Sepia Saturday 276: Barr Brothers and Portland Studios, Nottingham

Inspired by Marilyn's recent post of a newspaper article on Sepia Saturday's Facebook page about the dilemma of whether or not to save photos of unknown relatives, my contribution this week presents a series of cabinet portraits that have been "saved" from the skip, and may yet be identified, thanks to the habits of an early 20th century photographer.

Although certainly not unique (see W.W. Winter and Pollard Graham, both of Derby), it is rare to find a photographer who meticulously recorded the negative number and surname of every customer on the back of each portrait print that he supplied, but the Barr Brothers seemed to have just done that - at least with all 7 examples in my collection.

William Banister Barr was born in 1877, one of eight children of a Liverpool ironmonger. In early 1897 he briefly tried his hand as an apprentice merchant seaman aboard the ship Irby out of Liverpool. He later joined up as a gunner with the Royal Horse Artillery, but by March 1901 was a patient at the Royal Herbert Hospital in Woolwich, adjacent to the artillery barracks, presumably recuperating from some illness, as it appears unlikely he served with the unit in the Anglo-Boer War.


Cabinet card by Barr Bros, Portland Studio, Nottingham & Cardiff, c.1905
inscribed "15786 Dalby" - taken c. 1905-1907
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

In the 1911 census, only two male children with the surname Dalby and appropriate ages are recorded as living in the town of Nottingham: - William Hector Dalby, aged 13, son of Frank John Birch Dalby, a builder's foreman - Samuel Dalby, aged 10, son of Edward Dalby, a builder's labourer Could one of these two be him, I wonder?

In early 1904 he was working as a photographer, with premises at 1 Portland Road, Nottingham. By the time the above cabinet portrait of a young boy in a smart velvet suit was taken around 1905-1907, slightly let down by the studio's scruffy pot plant and rustic chair, it appears his younger brother Harold Cowper Barr (1879-1958) had joined him in the business. The card mount lists a branch studio at 47 Queen Street, Cardiff, which was operating in a building known as City Chambers for several years between 1907 and 1911. Harold was living in Cardiff in April 1911, and had presumably operated the southern arm of the business for some years.


Cabinet card by Portland Studios, Leicester & Nottingham
inscribed "26794 Gregory" - taken c. 1906-1907
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

Unfortunately Gregory was just too common a surname in Leicester and Nottingham (at least 13 of approximately the right age) for me to come up with any decent candidates for this woman.

In July 1905, when William was married at Fairfield, Lancashire, he was living in Birmingham and had studio premises in 52 New Street. He moved to 213 Moseley Road, Aston in 1906 and his first two sons were born there in 1906 and 1907. Within a couple of years, the "Barr Brothers" name was dropped from card mounts, and it simply became known as the Portland Studio, although the stylised ornate "B" monogram remained and they continued the use of their surname in trade listings. In 1908 William moved again, occupying a studio at 46, Imperial Buildings, Dale End.

Some time between 1904 and c.1908 they also briefly operated a studio at 68 Craven Park Road, Harlesden, London N.W.


Cabinet card by Portland Studios, Leicester & Nottingham
inscribed "32708 Tomlinson" - taken c. 1907-1908
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

There were even more candidates for Ms. Tomlinson, so all I can hope for is that someone, someday, will recognise her.

In 1908 a trade directory listed "Barr Bros" with premises at 20 Granby Street, Leicester, but despite the number of examples using the address in my collection it could not have lasted for very long, since by 1909 a photographer named Harry Clare was operating from that address. Of course it is conceivable that Harry Clare had previously been working for the Barr Brothers.


Cabinet card by Portland Studios, Leicester & Nottingham
inscribed "34562 Widdowson" - taken c. 1907-1908
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

The Widdowsons were likewise prolific in Nottinghams and Leicester, making any identification of this slightly older woman difficult, if not impossible, without further information.

The Barr Brothers had established a branch studio at 83a Bold Street, Liverpool as early as 1908, mosing to 103 Smithdown Road the following year. The Nottingham studio appears to have closed in 1908 or early 1909, and by 1910 listings for the Cardiff studio showed the head office of the business, presumably under the hand of William, as being located in Liverpool. William's third son was born at Hoylake, Cheshire in July that year, and by April 1911 the family was living at 107 Smithdown Road, Liverpool. William Barr described himself as a "master photographer" and an employer.


