Sepia Saturday 171: Before the humble postcard

Although the picture postcard is almost as old as the postage stamp, it wasn't until the 1890s that postcards with pictures of scenic views and landmarks were published in large numbers. After the United Kingdom and United States postal services gave a green light to the use of divided backs, in 1902 and 1907 respectively - message on one half, address on the other, thus freeing the entire one side of the card for the picture - the craze reached fever peak in the decade up to the Great War. Due to two world wars and the introduction of the telephone in most private households, postcards were never again produced in quite the number and variety as during the pre-war heyday, but they remained enormously popular for most of the remainder of the century.

The widespread availability of email, text, skype and smartphone services has understandably been followed by a decline in the use of postal services, and postcards have likewise diminished in popularity. A study last year claimed that the proportion of British tourists sending postcards home had declined from a third in the 1970s to an astonishing 3% (although another survey gives a more believable figure of 16%). Similar trends have been reported elsewhere, such as in India, and I can report that I struggled to find any postcards, let alone decent ones, in Honiara last year.


Conway (Conwy) Castle, Wales, c.1890-1900
Photomechanical print by the Detroit Photographic Company, 1905
Image courtesy of Library of Congress
I think it's still a little early to assume the complete extinction of the postcard - viz. Alan and his Twitter for Gentlefolk campaign, and the huge Postcrossing project, responsible for almost half a million postcards a month - but I'll sadly admit the chances of a major revival are slim. On a more positive note, and prompted by this week's Sepia Saturday Photochrom image of Conway Castle in Wales, I thought we'd take a look at what people kept as mementos from their vacations before the advent of postcards.


The Great Pillars, Baalbek, Lebanon, c. 1857-1860
Albumen silver print, 203 x 153mm, by Francis Frith
Image courtesy of National Gallery of Canada
Albumen-based cartes the visite were the first popular and affordable medium for portraits in the early 1860s, which tends to overshadow the fact that albumen prints were already well established in photography by then. Developed in 1850 by Blanquart-Evrard the albumen print quickly superseded the calotypes or salt print. Paired with the wet plate collodion process, many print copies could be made of a single photographic glass plate negative. One of the first to take advantage of this was Francis Frith, who established a huge business selling both mounted and unmounted prints of views produced from three trips to the Middle East between 1856 and 1860.


Dovedale, Derbyshire, c. 1850s
Stereoview by the London Stereoscopic Company, 54 Cheapside
Image © and courtesy of John Bradley
The sale of paper prints was boosted considerably by displays of the stereoscopic photograph at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851, and the subsequent production of views in enormous numbers by firms such as Francis Frith and the London Stereoscopic Company. The stereoview - also referred to as a stereogram or stereocard - used two images of the same scene, taken from slightly different view points, mounted side-by-side on card which, when viewed with a special device with lenses, gave the appearance of a three-dimensional picture.

After a revival in the 1890s, stereoviews remained popular well into the twentieth century, but seem to have fallen from favour after the Great War.


Buxton Crescent from The Slopes, Derbyshire, c.1860s
Carte de visite by Francis Frith (Frith's Carte Series)
Image © and collection of Brett Payne

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, c.mid- to late 1870s
Carte de visite by William Potter of Matlock Bath
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
For the duration of the carte de visite's heyday, in the 1860s and 1870s, many countrywide firms like Friths, as well as local photographers such as William Potter of Matlock Bath produced views of the countryside in great numbers. These two Derbyshire views showing the popular Victorian tourist destinations of Buxton and Chatsworth are typical examples.


View of unidentified building, possibly in Derbyshire, c. mid-1880s
Cabinet card by Alfred Seaman of Chesterfield
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The larger format of the cabinet card, first introduced in the late 1860s, but which did not really catch on until a decade or so later, lent itself to scenic views, so it is perhaps a little surprising that they are not more common. This example from Chesterfield photographer Alfred Seaman depicts an unidentified building, possibly a hotel or a hyrdopathic establishment and presumably somewhere in northern Derbyshire; it is from the mid-1880s.


Wallis' Furnishing Ironmongers shop, Bakewell, Derbyshire, c.late 1880s
Collodion positive (ambrotype) by unidentified photographer
Image © and courtesy of Nino Manci
It is clear from Seaman & Sons' display of mounted scenic photographic views in the shop window of Wallis' Furnishing Ironmongers shop (click image above for a more detailed view of the display) in Bakewell, where they did not have a branch studio, that they did offer scenic views.


