Sepia Saturday 128: The Mikado

This week's Sepia Saturday theme gives me an opportunity to show off another eBay purchase, one which would have had a lot more relevance to my great-grandfather Charles Vincent Payne (1868-1941) than to myself.


This silver gelatin print mounted on thick white card with an embossed rectangular frame was an unusual purchase for me, as I know nothing about operatic musicals and, to be honest, am not particularly partial to them either. However, I am intrigued by the late Victorian fascination with all things Oriental, including The Mikado written by Gilbert and Sullivan and first produced at the Savoy Theatre by the D'Oyly Carte Company in March 1885.


I believe this group of nine young ladies dressed to the oriental nines, bedecked with fans and a multitude of hair ornaments, must be participating in the chorus for a performance, possibly amateur rather than professional, of "The Mikado." The group portrait appears to have been taken by photographer Henry Spink of Brighton on a visit to the performance venue, since the background includes appropriately painted oriental scenes.


The Mikado, Three Little Maids from School
Publicity poster for New York production, 1885
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
Their costumes are very similar to those shown in a poster for one of the professional D'Oyly Carte productions, depicting the "Three Little Maids from School."


Three Little Maids, London 1885
Image courtesy of Wikipedia
The Three Little Maids - in this case, the actresses Sybil Grey, Leonora Braham and Jessie Bond - are also shown in this photograph from the first D'Oyly Carte performance at the Savoy Theatre. Whether the painted scene is a theatre prop from the actual performance or a specially prepared studio backdrop is unknown.


Three Little Maids, c.1885
Tintype by unidentified U.S. photographer (5.7 x 8.4 mm)
Image courtesy of The American Museum of Photography
The instant success of the opera, even across the Atlantic, is demonstrated by this tintype from the mid- to late 1880s (courtesy of The American Museum of Photography), also showing the "Three Little Maids" in a pose which was widely emulated for advertising purposes. In this case, the painted backdrop seems to be a generic, rather then specifically oriental scene.


Advertising Card for the Tricora Corset, c.1885
Chromolithograph, by unidentified artist
Image courtesy of The American Museum of Photography
A delightful card for The Tricora Corset is a typical example of the advertising produced with this theme.


Geraldine Ulmar as "Yum-Yum," The Mikado, 1886
Cabinet card by B.J. Falk of New York
Image courtesy of the New York Public Library
Photographers also made full use of the commercial possibilities, such is in this "paper moon" style of cabinet card portrait by celebrity hunter B.J. Falk picturing Geraldine Ulmar, one of the cast in the original 5th Avenue D'Oyly Carte production which ran from August 1885 to April 1886. She also appears as the central figure in the "Three Little Maids from School" poster.


David Simkin's thoroughly researched work on the Spink family of photographers from Brighton very usefully includes a dated list of studio addresses. This suggests that Henry Spink Junior operated from 109 Western Road, Brighton from 1896 to 1934, but that his portraits show the name "Henry Spink" - as opposed to "Henry Spink (junior)" or "Spink (Brighton) Limited" - only from 1911 to 1921. It seems likely to me that this group portrait is from the early, pre-War part of that period, say between 1911 and 1914.


The Mikado 1904 by the Leicester Amateur Music & Dramatic Society
Image © and courtesy of Alan Craxford
By the turn of the century - perhaps even earlier - The Mikado was being performed by amateur dramatic societies. Alan Craxford has written about his grandfather's involvement with local amateur dramatic society in Leicester in the 1920s and early 1930s, and includes a programme for a performance of The Mikado in April 1904 which he surmises that his grandfather may have attended.

It seems likely that after the Second Savoy repertory season from April 1908 to March 1909, a revival of interest may have led to increased amateur performance of the opera throughout the United Kingdom. I haven't yet found documentation of such a performance in Brighton, but I'm sure that if there was one, the records will appear on the net eventually. In fact, Brighton hosted the first provincial production of The Mikado in July 1884, a little more than a year after its original debut.


Charles Vincent Payne in costume, c.1894
Cabinet card by Pollard Graham, Derby
Image © and collection of Brett Payne
My great-grandfather, shown here in what I assume was one of his theatrical get-ups, might have had quite a different life had he chosen to take up a reputed offer of a contract with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. As it was, he worked as a coach builder, a builder and a grocer, then was in business as an estate agent for much of his working life in Derby, but many of his leisure hours were taken up with amateur singing and dramatics (see Whistling Bird, the Arizona Cowboy and the Disappearing Lady).

