Spotlight Photos Ltd. – “Walking pictures” in Derby

I’ve been corresponding recently with Simon Robinson, who got in touch regarding an article that I wrote about sidewalk or street photographers in March last year.

Simon is working on a book devoted to “walking pictures,” a style or specialization of street photography which flourished from the 1920s until the 1950s, and then largely disappeared during the 1960s.  An introduction to the book project is provided at Easy on the Eye Books, as well as information about a potential museum exhibition at an East Coast resort.

Much of the collection that he has assembled was purchased at fairs, and identification of or background to the subjects has usually been lost.  He is therefore welcoming contributions of material which has something of a story attached for possible inclusion in the book.  Some of the images collected and donated so far are shared in Simon’s Flickr Photostream.

Charles Vincent Payne
Postcard format "walking picture" taken c.1932
Image © and collection of Brett Payne 

If you have any photographs in your collection that you think may be of interest, and that you would like to share, please do get in touch with Simon.  I have sent him several for consideration, some of which I posted in my previous article.  The unusual example illustrated above, however, is one of my great-grandfather Charles Vincent Payne (1868-1941) that I unearthed more recently from my family collection.

George Raymond Meadows (1914-2000)
with “Walkie” camera at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Image © and courtesy of Gail Godfrey

According to Paul Godfrey, who has an excellent web site devoted to seaside photography, this type of “walkie” was produced using converted Royal Navy 35mm cine cameras from the First World War, such as that being operated by his father-in-law George Meadows at Great Yarmouth, shown above, some time between 1946 and 1953.  In this case, the strip of three shots were printed in postcard format with the sprocket perforations showing, although Paul notes that other operators, such as Barker’s of Great Yarmouth, tended to mask them off.

Reverse of Postcard format "walking picture," c.1930s
Spotlight Photos Ltd. Regd. No. 728037
Image © and collection of Brett Payne 

The reverse shows that it was taken by Spotlight Photos Ltd.  A location is not given, but Simon directed me to two very similar images, also by Spotlight, from the Derby Museum & Art Gallery reproduced on Picture the Past, for which the locations are identified.  Both were taken in Derby, close to St. Peter’s Bridge, the point at which the Corn Market, Albert Street, St Peter’s Street and Victoria Street all meet.

 
“Mum in St Peter’s Street,” Derby (A) 
Taken by Spotlight Photos Ltd, July 1929
Image © Derby Museum & Art Gallery & courtesy of Picture the Past

Although captioned “Mum in St Peter’s Street,” the first was actually taken in the Corn Market, facing north, with the subject walking south towards the Victoria Street intersection.

Corn Market, from St Peter’s Bridge, Derby 
taken by W.W. Winter Ltd., c.1928
Image © W.W. Winter Ltd. 

This exact location can be accurately pinpointed since the jeweller’s shop of H. Samuels is clearly visible on the far right, also captured (below the clock) in this c.1928 view of the same street, taken by W.W. Winter Ltd.

 
Unidentified subjects, St Peter’s Street, Derby (B) 
Taken by Spotlight Photos Ltd
Image © Derby Museum & Art Gallery & courtesy of Picture the Past

The second example includes several people, but focuses on a man with hat, cane and plus-fours, and with an eye on the camera, striding purposefully southwards down St Peter’s Street, at the junction with Albert Street.  There is also a woman, possibly pregnant, carrying a shopping bag, waiting to cross the road and, in the background, a Trent bus going past.

Corn Market, from St Peter’s Bridge
by W.W. Winter Ltd., c.1925
Image © W.W. Winter Ltd. 

Again, it can be accurately located from a sign on a storefront, in this case Jefferson’s, a firm of drapers located on the corner of the Corn Market and Albert Street.  The c.1925 view by Winter shown above provides a view of Jefferson’s slightly to the left of that seen in the Spotlight walkie, and includes a view down the Corn Market, with H. Samuels’ trademark clock just visible in the background.

Junction of Corn Market, Albert Street, St. Peter’s Street & Victoria Street, Derby, with Spotlight photo locations (A & B)

The locations of the camera, buildings used for identification (green) and fields of view (pink) for these two photographs are shown on the street map above (clicking the image will bring up a larger view).