Ashby Castle, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, c.late 1860s-early 1870s
Albumen print by J.W. Price of Derby & Ashby-de-la-Zouch
(mounted on card, later roughly trimmed)
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
Seaman and many others published loose and mounted prints of landscapes and other views in a large variety of formats. This example of a mounted print (roughly trimmed) depicts the ruined Ashby Castle and has the backstamp of photographer J.W. Price. At 138 x 98mm, it is slightly larger than the size of a postcard. A scene in Sir Walter Scott's popular historical novel Ivanhoe is set in Ashby Castle, and this attracted visitors to the town of Ashby throughout the 19th Century. Harrod & Co.'s 1870 directory states,

Ashby is highly celebrated on account of its baths and springs, and its ancient castle ... Tradition states that Mary Queen of Scots was confined within one of the upper chambers.

Price no doubt sold this print and others from his studio on Ivanhoe road.


All Saints Church and St Mary's Gate, Derby, 1884
Albumen print (126 x 171mm), attributed to Richard Keene of Derby
(mounted on album page)
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
Loose prints, such as this 1884 view of All Saints church - now Derby's cathedral - were sold by Derby photographer, printer, publisher and stationer Richard Keene from his premises just around the corner at number 22 Irongate, still within full view of the church. A visitor could then paste the print into a large format album together with others from his trip. This particular print sits alongside two other Derby views on an album page, with photographs of Bournemouth on the reverse.



(Left) Unidentified view of ruined building on cigarette box, by Davis & Sons, Barrow-in-Furness (Right) View of The Promenade, Matlock Bath on glass, mounted on velvet frame, by William Potter of Matlock Bath
Images © and collection of Brett Payne

Cover of Buxton and Derbyshire booklet of views, publ. F. Wright, Buxton


Matlock Dale and High Tor, Derbyshire, c.1892, published mid-1890s
Photomechanical print by Valentine and Sons of Dundee
Images © and collection of Brett Payne
It was also possible to buy sets of photographs, either loose or in booklet form, such as this collection of 24 Derbyshire views published by Francis Wright, stationer and bookseller of Buxton. The photographs were taken and printed by the Dundee firm of Valentine and Sons, and sold by Wright from his premises at 1 Spring gardens and Devonshire colonnade.


High Tor and Dale, Matlock, c.1892
Colourised postcard by Valentine & Sons, Dundee
View #17206, registered 1892, published c.1905-1906
A decade or so later this exact view was republished a number of times by Valentine and Sons in postcard format, a colourised example from c.1905-1906 being displayed above. Although other print formats would continue to be sold, nothing would rival the postcard for many decades.

Next time you're on holiday and send a postcard to someone back home - and I hope you do (a few each year can't be too bad for your carbon footprint) - spare a thought for its forerunners. If you head over to Sepia Saturday, you may well find a few more ancestors to the postcard on display amongst this week's contributions.

References

Spiro, Lisa (2006) A Brief History of Stereographs and Stereoscopes, on Connexions

J.G. Harrod & Co.'s Postal and Commercial Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Staffordshire, 2nd Edition, 1870, from the University of Leicester's Historical Directories

Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, 1895, Kelly & Co. Ltd., from the University of Leicester's Historical Directories

Military uniforms in Victorian and Edwardian Derbyshire

Over the years, in the course of accumulating images for my study of Derbyshire photographers, I've come across a number of portraits of men wearing military uniforms. Such uniforms present a valuable aid in the dating of photographs, itself an important tool in the identification of the subject of a portrait, but my lack of knowledge of this topic resulted in my leaving many of the pre-Great War era images in the "too hard" basket.

My early efforts at identifying uniforms of regular Derbyshire regiments and militia units made it obvious that I first needed a better understanding of how they were made up, and therefore of their history. I was given a great deal of help in my efforts by several kind members of the Victorian Wars Forum, a group devoted the study of British Military Campaigns from 1837 to 1902.

I must point out that I don't claim to be any kind of expert, and this article should in no way be regarded as authoritative. I've merely compiled the information from a number of different sources and, while I hope I've not made too many errors, I'm happy to receive suggestions for improvement, amendment, corrections, etc.


Derbyshire's Infantry Regiments, Rifle Volunteers, Militia & Territorial Forces, 1741-1909
The chart above (GIF/PDF) is a provisional and simplified view that I've compiled to show the evolution of the various infantry regiments, rifle volunteers, militia and territorial units in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire through Victorian and Edward eras, till just before the Great War. I should perhaps also explain that I've included Nottinghamshire as the military history of two counties has been, and still is, inextricably linked, as will become clear.