Join Sophie Tucker with her "I Can't Get Enough Of Your Love," and other such entertaining stories - head over to Sepia Saturday for this week's smorgasbord.

Derby Photographers: Pollard Graham

Barker Pollard Graham, like many photographers of his day, went through several "boom and bust" cycles during his lengthy career. Some of these phases of activity were in the form of partnerships, often with local businessmen who would have provided financial backing to his various schemes. It's difficult, perhaps impossible, to assess now how much his failures were due to poor business sense, and how much to unfortunate turns of events - most likely a bit of both.


Carte de visite portrait of John Hunter, junior, September 1880
by Pollard Graham of New Road, Belper & North End, Wirksworth
Images © and courtesy of Ron Cosens
His first venture appears to have been started around 1878 - I don't yet have a firm date - working as a photographer and gelatine dry plate manufacturer at New Road in Belper, but also operating in Wirksworth. Reports of financial difficulties in mid-1881 assert that he traded as "Pollard Graham & Co." Although I have yet to see any other evidence for use of this name at this early stage, I suspect that the "& Co." referred to his brother-in-law Michael Charnock, also a photographer, who was living him on census night in April 1881. In February 1886 there is another report of court proceedings between the "Derby Photographic Dry Plate Company" and "Pollard Graham & Co." but no details of location or are given. To my knowledge the suffix "& Co." never appeared on any of his card mounts or trade directory entries during this period.


Carte de visite portrait of unidentified woman, c.1886-7
by Pollard Graham of New Road, Belper & The Zoological Gardens, Southport
Images © and courtesy of Ron Cosens
Around 1886-1887 Graham replaced his Wirksworth sideline with one at The Zoological Gardens, Southport, as shown only by the addresses on several carte de visites. It seems probable that his visits to Southport were merely seasonal, catering to the zoo's summer visitors, and he is unlikely to have occupied permanent premises there.

In early 1887, together with several Derby businessmen, he registered "Pollard Graham and Company, Limited" in the business of gelatine bromide photographic dry plate manufacturers. In that year he was operating from premises in Agard Street, Derby. Again it appears that the business did not thrive, and three years later, in March 1890, the "stock in trade and working plant" of Pollard Graham & Co., Ltd., Agard Street, Derby was offered for sale. A liquidation notice for Pollard Graham & Co., Ltd., Derwent Dry Plate Works, Agard Street, which had been operating since 1886, appeared in June 1890. As I've not seen any card mounts with the Agard Street address, I'm not sure whether he ever operated a studio from there.


Carte de visite portrait of unidentified woman, c.1891-3
by Pollard Graham of Rodney Chambers, Corn Market, Derby
Image © and courtesy of Lies Ligthard
The portrait business, however, continued, and it is clear from mentions in the local newspaper that he was taking portraits from premises at Rodney Chambers, Corn Market in August 1890. By March 1891 it is likely that his son James Charnock Graham was working for him. This studio appears to have then remained open, possibly continuously, until his death in 1932. I have no clear, unequivocal evidence for it, but I suspect that the portrait studio operated outside the framework of both of these early "Pollard Graham & Co" businesses, which appear to have been formed specifically for the commercial manufacture of dry plates, presumably for supply to local studios.


Carte de visite portrait of unidentified woman, c.1895-7
by Pollard Graham of Derby & Burton on Trent
Images © and collection of Brett Payne
Pollard Graham's next venture was to open a branch studio in the nearby brewing town of Burton-upon-Trent, probably some time between 1893 and 1895. The entries in trade directories for 1896 and 1900 show him with the addresses 12 and 113a Station Street respectively. I believe this branch remained open until around 1900, but again I don't have a firm date for its closure. It is complicated by the firm possibly using card mounts with both "Burton & Derby" and "Derby" addresses simultaneously during this period.


Carte de visite portrait of unidentified woman, c.1905-7
by Pollard Graham of Burnley, Leigh, Peterboro' & Derby
Images © and collection of Brett Payne
From 1903 until 1910, Pollard Graham also operated several other branches, of varying duration, in other Midland towns. According to my research, these were in Peterborough, Burnley, Leigh and Wigan, and all examples that I have seen from these branches were styled "Pollard Graham," with no suffix.