Cabinet card by Portland Studios, Leicester & Nottingham
inscribed "34683 Tomlinson" - taken c. 1907-1908
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

A second portrait of Ms. Tomlinson, a few months after the first, and this time it is full length.

Barr Bros. disappear from sight for the next few years, but the existence of branches in Belfast (109 Donegall Street) and London (132 Dalston Lane, N.E.) is suggested by the addresses on cabinet card mounts deduced to be from the pre-War period. I have also seen a postcard portrait of a merchant seaman, probably pre-War, that is blind stamped, "Portland Studio, 250 High St, S. Tottenham."


Cabinet card by Portland Studios, Leicester & Nottingham
inscribed "34772 Ellis" - taken c. 1907-1908
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

Young Mr Ellis could be any one of a number of candidates.

William Barr enlisted in the army in June 1916, and was called up for service for months later, at which time he gave his occupation as "photographer." Almost forty years of age, he spent the war in England with various units and was finally demobilised in March 1919.


Cabinet card by Portland Studios, Leicester & Nottingham
inscribed "35159 Pack (or Park)" - taken c. 1908-1909
Image © copyright and collection Brett Payne

I found a James Park, aged 21, working as a shoe hand in the Lasting Department of a factory in Leicester, in the 1911 census.

I have no firm evidence that William Barr returned to the photographic profession after the war. He died at Liverpool in 1949.

A list of studios known to have been operated by the Barr Brothers, not necessarily complete, so if you have any further information, please email me.

1904	William Banister Barr, 1 Portland Road, Nottingham
c.1905-1908	Barr Brothers, 1 Portland Road, Nottingham (Portland Studio)
1905-1906	William Banister Barr, 52 New Street, Birmingham
1905	William Banister Barr, 17 Lawrence Hill, Bristol
c. 1906-1907	Barr Brothers, 68 Craven Park Road, Harlesden, London N.W.
1906-1907	William Banister Barr, 213 Moseley Road, Aston, Birmingham
c. 1907-1909	Barr Brothers, 109 Donegall Street, Belfast
c. 1907-1909	Barr Brothers, 138 Dalston Lane, London N.E.
1907-1911	Barr Brothers, City Chambers, 47 Queen Street, Cardiff (Queen Studio)
1908	William Banister Barr, 46 Imperial Buildings, Dale End, Birmingham
1908	Barr Brothers, 20 Granby Street, Leicester
1908	Barr Brothers, 83a Bold Street, Liverpool
1909-1918	Barr Brothers, 103 Smithdown Road, Liverpool
1910	Barr Brothers, 39 (or 33) High Street, Merthyr Tydfil
1910	Barr Brothers, Market St, Llanelly
1910	Barr Brothers, 29 High Street, Newport
1910-1914	Barr Brothers, 79 Taff St, Pontypridd
c.1912-1914	Barr Brothers, 250 High Street, S. Tottenham
1913	Barr Brothers, Regent Street, Wrexham (Queen Studios)
1913	Barr Brothers, 88a Church Street, St Helens

References

Alderman, Mari (2006) Victorian Professional Photographers in Wales, 1850-1925, publ. online by GENUKI

Aston, C.E. John, Hallett, Michael & McKenna, Joseph (1987) Professional Photographers in Birmingham, 1842-1914, Supplement No. 116 to The PhotoHistorian, publ. Royal Photographic Society Historical Group.

Heathcote, Bernard & Heathcote, Pauline (n.d.) Pioneers of Photography in Nottinghamshire, 1841-1910, publ. by Nottinghamshire County Council.

Heathcote, Bernard V. & Heathcote, Pauline F. (n.d.) Leicester Photographic Studios in Victorian & Edwardian Times, publ. Royal Photographic Society Historical Group.

Hicks, Gareth (2003) Glamorgan Photographers (database), publ. online by GENUKI

Holland, Paul (n.d.) Chester & North East Wales Photographers, personal web site.

Jones, Gillian (2004) Lancashire Professional Photographers, 1840-1940, publ. by PhotoResearch.

Vaughan, Roger (2003) Bristol Photographers, 1852-1972, personal web site.