Officer, 45th Regiment of Foot, 1811
The first regular infantry regiments associated with the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in the early 19th century were the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment and the 45th (1st Nottinghamshire) Regiment, formed in 1823 and 1741 respectively. Although they are hardly likely to be found in photographic portraits, by way of an introduction I've included an artistic representation of the typical uniform from the Napoleonic era above.

By the early to mid-1850s, when photographic portraiture became available to the general public, as opposed to to the wealthier classes, through the introduction of the collodion positive, there were two regular regiments of foot and three militia regiments in existence, as follows:
- 45th (1st Nottinghamshire) Regiment
- 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment
- 1st Derby Militia
- 2nd Derby Militia (Chatsworth Rifles)
- 59th Nottinghamshire Regt of Militia (Royal Sherwood Foresters)

Unfortunately I don't have any photographs of uniformed soldiers from these units, but some may be seen in the collection of the Sherwood Foresters Museum.


Unidentified Senior NCO or Instructor
6th (High Peak/Buxton) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by William Housley of Bakewell, c.1869-1870
Starting in 1859 a series of Rifle Volunteers Corps were formed throughout the two counties, as part of a much wider Volunteer Force, "a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement." The senior non-commissioned officer in the above portrait is wearing the full dress uniform of the Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers, including 1868 pattern scarlet tunics with white facings which identified them as volunteers. The Bakewell man (above) also wears a cap more correctly described as a shako, with a regimental pattern white worsted ball (pom pom) and badge consisting of a French buglehorn surrounding the number 6.


Unidentified Rifleman
5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by John Roberts of Derby, c.1869-1870
Image © & courtesy of Michael Jones
The Derby rifleman has a similar tunic, accompanied by a black patent leather cross belt with a pouch at the back and silver fittings comprising regimental badge on the front, whistle and chain and a bugle horn on the pouch, typically worn by Rifle Volunteers. The silver fittings have, however, been erroneously hand coloured gold. The cuff loop is of Trefoil type and indicates an 'other rank', as the cuff adornment of officers was always more elaborate to make the superior rank abundantly clear. His trousers are a very dark grey (virtually black) 'oxford mixture' with a 1/4-inch red seam down the outside of the leg. Instead of a shako, he is wearing his 'undress' pillbox cap - the Rifle Corps were the generally the only infantry unit to wear the pillbox cap - with a simple number badge (no horn). His rifle is either the 3-band 1853 Enfield or possibly the Snider Enfield 'conversion' which was phased in from 1866.


Lt. William Bemrose (1831-1908), Capt. John F. Thirlby (1839-1928) & Lt. Henry Monkhouse (1837-1905)
5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Cabinet card by Richard Keene of Derby, August 1874
Image © & courtesy of Derby Local Studies Library
The next two portraits, a cabinet card and a carte de visite taken in the mid-1870s, show officers in full dress uniform. They are from the 1st Administrative Battalion of the Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers, which in 1880 became the 1st Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. Bemrose, Thirlby and Monkhouse are officers of Field Rank, as marked by the elaborate cuff lacing.


Lt. Edwin Pratt (1836-1913)
19th (Elvaston) Corps, Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by Clement Rogers of Derby, c.1874-1875
Image © & courtesy of Derby Local Studies Library
Edwin Pratt served with the 19th (Elvaston) Corps.


Major George H. Gascoyne (1842-1916)
5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, 1st Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers
Carte de visite by J.W. Price of Derby, November 1880
Image © & courtesy of Derby Local Studies Library
George Gascoyne was a major in, and later colonel and commanding officer of, the 1st Derbyshire Rifles. This portrait shows him as Commanding Officer of the 5th (Derby Artisan) Corps, shortly before its amalgamation into the 12 Companies of the 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment)
. The 1855 (modified in 1860) forage cap which he wears was replaced from the mid 1870s on, but continued to be used in parallel until as late as 1880. It has a horizontal leather peak and the "5 inside French buglehorn" badge.


Unidentified Major
1st Derbyshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
Carte de visite by J.W. Price of Derby, c. late 1870s
Image © & collection of Brett Payne
Both Gascoyne and the unidentified major in the portrait above are wearing a dark blue "frogged" Military Patrol Jacket (not worn by other ranks) of 1868, a garment that was required by an officer in addition to his full dress tunic and often worn both in the field and in barracks.


