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-47939225071621550382008-10-19T10:32:00.000+13:002008-10-19T10:32:00.000+13:00I spent a while ploughing through photos of Derbys...I spent a while ploughing through photos of Derbyshire Stately homes and large country houses of note, and I have decided that the most likely candidate for Seaman’s scenery would be Renishaw Hall. It is a mere 8km NE of Chesterfield town centre, and really the only property that I can find in the county with the distinctive features, the spires, and the crenellations (OK, I had to look that one up... the pattern along the top of many medieval castles, most often in the form of multiple, regular, rectangular spaces cut out of the top of the wall, through which to shoot arrows)<BR/><BR/>The house was built in the Gothick taste for Sir Sitwell Sitwell in 1793-1808.<BR/><BR/>In the twentieth century the Sitwell family became famous through the writings of Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, the three gifted children of the eccentric Sir George and Lady Ida Sitwell. <BR/><BR/>The youngest, known as 'Sachie', was the only one of his generation to marry, and Renishaw now belongs to his elder son, Sir Reresby Sitwell.<BR/><BR/>D. H. Lawrence is said to have used the local village of Eckington and Renishaw Hall as inspiration for his novel Lady Chatterley's Lover.<BR/><BR/>There is a photo at: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/28561<BR/><BR/>NigelNigel Aspdin (Derby, UK)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11287696605570389587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-88055672313839374302008-10-19T10:21:00.000+13:002008-10-19T10:21:00.000+13:00This comment has been removed by the author.Nigel Aspdin (Derby, UK)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11287696605570389587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4599702957095945938.post-64013875092031730922008-10-17T23:40:00.000+13:002008-10-17T23:40:00.000+13:00I had a look at the October PhotoSleuth posts but ...I had a look at the October PhotoSleuth posts but could not get my teeth into anything, except that I wondered about the scenery in the Seaman studio, and whether the artist had copied a Derbyshire building, if so, which one ? I will ponder on it!<BR/><BR/>I feel sure it is not the church, or Chatsworth, Haddon Hall or Hardwick, although Bolsover Castle requires further thought.<BR/><BR/>Mentioning the church you may be interested to read (source Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesterfield ) <BR/><BR/>The spire is both twisted and leaning, twisting 45 degrees and leaning 9 feet 6 inches from its true centre. The leaning characteristic is believed to be the result of the absence of skilled craftsmen (the Black Death had been gone only twelve years prior to the spire's completion), insufficient cross-bracing, and the use of unseasoned timber. There have been other explanations: One is that the spire was so shocked to learn of the marriage of a virgin in the church that it bent down to get a closer look. Should this happen again, it is said that the spire will straighten and return to its true position. Another is that a Bolsover blacksmith mis-shoed the Devil, who leaped over the spire in pain, knocking it out of shape. [1] However it is now believed that the bend began when the original wooden roof tiles were replaced by heavier slate and lead. The bend in the spire (the twist being deliberate) follows the direction of the sun and has been caused by heat expansion and a weight it was never designed for (as explained to us by curators at the Chesterfield Museum)[citation needed]. There is also no record of a bend until after the slate change. An interesting point is that the spire is not attached to the church building but is kept on by its own weight.<BR/><BR/>NigelNigel Aspdin (Derby, UK)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11287696605570389587noreply@blogger.com