Sepia Saturday 207: Happy Days at Blackpool

I'm back after a fifteen week break from Sepia Saturday, during which time I visited England, France, Spain and California, and walked the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrim route stretching for just under a thousand kilometres across northern Spain, from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre. I was also delighted to meet and spend a day getting to know charming and genial fellow Sepians Little Nell and Caminante. Marilyn wrote of our exploring the enchanting city of Burgos together in Beguiled by Burgos. I'm very grateful that she and John went somewhat out of their way to facilitate this very successful meeting of like minds, and hope that we can do it again some time, somewhere.

Writing an article or two about the trip, which may include a few carefully selected photographs from my walk through historic northern Spain, will have to wait for when I have more time. This week I'd like to share some more images from a collection of glass plate and sheet film negatives that I've featured before here on Photo-Sleuth: SS179: Fun on the Sands - The Pleasure Palaces of Southport and SS188: The Cornwall Coast in Colour. The first of these two articles dealt with photographs taken by an amateur photographer during a visit to Southport, Lancashire, probably in 1913 or 1914.

It was on a similar trip, probably at around the same time, that the photographer took several scenes of the seaside attractions of Blackpool. It may even have been during the same trip; he or she might have taken a passage there on one of the steam boats from the end of Southport Pier. There are five negatives of views identified as from Blackpool, three of which I've included here.


Central Pier, Tower and Ferris Wheel, Blackpool, c.1913-1914
Quarter-plate glass negative (108 x 80mm, 4¼" x 3¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
This negative shows evidence of "in camera" light leakage or over-exposure along the left hand edge, and is suffering the ravages of time in the form of oxidation or silvering of the photographic emulsion, but the main part of the image is still in good condition. The view is of the Central Pier with the Blackpool Tower, theatre building, Ferris Wheel and Promenade from left to right, taken at low tide from a point on the beach a couple of hundred metres south of the pier.



I don't yet know who the photographer was, but he or she was no slouch when it came to recording holiday trips. By the second decade of the twentieth century, not only were there cheaper and easier roll film cameras (box and folding) available, rather than the fiddly plate or cartridge-backed model he used, but this was also the heyday of the picture postcard. The selection included in the slideshow above are typical of the large range of views which were readily available for visitors to purchase, and give a good impression the wide variety of activities available at the Blackpool waterfront.


Rainbow Wheel, Scenic Railway & Helter Skelter Lighthouse, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, c.1913-1914
Quarter-plate glass negative (108 x 80mm, 4¼" x 3¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
In this large collection there are also two negatives depicting illuminated night scenes. Using postcards from that era, both are identifiable as having been taken at Pleasure Beach in Blackpool. I previously wrote about Charles Howell operating a photographic studio at Pleasure Beach between the two World Wars. Pictured in the negatives are a Rainbow Wheel, the Scenic Railway, the Helter Skelter Lighthouse (all above) and the Casino (below).


Casino, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, c.1913-1914
Quarter-plate glass negative (108 x 80mm, 4¼" x 3¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne


A series of contemporary postcards shows the same attractions, both by day and by night. In 1879 Blackpool became the first municipality in the world to have electric street lights installed, along the Promenade. The accompanying pageants were the forerunner of the town's famous Illuminations.


Fun on the Sands, 1914
I've also found several silent movie clips from 1914, 1926 and 1934 which give a very good feel for the various attractions on Blackpool's waterfront. The first clip, Fun on the Sands, includes the Senic Railway ride and a panning shot of the Rainbow Wheel, built in 1912, and the Helter Skelter Lighthouse. For further details of the rides and other attractions, click through the links to the YouTube web site.


Happy Days at Blackpool 1926 (Part 1)


Happy Days at Blackpool 1926 (Part 2)


Blackpool Illuminations 1934
This brings me to a small request to fellow Saturday Sepians and other regular readers of this blog. I am have started a small project studying seaside photography in Blackpool, and am looking for as wide a variety of seaside portraits as I can find. If you have any in your family or personal collections that you'd care to share, I would very much appreciate scans of them, please.