Soldier identified only as "Bonzo," probably G Company (Belper)
1st Vol. Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters (Derbys. Regt.)
Carte de visite by Jacob Schmidt of Belper, c.1884-1888
Image © & courtesy of Cynthia Maddock
This soldier is wearing the tunic of a man in a volunteer battalion of an infantry regiment, as evidenced by the Austrian knots on his sleeves, a snake buckle belt and a glengarry cap.


Unidentified soldier, probably A Company (Chesterfield)
2nd Vol. Battalion
 The Sherwood Foresters (Derbys. Regt.)
Cabinet card by H. Brawn of Chesterfield, c. 1899-1901
This soldier's white collar and cuffs (together known as "facings") indicate that he is from an English/Welsh county regiment, while the Austrian knots on his sleeves tell us that he is a "volunteer". He is wearing a 5-button frock rather than a 7-button full dress tunic, the former being of inferior material, cut more loosely and unlined. It was intended to be used in barracks as a working uniform, and due to cost-cutting measures it was eventually the only uniform issued to volunteers. He is dressed in Review Order (helmet and bayonet) and carrying the swagger cane or stick used when out of barracks in "walking out dress". The swagger cane or stick was carried by all other ranks at that time and was part of attempts to improve the soldiers view of himself and perception of him by wider society.

The blue cloth "Home Service Helmet" was introduced as a replacement for the shako in 1878 by most British line infantry, artillery and engineers, and worn until 1902, when it was replaced as part of the khaki service dress.


L/Cpl Thomas Charles Ison (1884-1938)
5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters
Real photo postcard by H.P. Hansen of Ashbourne, c. 1911-1913
Image © & collection of Brett Payne
Lance Corporal Ison is clutching a forage cap with peak, first issued in 1906, and has white facings and scarlet piped white shoulder straps on his 7-button full dress tunic, which with only minor alteration was worn until 1914 by the 5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters.

Both the organisational chart and the series of images are incomplete, but they will serve as an introduction to military uniforms used by Derbyshire units, and will hopefully prompt further contributions of images to fill in the gaps. I am most grateful to Victorian Wars Forum members Frogsmile, grumpy, Old Stubborn, Patrick, Isandlwana, Peter and crimea1854, who all contributed to an informative and in-depth discussion of the above images. If you are interested in further details of clothing and insignia, I suggest you browse that discussion and the many others on the forum.

For other military-themed images this week visit Sepia Saturday, where I believe the regular contributers will do their best to oblige.

References

The Victorian Wars Forum

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), Wikipedia & Wikimedia Commons

Beckett, I.F.W. (1982) Riflemen form: a study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement, 1859-1908, Ogilby Trusts, 368p.

Hay, G.J. (1987) The Constitutional Force, reprint of 1908 original by Ray Westlake Military Books.

Kelly (1881) Directory of Derbyshire.

Schick, I.T. (1978) Battledress: The Uniforms of the World's Great Armies 1700 to the present, illustrated by Wilhelm von Halen, London: Artus Books, 256p.

Wright, C.N. (1874) Directory of South Derbyshire, Derby: Bemrose & Sons.

Derby Studio Premises: Victoria Chambers, 36 Victoria Street (1863-1912)

In February 1863 the photographic firm of John Burton & Sons from Leicester, who had already opened a branch in Birmingham the previous year, announced in the Derby Mercury that they had opened a new gallery on the premises of Messrs' E. Clulow & Sons at 36 Victoria Street.


This advertisement appeared in Wright's 1864 Midland Directory (courtesy of the University of Leicester's Historical Directories), by which time they had added further branches in Nottingham and Burton-upon-Trent. The Derby studio remained in operation until soon after September 1867.


This 1860 view shows the south side of Victoria Street (formerly known as Brookside, being along the Markeaton Brook prior to its culverting over), with number 36 towards the left hand end, close to the intersection with St Peter's Street.



Over the next 45 years a succession of photographers had studios at this address, presumably above Clulow's bookshop. The photograph shown above was taken by Derby photographer W.W. Winter around 1885 and shows Edward Clulow Junior's premises at 36 Victoria Street to the left, with Edward Johnson, clockmaker (at number ) in the middle, and Martin & Son (at number ) on the right. The top floor of number 26 has a row of large windows that would be appropriate for a photographic studio, as plenty of daylight was needed to reduce exposure times. I suspect, therefore that a studio had been located on that floor ever since the tenure of J. Burton & Sons.