Charles Vincent Payne (C)
Detail of "walking picture," Victoria Street, Derby 
Image © and collection of Brett Payne

Nigel Aspdin, with his excellent knowledge of historical and present day Derby, didn’t take long to come up with a precise location for the walkie of my great-grandfather.  He is walking in a south-easterly direction along Victoria Street, on the pavement in front of the Post Office Hotel, the characteristic entrance to which can be seen on the right of both the walkie and the c.1926 view below by W.W. Winter Ltd.

  Victoria Street & Wardwick, Derby
by W.W. Winter Ltd., c.1926
Image © W.W. Winter Ltd. 

In the background of the walkie it is possible to make out the awnings and shop windows on the ground floor of the Refuge Assurance Company building, and behind that the Mechanics’ Institiute, both of which are on Wardwick and shown in the image above, although the former are slightly obscured by the tram shelter in the middle of Victoria Street.

  Flooded Wardwick and a Trent bus, Derby 
by F.W. Scarratt, 22 May 1932 

Careful examination of the walkie also shows two signboards protruding from the Mechanics’ Institute building, somewhere just above head height.  Nigel found an accurately dated postcard by Frank Scarratt recording the memorable effects of the May 1932 flooding in the Wardwick, and this, too, shows the protruding signboards which were not present in the earlier (c.1926) photo.

Junction of Wardwick & Victoria Street, Derby,
with Spotlight photo location (C) 

It is therefore possible to reconstruct the exact location of the walkie, using the Post Office Hotel, Refuge Assurance building and Mechanics’ Institute as markers.  Again, the area marked in pink is the approximate field of view seen in the photograph.

A view of Victoria Street & Wardwick, 18 July 2010
Image © and courtesy of Nigel Aspdin

A present day view of the same scene, as shown in this photograph by Nigel Aspdin, has the same buildings by and large, albeit with somewhat different shop fronts.

Spotlight Photo Ltd. walking photo locations in Derby
c.1928-1932

As the plan above demonstrates, all three of the Spotlight walkies were taken with 150 metres of each other.  Until we have a larger range of examples to work with, we can’t assume that the photographer only worked in this small area, but it was, and still is, a busy part of town.  The negative numbers are not very easy to decipher with certainty, but if my interpretation is correct, then they were taken in the order B (#3936), A (#7350), C(#9978).

If any readers have street photographs – or walking pictures – by Spotlight Studios Ltd., I would be keen to hear from you, particularly if the photos are identifiable as having been taken in Derby.

Acknowledgements

Low resolution images from the two volumes of The Winter’s Collection have been reproduced with the kind permission of W.W. Winter Ltd.  High quality reproductions of these and many other historic images are available from W.W. Winter Ltd.

Many thanks to Simon Robinson and Paul Godfrey for so readily sharing information about street photographers and material from their collections, and to Nigel Aspdin for his detective work and photography around Derby.

References

Anon (n.d.) Old Ordnance Survey Maps: Derby (North) 1899, Derbyshire Sheet 50.9 (orig. OS Sheet L.9), Newcastle upon Tyne: Alan Godfrey Maps.

Anon (n.d.) Old Ordnance Survey Maps: Derby (South) 1899, Derbyshire Sheet 50.13 (orig. OS Sheet L.13), Newcastle upon Tyne: Alan Godfrey Maps.

Craven, Maxwell (ed.) (1992) The Winter’s Collection of Derby, Derby: Breedon Books, 208pp.

Craven, Maxwell (ed.) (1996) The Winter’s Collection of Derby, Volume Two, Derby: Breedon Books, 192pp.

Scarratt, Francis William & Jewell, Rod (1995) Yesterday’s Derby and Its Districts: Through the Lens of F.W. Scarratt, Derby: Breedon Books, 208pp.