In particular, I'm looking for the following types of photographs:

• any early daguerreotypes, ambrotypes or tintypes taken in Blackpool
• formal portraits from any of Blackpool's numerous studios, from the 1840s/1850s through to the present day, including ambrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite, cabinet cards, postcards and a variety of paper print formats
• portraits taken by itinerant beach photographers, of relaxing on the beach, playing games or riding the ever present donkeys
• walking pictures, also known as "walkies," taken by professional street photographers, perhaps taken along the Promenade or elsewhere in Blackpool
• amateur photographs taken on or near to Blackpool's piers or beaches, particularly those with recognisable landmarks in the background, such as one of the piers, the tower, or fairground attractions.

They don't have to be wonderful quality - there are several other aspects of the photographs that I'm interested in, more than having spectacular examples of the genre. Permission would of course be sought if I wanted to use any of the images online or in a publication, and all such use would be fully acknowledged. If you have any photos that you think might be of interest, please leave a comment below with contact details or email me.

For more sepian delights I can recommend a visit to the remainder of this week's Sepia Saturday contributers.

Sepia Saturday 179: Fun on the Sands - The Pleasure Palaces of Southport

Although the temptation for me with this week's Sepia Saturday image prompt is to travel with the itinerant photographer's wagon following fairground folk around the countryside, I've decided instead to stick with the non-professional side of photography. I've covered travelling photographers a number of times here on Photo-Sleuth, so will use the opportunity to enjoy the fun of the fair through the eye and lens of an amateur.

I recently acquired a collection of 177 glass plate and roll film negatives and have spent a couple of weeks scanning them. Although they were sourced locally, the majority appear to have been taken in England, possibly by a young couple who later emigrated to New Zealand. I've selected a few which I've identified as being on the Lancashire coast. More images will no doubt make their way into my posts over the next few months, but I do hope to study the collection as a whole, ultimately with a view to identifying the family depicted although that's very much a long shot at present.


Entrance to Southport Pier and Pavilion, undated
Quarter-plate glass negative (108 x 80mm, 4¼" x 3¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
Regular Photo-Sleuth readers might find this view of a pier entrance familiar, since two of my recent articles have dealt with seaside photographers in Blackpool, namely Charles Howell and Young Burns. This, however, is the entrance to Southport Pier, not only one of the first piers to be erected in iron but also the second longest in Great Britain.


Along the turreted frontage of the entrance are a number of signs and posters advertising the attractions for those prepared to pay the admission fee (2d. for children). One sign offers tickets for a ride on the electric tram to the head of the 1465 yard-long pier, where Professor Powsey, Champion High Diver of the World promised to entertain three times daily.


Professor Powsey's Terrible Cycle Dive, West Pier, Brighton, c.1910

Professor Powsey, The World's Greatest Diver, Southport Show Ground
Images © and courtesy of Southport.gb.com
Powsey and his daughter Gladys both operated in a number of coastal towns in the pre-Great War years, including Brighton, Yarmouth, Inverness and Southport. Historian Alan Taylor lived nearby the Southport Pier from from 1908 to 1913, and recalled seeing Bert Powsey's act:

His most sensational dive ... he tied both his hands to his sides, tied his legs togethr, then plunged in and emerged safe and sound with all his ropes loosened. The climax ... was the bicycle dive, an expedition which he conducted down a steep board into the sea with the bicycle alight and blazing around him.

(Wrigley, 2006)

At the pier head, close to the refreshment rooms, you might attend a performance of "The Aristocrats" by the Pier Company's Orchestra or, should you have tired of Southport's attractions, you might prefer to take a passage on a steam boat for the brief trip across to Blackpool.


Southpost Pier and Pavilion, c.1910
The main attraction, however, appears to have been Fred Karno's Company playing at the magnificent Pier Pavilion, built in 1902 and sadly demolished in 1968, the domed roof of which is clearly visible above the hoardings pasted with a variety of Karno's posters. In the postcard view above, a set of very similar posters is just visible to the right of the entrance to the very grand building.


Fred Karno, best known for his role in the early careers of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, had been visiting Merseyside for well over a decade. The earliest event I can find is the record of a performance at Liverpool's Prince of Wales Theatre, then managed by Captain Fred Wombwell (of Bostock & Wombwell's Menagerie fame) in March 1895. The two productions advertised on this occasion were The G.P.O. and Wakes Week.