The photograph above was reproduced in The Winter's Collection of Derby by Maxwell Craven & Angela Leeson, published by Breedon Books in 1992 (ISBN 1873626207). I am very grateful to Angela Leeson and W.W. Winter Ltd. for their kind permission to reproduce images from the book on this web site. High quality prints of these photographs are available for purchase directly from W.W. Winter Ltd.


After the Burtons had departed, the next photographer to use what became known as Victoria Chambers was Clement Rogers (1836-1899), who operated a studio there from c.1870 until late 1874, before selling out to J.W. Price and moving to St. Leonards-on-Sea in Sussex. Price was already operating branch studios in Babington Lane (Derby) and Ivanhoe Road (Leicester), although the latter appears to have closed at about the time he moved in above Clulows. Price occupied the premises in Victoria Chambers until about 1879 or 1880. By November 1880, he was using card mounts with "39 Babington Lane" overprinted on top of "Victoria Chambers."


There was then something of a hiatus on the photographic front, before Harry J. Watson's tenure commenced in 1887 or 1888. In 1881, according to Kelly's trade directory, a dentist named Alfred Murphy was plying his trade upstairs. At the time that Winter's photograph was taken - Maxwell Craven suggests in his text that it was c.1885 - the signs show that upper floors were being used by the "Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation Ltd." and a "Subscription Library." Solicitor Tom. George Taylor occupied offices on the second or third floor by 1887, and remained there until at least 1891, as did Watson. However, between then and 1895, H.J. Watson moved out and opened a new studio at at 130 Burton Road, and the upper floors were occupied by an accountant, a stock & share broker, a colliery agent and a solicitor.

The next photographers to occupy the studio were Layton & Lamb, who Craven records as occupying Victoria Chambers in 1898. Leonard Norman, who may previously have worked at one of the other studios in Derby, then took over. He is listed at this address, along with Edward Clulow and accountant Frederick Basford, in the 1899 edition of Kelly's directory, and Adamson (1997) stated that he was also there in 1900, but the census shows that he had moved on to Ipswich in Suffolk by April 1901.


In 1903 the Derby Stereoscopic Company, managed by Frank Birch moved into the studio, and remained there until at least 1912, although by this time Edward Clulow had moved elsewhere, and were replaced as ground floor tenants by Stewarts' Ltd., who were clothiers. The image above, taken by W.W. Winter Ltd. shortly before the First World War, has been reproduced with permission from The Winter's Collection of Derby: Volume Two, also published by Breedon Books (ISBN 1 85983 055 2). The advertisement visible in the first floor window of number 36 reads, "HIGH CLASS ARTIFICIAL TEETH - ADVICE FREE - MACDONALD LTD" - this firm was listed in the 1912 directory, along with Stewarts on the ground floor (unfortunately hidden from view in the photograph by the electric tram), Miss Elizabeth Bostyn, art needlework depository on the second floor, and The Derby Stereoscopic Co. on the top floor. The large glass windows are still clearly visible.


The buildings were demolished in 1932, and replaced by a much grander building occupied by Burton Montague Ltd., tailors, as shown on the left in the two postcard views (above and below) from the 1930s.

Early Derby Photographers (2) - J.W. Price

Joseph Wheeldon Price (b. 1830) opened his first studio in Ashby-de-la-Zouch (Leics) in the mid-1860s, and by 1870 was operating another branch at Babington Lane in Derby. Although the Ashby premises closed in the early to mid-1870s, Price took over another studio at 36 Victoria Street, Derby from Clement Rogers for a brief period from 1876 to 1880.


The vignetted head-and-shoulders portrait shown above is a mounted albumen print marked with his signature - very similar to the signature printed on CDV mounts - on the reverse, as well as "Photo'D from copy" in the same hand. It was probably taken in the early 1870s when he was in his early forties.

For a few years in the early 1880s, he was in partnership with a travelling photographer Benjamin Galvin (1828-1900) and quite a few examples of CDVs and cabinet cards with Price & Gavin's stamp exist. Then, in the late 1880s Price retired to Liscard on the Wirral (Cheshire), where he ran a tobacconist's shop. The Babington Lane studio was subsequently operated by Edmund & C. Hopkins (1891) and Charles Carr, Gilbert & Co. (from 1895), who remained there until at least 1903.