Mrs Gray's Cottage, Coxbench, by F.W. Scarratt

A biographical article about Francis William Scarratt on You & Yesterday refers to him as the pioneer of picture postcard publishing in Derby. He certainly was prolific, and his work has a degree of familiarity with the surroundings and people that other publishers of Derby scenes were rarely able to capture. His artistic flair is evident in the subjects he chose as well as the composition of his photographs. The effects of his early training as a wallpaper designer [Source: 1901 Census] also show up later in the ornate framed borders of some of his early postcards.


Frank Scarratt produced this postcard entitled "Mrs. Gray's Cottage, Coxbench" in the early 1900s. The image was sent to me by Nigel Aspdin, who had first come across it on eBay, although it has also been reproduced in the book, "Yesterday's Derby and its Districts" (by F.W. Scarratt, from "The Rod Jewell Collection," publ. 1995 by Breedon Books, ISBN 1-85983-030-7). Nigel was intrigued by the photograph:

When I first saw it I realised I recognised it. In my grandmother's autograph album her sister Alice Mellor née Slater (who featured in a previous Photo-Sleuth article) had painted this cottage. A scan is attached.

The watercolour sketch is clearly dated, "Feb 1900," while the PC is supposedly 1908, so my little watercolour pre-dates the post card.

What I now wonder is, why was "Mrs Grays Cottage" of interest for a post card? She must have had some local fame to warrant a post card even after her cottage fell into ruin. Alice painted it in 1900, and Mrs Gray is there in the door. Alice would have gone to Coxbench with her father as at that time he owned the lease on the quarry there.

A search was carried out of the 1901 Census enumerator's sheets for the entire hamlet of Coxbench, which although not very large, extends across the border of both of Holbrook's census sub-districts, and the relevant portions of the 1891 and 1899 editions of Kelly's trade directory for the hamlet. No evidence has been found, from that time period anyway, of a Mrs. Gray living in or near Coxbench. However there was a Mrs. Ellen Grace, an elderly widowed laundress, living in Lee Lane. It is common knowledge that names can be corrupted like this very easily, and I wondered if it was likely that "Mrs. Grace's cottage" became "Mrs. Gray's Cottage" by the time the postcard was published.

I have worked out which is Lee Lane, its SO OBVIOUS, it runs parallel and in the lee of the significant hill that separates it to Holbrook and Duffield to the west, the prevailing wind. I actually got the 1880-90 OS survey map copied this morning, but it has no road names as I expected. However the Scarratt book gives a next clue "just before the Fox and Hounds". I know where it was now, I have looked on site before, the setting seemed to fit but the original cottage has gone or has been re-built to a different design.

1880s Ordnance Survey Map of Coxbench
Image © Derby Local Studies Library & Courtesy of Nigel Aspdin
Nigel received confirmation of the identity of "Mrs. Grace" from another source, as well as the story that although it had never been proved "it is highly likely that this lady was the mother of Alice (Grace) the Little Eaton Hermit who lived in a bacon box and of which numerous cards were produced including one by Scarratt in 1907." However, another source "was adamant that Alice Grace had no connection with the Mrs. Grace at the cottage."


Alice Grace in her bacon box at Coxbench Quarry
Image courtesy of Nigel Aspdin
The story of colourful local character Alice Grace has been told many times, including a BBC article, Old Alice in the Bacon Box, the Little Eaton Hermit, a thread entitled "Granny's sayings & Bacon Box Alice" on the DerysGen Mailing List, and in a booklet by Jane Brown (Source: Derby Local Studies Library, courtesy of Nigel Aspdin). Rosemary Lockie has images of another two postcards (1 & 2), both dated 1906, and brief story on her web site.

This story intrigued me, as I have my own connection to a GRACE family of this area. My great-great-grandmother Emma Robinson née Bacon (1842-1900) was from Dale Abbey. A niece Hannah Bacon (1856-1947) - son of her brother Matthew Bacon (1830-1885) who had moved to Holbrook - married Henry Grace (1849-1902), a quarryman from Coxbench.