Poster for Fred Karno's The G.P.O., Leeds Hippodrome, 6 Oct 1913
Image © and courtesy of Leeds Playbills
Karno claimed that it was in the successful sketch The G.P.O. that Walter Groves first created the famed "Tramp Walk," later passed on to Charlie Chaplin when he took on the role. The earliest records that I have been able to find for this burlesque show was when it was staged at the Sheffield Empire and Paragon theatres in October and November 1908 respectively (Clarence, 1909). An entry in the 4 June 1908 issue of The Stage newspaper confirms that "a colossal production, entitled 'G.P.O.'" was in active preparation.


Poster for Fred Karno's Wakes Week, Leeds Hippodrome, 28 Oct 1912
Image © and courtesy of Leeds Playbills
It is not clear when Wakes Week was first produced, but the paucity of references to it on the net suggest that it was not particularly successful, and may not have been around for long when this poster was printed in late 1912 for a performance in Leeds. After war broke out in 1914, the popularity of such entertainment waned considerably. After the war, the advent of cinematography more or less ensured its demise.


View Larger Map
This is the view today - nothing remains of the old pier entrance, but there is still an old-style a merry-go-round, and the top of the 2004 Marine Way Bridge is visible above Silcock's gaudy Funland. If you use your mouse to navigate Google's Streetview above by 180 degrees (click and drag to the left or right), wou will see a view almost identical to that in the second slide chosen from the collection, pictured below.


Statue of Queen Victoria, Nevill Street, Southport, undated
Quarter-plate glass negative (80 x 108mm, 3¼" x 4¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The sharper-eyed readers will spot that Queen Victoria appears to have turned around some time in the last century or so. The bronze statue was unveiled in July 1904 in the Town Hall Gardens, in front of the Atkinson Art Gallery, now Stockport Library, but moved to the junction of Nevill Street and the Promenade on 20 December 1912 (Anon, n.d. & Wright, 1992). In 2005-2006, the statue was removed for restoration and, when reinstated, the decision was made that she should move a short distance to the south-east and face the town centre instead of the sea (Anon, 2004 & 2006).


The buildings to the left of the statue, which have survived largely intact, are adorned with signs and flags advertising the culinary delights available at the Victoria Baths Cafe and Restaurant. There is also a curious sign with a rather obvious "We Shall Have Rain," which I have deduced must be situated directly above a purveyor of umbrellas. I might add that, although they look a bit like rain, the pale brush strokes diagonally across the image are, I think, actually a result of a lack of care during the plate developing process.


Probably North Marine Gardens, Southport, undated
Quarter-plate glass negative (80 x 108mm, 3¼" x 4¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The next poorly focussed photograph shows several figures on a footpath, taken from across a pond, complete with swan, and it seems likely that it was taken in the North Marine Gardens, shown on the 1911 map below.


Southport Pier Entrance, Pavilion, Nevill St and North Marine Gardens
Portion of 1911 1:2500 Ordnance Survey Map
Image © Crown Copyright and courtesy of Landmark Information Group

Shelter/bandstand in South Marine Gardens, Southport, undated
Quarter-plate glass negative (80 x 108mm, 3¼" x 4¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The Marine Gardens and Promenade also extended to the south-west of the pier, and this photograph shows a bandstand which can be exactly matched with that in the two postcards below, dating from roughly 1910-1915, situated overlooking the southern arm of the Marine Lake.


The Promenade, Southport, c.1910-1915
Postcard by James Valentine (206845)

Lake and Gardens, Southport, c.1910-1915
Postcard by unidentified publisher
The second of these views gives a hint of the next destination of our photographer, on the far side of a lake adorned with row boats. Originally a cluster of amusement stalls, simple rides and side shows had formed around the pier entrance at the top of Nevill Street, but with the development of the area as the Promenade and River Gardens in 1887, what were deemed "less desirable" amenities had been forced to relocate to the southern end of the Marine Lake.


Southport Fair Ground and South Marine Gardens
Portion of 1911 1:2500 Ordnance Survey Map
Image © Crown Copyright and courtesy of Landmark Information Group
By the turn of the century, the attractions had evolved into a more extravagent enterprise, eventually known officially as the "White City," and continued to expand, with the stalls and sideshows becoming more elaborate and numerous.
1895 - Aerial Ride/Glide (closed in 1911) and Switchback Railway
1903 - Water Chute
1904 - Hiram Maxim's Flying Machine
1905 - Helter Skelter Lighthouse
1908 - Figure-of-Eight Toboggan Railway and River Caves
1911 - Lakeside Miniature Railway, connecting fair ground and pier


Water Chute and Flying Machine, Fair Ground, Southport, undated
Quarter-plate glass negative (108 x 80mm, 4¼" x 3¼")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
The photographer took two views of the Water Chute in action. The first was from the eastern shoreline of the lake, immediately in front of the stalls and adjcent to the chute's Landing Stage (marked on the OS map of 1911) and captures the big splash at the moment of impact.


An enlarged image includes some nice detail of the shallow, flat-bottomed skiffs used on the chute, the Flying Machine at rest (one of the "spaceships" is just visible behind the chute), and the superstructure of what appears from the map to be the Toboggan Railway in the background.


Water Chute and Helter Skelter House, Fair Ground, Southport, undated
Roll film or sheet negative (109 x 62mm, 4¼" x 2½")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
A second view, using roll or sheet film rather than a glass plate, was taken from the western shore of the lake, directly to the north of the chute, and freezes a skiff half-way down the slide. It may be that the photographs in this collection were taken with more than one camera, and even by more than one photographer. From a consideration of the similarity of the shooting styles and the sequence of shots outlined, it seems quite possible that they are from the same camera. If so, then it would have been of a type for use with spooled 116-format (4¼" x 2½") daylight-loading film, or a removable back could be replaced with a holder for sheet film or dry plates.


Ensign Folding Klito, unidentified model, c.1900-1920
Image © and courtesy of the Tauranga Heritage Collection
The Ensign Folding Klito, manufactured by Houghton Ltd. of London, was just such a camera, popular with many amateurs. However, there were several other makes available, such as the No 3 Sibyl, first produced in 1908.


At far right is the Helter Skelter Light House, opened in 1905 ...


... while other signs advertise the River Caves and Switchback rides.


Also visible is a crowd in front of the bowling alley.


Helter Skelter House, Water Chute and Flying Machine, Southport, PM 1907
Postcard by unidentified publisher
This colourised card, postmarked 1907, and a similar black-and-white view posted in 1912, show a fair ground area with fewer buildings, nevertheless with the Helter Skelter, Water Chute and Flying Machine already in place. A slightly earlier version of a similar view, posted in 1905, is lacking the Helter Skelter, which was only built that year.

The fair ground gradually shifted between 1922 and 1924 to the new Pleasureland site on reclaimed land to the north-west. This was after the River Gardens had been redeveloped as the King's Gardens, the latter having been opened by King George V and Queen Mary on 8 July 1913.


Marine Lanke, Southport, undated
Roll film or sheet negative (109 x 62mm, 4¼" x 2½")
by an unidentified amateur photographer
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
Finally, it appears that the photographer travelled north along the Marine Walk, which at that time separated the Marine Lake from the beach. This view is taken from due north of the Pier Pavilion, looking back towards the pier, pavilion and the town frontage along the Promenade. That's the end of the images that can be clearly identified as emanating from Southport, and a suitable point at which to take a breather. He also visited Blackpool, but those delights can wait for another time.

If you've lasted this long, thank you for persevering. It's a little premature to deduce much about the photographer at present. After all, the seven images discussed here are a tiny proprotion of the collection, and don't appear to include any of the photographer's companions. Nor can I be certain that all of these photographs were taken on the same visit to the town. However, it has been possible to deduce that at least some of the photographs were taken after December 1912, when Queen Victoria's statue arrived on Nevill Street. I also think it unlikely that they were taken after late 1914, when the war would have changed much of the atmosphere in Southport. This narrows the date range right down to a very comfortable two-year period, and forms a good anchor point around which to view the remaining photographs in the collection ... in due course.

References

Fred Karno's Company Stage Listings, 4 June 1908, on the Fred Karno Company web site.

Khaotic, The Fred Karno Story

Fred Karno and the Karsino from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

ER Promenade Appraisal, Historic Development and Movement Report, Sefton Council.

Anon (n.d.) King's Gardens Conservation Management Plan and Historic Development of Southport and its Seafront, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council Conservation Management Plan.