Using GRO birth, marriage and death indexes and census records, I've managed to prove that Alice Grace (d. 1927), otherwise known as "Bacon Box Alice," was born at Morley in 1853, daughter of William Grace (b. 1808) and his second wife Anne Seed, not in 1867 as stated in some reports. She was, in turn, grand-daughter of Joseph Grace (born c. 1788 Horsley) & Hannah Wathall of Horsley, and thus a first cousin of my relative Henry Grace through his father Samuel Grace (born 1817), who was also a son of Joseph & Hannah Grace.

Now to "Mrs. Grace" who occupied the cottage photographed by Scarratt and painted by Alice Slater. From an examination of the 1901 Census and contemporary trade directories, she was almost certainly Ellen Grace, widow of quarry labourer William Grace (1826-1872) who was, in turn, a son of Samuel Grace (1790-1865) and Elizabeth Handford of Horsley. Samuel was a son of William Grace and Sarah Whetton, also of Horsley, who were married there in 1776.

It is tempting to assume that Joseph Grace, grandfather of both Alice and Henry Grace, was a son of William Grace & Sarah Whetton. However, I have found no evidence of this using the IGI (International Genealogical Index), and it is evident that there were several other GRACE couples producing children in Horsley at around this time.

I have little doubt that the GRACE lines would link up eventually, but to research them further, the parish registers for Horsley would need to be consulted. For the moment, I think we will have to accept that while there is no close relationship between Alice Grace of the Bacon Box and Mrs Grace of the Lee Lane Cottage, they were almost certainly related through a common GRACE ancestor in the early to mid-1700s.

RAF Volunteer Reserve at Derby, 1939 (Update)

Some great strides have been made on researching the background of the RAF Voluteer Reserve group photograph by Derby studio W.W. Winter, featured in an earlier post.

Peter Kirk and Peter Felix of the Derbyshire Historical Aviation Society have confirmed that the DHAS was involved in setting up the Alan Feary display at the Derby Industrial Museum about 25 years ago by providing the models and artefacts on display. Peter Felix believes he has a copy of the same photograph and is looking for it - if he's anything like me, it's probably stored somewhere "safe." Peter Kirk has made some observations about the photograph, which are very welcome - he guessed correctly that I am by no means an "aviation man."

On Image 1 there are five pilots, hence the ‘wings’ and probably the adjutant is the wingless one. Further, I’m pretty sure the sergeant pilot on the left is Feary, but will have to confirm or otherwise. One of the others might be the CFI (chief flying instructor) Roy Harben who wrote the classic manual on flying instruction. The [ranks of the] four officers are from left to right Flight Lieutenant, Flight Lieutenant, Wing Commander and Flight Lieutenant.

All the personnel are RAF; all NCOs and other ranks all wear a rearward-facing (don’t know why!) eagle on a black patch on their upper sleeves; those with three stripes are sergeants; those with the lower black patch (a two-blade propeller) are Leading Aircraftmen; those with no patch are Aircraftmen 1st Class and 2nd Class. Surprisingly I can’t see a single two-striper (corporal) in the whole bunch! A number of these may have been trainee pilots. The civvies may be civvy employees or new recruits.

The HQ of the VR during the War was at Broadway and we think that is where the photo was taken – I’ll try to get a bit more detail as it is something we have not really looked at, our attention being taken mainly by the airfield at Burnaston which was licensed from September 1938.

An almost certain identification of the location of the photograph has come from Nigel Aspdin, after a visit to the Derby Local Studies Library ...

I [copied] a page from a book "Derbyshire Fighter Aces of WW2" by B. M. Marsden ... He was one of the pair that set up the display at the Industrial Museum ... It does say that they "studied ... at the RAFVR centre at Highfields." ... Then with the mention of Broadway - If Peter Kirk is correct I think it could only be Highfield or The Leylands. Broadway was a section of Derby Ring Road, a new road set out in the 1930s, but which passed (probably partly through the grounds of) The Leylands. That too has been developed, in the 1950s, but as an area of retirement homes, and the whole building estate is now listed (Leylands Conservation Area) ... One way or another I think we are getting quite close to the answer of the location.

... where he found the houses referred to on a contemporary Ordnance Survey map ...