Anon (n.d.) Statue of Queen Victoria, Public Monuments & Sculpture Association.

Anon (1895) Amusements in Liverpool, in The Era (London, England), Saturday, March 16, 1895; Issue 2947, courtesy of Gale CENGAGE Learning.

Anon (2004) Sefton Council Measure Up Queen Victoria, courtesy of Southport.gb.com.

Anon (2006) Queen Victoria is on her way back to Southport, in Champion, 26 April 2006.

Clarence, Reginald (1909) The Stage Cyclopaedia, A Bibliography of Plays, London: The Stage, p.167, courtesy of The Internet Archive.

Cook, Evelyn (2006) Pleasureland Amusement Park, Marine Drive, Southport, courtesy of Coasterforce.com.

Copnall, Stephen (2005) Pleasureland Memories: A History of Southport's Amusement Park, Skelter Publishing, in Historic Development of Southport and its Seafront, Anon (see above).

Kamin, Dan (2008) The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion, Scarecrow Press, p.11, courtesy of Google Books.

Wright, Geoff (1992) Southport, a Century Ago, courtesy of Southport.gb.com.

Wrigley, C.J. (2006) A.J.P. Taylor: Radical Historian of Europe, I.B.Tauris, p.12-13, courtesy of Google Books.

Sepia Saturday 160: Charles Howell, the Official Photographer of Pleasure Beach

Alan's photograph for the Sepia Saturday theme this week was, as I deduced about 18 months ago, probably taken in the late 1940s or early to mid-1950s at Blackpool's Central Pier.


For my own contribution, I'm going to turn to the left and walk a mile or so south along the Promenade, past the South Pier to Blackpool's famous Pleasure Beach, according to Wikipedia "the most visited amusement park in the United Kingdom," and seen in Google Earth's Streetview above.


Postcard portrait of unidentified woman and child, 17 July 1933
by Charles Howell, Official Photographer, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
Somewhere in this vicinity, close to the Promenade - I haven't yet been able to determine the precise location - was where Charles Howell (1866-1943) operated a popular seaside resort photographic business between the two world wars. In this postcard portrait by Howell a mother envelops her arms protectively around her somewhat fearful child, who is perched precariously in a saddle on the back of a stuffed pony, itself mounted on a wheeled base strewn with "grass." A large painted backdrop depicting a cottage in a rural setting and wooden floorboards complete the scene.


The printed back of the standard postcard carries an imprint, "Charles Howell, Official Photographer, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool." Although there are references to hundreds of postcard portraits on the web taken by Howell with this claim to official license, I have been unable to find any other photographers using the same title, and therefore assume that his permission to operate within the grounds of Pleasure Beach was sanctioned by the owners, the Thompson family. This must have been an important concession - in the mid-1890s, according to one report, around three dozen beach photographers were reported to be plying their trade in a single day (Moore, 2012).

Fortunately Howell was one of those thoughtful photographers who provided a clear date stamp on the back of most of his portraits, presumably as much to facilitate the purchase of prints by customers as to enable future family historians to date the holiday photos of their loved ones.


Postcard portrait of unidentified family group, 4 August 1928
by Charles Howell, Official Photographer, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr
Charles Howell opened his first photographic studio in Blackpool on Bank Hey Street close to the tower in 1913, having operated briefly for a couple of years in Oxford Road, Manchester (Jones, 2004). Here, and later at 85 Central Beach, he exploited the burgeoning market for novelty caricature portraits using comical or grotesque painted foregrounds (Harding, 2008).

In 1923 he opened another studio which formed part of the rapidly expanding attractions at Pleasure Beach, and started to style himself as the "Official Photographer." The portrait of a young family above was taken at these premises in 1926, only three years after it opened, and demonstrates that the stuffed pony had already become one of what developed into a large array of studio accessories.

Howell ... offer[ed] playful portraits incorporating an assortment of novelty props ... you could be photographed wearing a top hat, playing a banjo or holding a giant bottle of beer. You could be photographed on a papier mache horse or a real, live donkey. (Harding, 2008)

In the summer of 1926 the pony was already looking a little worse for wear, with one floppy ear and a rather wrinkled coat. It is interesting to observe that the painted backdrop is very similar to that used for the summer 1933 portrait, althought not identical. I suspect that the same view had been embellished or repainted, perhaps more than once, in the intervening seven years. Certainly the base of the canvas screen (detail above) had become rather tatty, and the somewhat bedraggled "grass" looked more like seaweed.


Postcard portrait of two unidentified young girls, undated
by Charles Howell, Official Photographer, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Image © L.M. Wood and courtesy of Flickr
It's not surprising that some customers chose instead to pose on or alongside a real live donkey. I presumed that the donkey was borrowed or hired by the photographer from one of the many rides available on the nearby beach, until I noticed that in many of Howell's postcards that include the donkey, it has a saddle blanket with the neatly embroidered name "Radium."


Postcard portrait of unidentified woman on donkey, 28 August 1926
by Charles Howell, Official Photographer, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Image © and courtesy of Audrey Linkman
This postcard from 1926 has the donkey under some duress (although doing well not to show undue sufferance) and a more topical backdrop which includes a large ferris wheel and a representation of the Blackpool Tower. It includes a negative number at the top, which I have thus far only seen on one other Howell postcard, dated 30 Aug 1930.


Postcard portrait of unidentified boy, undated
Unattributed, but probably by Charles Howell, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Image © lovedaylemon and courtesy of Flickr
An undated portrait of a schoolboy still in uniform (presumably his socks and school shoes are stuffed into a satchel somewhere out of sight) riding Radium has another version of Blackpool's fairground style attractions on the backdrop.


Charles Howell's early studio at Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, undated
Image © and courtesy of Colin Harding/Photographica World
Colin Harding includes in his short article about Howell this photograph of the studio premises within Pleasure Beach, advertising 6 postcard photographs for a shilling, and makes it clear that the portraits would be "ready while you wait." The sign above the central doorway encourages visitors to "be photographed on the motor cycle," a studio prop which Harding refers to as Howell's trademark.


Postcard portrait of Sarah Corkish and friends, 1939
by Charles Howell, Official Photographer, Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
Image courtesy of Rootschat
In a group portrait dating from 1939, Howell went to great lengths to satisfy the whims of his customers. Not only are the six women arrayed around the legendary Coventry Eagle motorcycle and the perennial stuffed pony, but a large toy dog mopes dejectedly in the foreground, there is a 30 mph speed limit sign almost disappearing off stage to the right, and the woman on the far left carries one of the famous giant beer bottles. The backdrop depicting a large gatepost and (as I know from other portraits which include the scene) a driveway leading to a grand home completes this bizarre scene.

As Harding writes in his article, the studio was "... a place where people could escape the cares of the workaday world; a place where, if only for the fleeting moment, the boundaries between fantasy and reality become blurred." That was, after all, the ethos of the Thompson family's Pleasure Park.


Panel portrait of Bessie Fisher, 2 August 1929
by Charles Howell, Blackpool
Image © Peter Fisher and courtesy of SmugMug
I'm tempted to carry on showing you more of Charles Howell's wonderful variety of customers and array of studio props, because there are many, many examples to be found on the web, but I don't want to get carried away, so I'll leave you with a final example. This is one of the panel prints that Howell advertised at 6 for 6d.

Jones (2004) shows Howell working at the Promenade in Blackpool until 1939, but there are some dated examples of his work at that location from 1940 (listed in the holdings of the Greater Manchester County Record Office, via The National Archives ARCHON Directory). Charles Howell died on 26 November 1943 at Moore-street Nursing Home, Blackpool, aged 77.

References

Breen, Thaddeus C. (2012) Photographers and Studios in Dublin, on Irish Archæology

Edwards, Steve (2007) 'Poor Ass!' in "A Donkey in Blackpool, 1999," Oxford Art Journal 30 (1), p39-54, Oxford Journals.

Harding, Colin (2008) Charles Howell, Photographer of Pleasure, Photographica World, 2008/3, The Photographic Collectors’
Club of Great Britain, p16-19.

Jones, Gillian (2004) Lancashire Professional Photographers 1840-1940, Watford, Herts: PhotoResearch, 203pp.

Moore, Nick (2012) Blackpool and District Now and Then, The Chronology of a Holiday Resort, version XVI (accessed 18 Jan 2012)