Ordnance Survey Map of area around Highfield & Leyland houses, 1938
Image © Derby Local Studies Library and courtesy of Nigel Aspdin

What I had forgotten (or never knew) is that Highfields is a large house north of Leylands. I have always known it as St Philomena's Convent, which is what it was (or still is maybe) although in the last 4 years pretty well all the park around the house has been intensively developed with housing. So you will see the houses Leylands and Highfields, adjacent on the attached OS maps ... I am putting my cash on Highfields now, the entrance is indeed off Broadway.

... and some energetic cycling in pursuit of a big enough lawn, hedge of the right colour, trees of suitable size, etc. The following arrived a few hours later:

I think I won my bet. I am pretty sure its Highfields. The camera would have been on the door step or east of the door step of the house, facing SSE to SSW approx. I am not sure that a photographer would choose to shoot into the southern light, but I guess Winters knew how to cope with sun etc.

You will see from my stitched panorama (above, click on image to see larger version), taken from approximately where Winter's man may have stood, that there is a well trimmed laurel hedge. This I think accords with the taller shaggier hedge in the group photo. I think that at some stage the lawn could have stretched further to the left than it does now.

There is the steel stump of a flag pole base, of M.O.D. quality, and the top of the old pole someone appears to have found and leant up in the wood. If the pole was there at the time of the group photo it would have laid flat parallel with the rows of chairs etc.

As for the trees in the background I really cannot claim to positively identify any particular tree. There is quite a lot of sycamore which will be post war self set trees. But as you know I have been obsessed with the tiny bit of cedar that just appears in the group photo as a horizontal branch. I felt that it was quite distinctive. It is indeed there, and is one tree that is not likely to have changed radically in the 70 years. It is hard to spot on my photo, but if you take one good step to the left of Jesus in the yew bush you are in front of a trunk of a sycamore, and if you take one more step you are in the front of the cedar trunk, which is set further back in the wood. Some of the other trees in the wood are tall yews, and I see tall yews in the group photo. The Highfields site has many Scots Pine elsewhere, and I think I do see Scots Pine in the group photo, albeit none still in that particular area now. The whole feel and depth of the wood feels right to me.

SSW facade of Highfield House
Image © and courtesy of Nigel Aspdin

You remember that Frank Scarratt usually got his bike in his photos? I now think he actually did it by mistake.

Many thanks to Peter Kirk and Peter Felix for their investigations, and to Nigel Aspdin, for going the extra mile on this one. We are still hoping to identify at least some of the individuals in this picture, and I will report on any further progress in due course.

Post Script - a response from Peter Kirk:

The location is indeed Highfield. We confirmed this after PF found his picture, upon which we had noted the location some years ago ... Intriguingly, Pete’s photo is different to yours. Although the background trees are identical, the group is not! There are slightly fewer people on it, and seated centrally from left to right are Feary (it is him), the supposed adjutant, and two other unidentified sergeant pilots, one of whom is on your photo.

Regrettably, we have so far only been able to identify one other man – Sidney Bradley, a wireless operator/air gunner who was killed on 19 Nov 1940 when his Hudson crashed in bad weather returning from an anti-submarine patrol. In your pic he is the tall man with the moustache fourth from left in the back row of your pic section 5. In ours, he is seventh from the left on the back row.

Peter also has an enlargement of Bradley which we’d assumed came from his picture but on close examination it didn’t, and what’s more I can’t positively tie it up with yours either ... it appears that although the two long leafy fronds behind his lef shoulder look the same on each, the rest of the foliage doesn’t match. Hence I am 99% certain that there is yet another version of the photo.

Peter Felix's photo is shown below (at right) next to an enlargement of the relevant section of my photo for comparative purposes.


Sidney Bradley, an RAF wireless operator/air gunner (d. 1940)
I've changed my mind several times along the way, but I've eventually decided that I think they are different prints made from the same original negative. There are just too many similarities in the vegetation behind Sidney Bradley for it to be a second photograph. I think the differences that are apparent may have been produced by (a) differences in the exposure times of the prints, and/or (b) specks of dirt on the negative when the second print was made. If the print was made a good time afterwards, the negative may have suffered a little in storage.