Large format mounted portrait of Lily May Campbell, c.1910
by Pollard Graham & Co. of Burslem, Longton, Coventry & Northampton
Image © and courtesy of Diane Lilley
Some time prior to March 1915, when the partnership was dissolved, Pollard Graham went into a collaboration with Albert Hutchinson. This firm was styled, "Pollard Graham & Co." and at the time of dissolution was operating "in the trade or business of Photographers" at Friar-gate, Derby. From what I can tell, all of the card mounts with "Pollard Graham & Co." printed on them can be ascribed to this pre-war period of operation, when they had branches in Burslem, Longton, Coventry, Northampton, Rotherham, Luton and Lincoln. From an analysis of the photographs which have the "& Co." suffix - sadly, none are dated - and various trade directory entries, I believe that the partnership between Hutchinson and Graham probably corresponds to the use of the "& Co." title, and commenced around 1910. I have not seen any photograph with "Pollard Graham & Co." printed on it, or a trade directory entry for "Pollard Graham & Co." prior to 1910 or after 1915.


Postcard portrait of unidentified man, c.1914
by Pollard Graham of 108A Friargate, Derby
Images © and collection of Brett Payne
The Great War seems to have had a significant impact on Pollard Graham's business. Apparently all of the branch studios were closed around 1914-1915, with only the "Head Office and Works" remaining open until around 1920. It is not clear what happened to the studio at Rodney Chambers, Corn Market during the War, because it the address is not shown on extant postcard backs from 1915-1920. It may have been closed temporarily until business picked up again in peace time.


Postcard portrait of Caroline Sadler, c.1921-5
by Pollard Graham of Derby & Northampton
Images © and courtesy of Caroline Dean
In about 1920, perhaps sensing business was indeed rejuvenating, he opened a new branch in Northampton.


Postcard portrait of unidentified man, c.1925-6
by Pollard Graham of Derby, Northampton, Kettering & Wellingborough
Images © and courtesy of Rob Jennings
Around 1925, he went into a short-lived partnership with his son James, and they opened more branches, successively, in Kettering and Wellingborough. Postcards and card mounts bear the name "Pollard Graham & Son" and "Pollard Graham & Son's Studios," respectively. This would not last long, however. The partnership was dissolved in October 1926, Pollard Graham keeping the Corn Market studio, and his son retaining the others.


Postcard portrait of Ada Mary Oxspring, c.1928-32
by Pollard Graham of Rodney Chambers, Corn Market, Derby
Images © and courtesy of Graham Robinson
From late 1926 until his death in 1932, Pollard Graham continued to take portraits at Rodney Chambers, Corn Market.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank all of those who have kindly contributed both images and information over a period of some years for my revised profile of the Derby photographer Pollard Graham - without them, this study would be very patchy.

Nigel Aspdin, Hilary Booth, Betty Bowler, Boz, Kerrie Brailsford, Pat Cahill, Grace-Ellen Capier, John Copley, Brian Coxon, Helen Cullum, Joss Davis, Caroline Dean, Sophie Dickerson, Chris Elmore, Jack Fletcher, John Frearson, Helen Frost, Gillian Fynes, Angela Galloway, Brian Goodhead, Angus Graham, Clive Greatorex, Carole Haywood, John Hoddinott, Martin Jackson, Rob Jennings, Kim Klump, Lies Ligthart, Diane Lilley, Dorothy Livesey, Marilyn McMillan, Cynthia Maddock, Barry Muir, Sarah Nash, Margaret Page, Graham Pare, Fran Powles, Alan Radford, Kevin Rhodes, Graham Robinson, David Roughley, Robert Silverwood, Derek Smith, Valerie Stern, Lynne Tedder and Andrew Wryobek.

Photographic Ephemera: Posting envelopes and their relevance

Portrait of young man by Pollard Graham of Derby
Mounted print 250 x 350mm
Last week I wrote in the article "Which sibling is it?" about the importance of dating photographs in the process of identification of subjects. Today I return to this topic with an image sent to me three years ago by Graham Pare, who provided some background to the photograph:

It is the only photo I have from this area - my father's family were from Derbyshire, my great grandfather was Francis Willoughby Pare born Belper 1909 and his father was Robert Stanley Lee Pare, born Ripley 1887 - I guess it could be either of them, depending on your estimated year? There again it could be neither of them!

Imprint: Pollard Graham & Co, Head Office 108A Friar Gate, Derby
Negative number 68770
My response was as follows:

I believe that it was taken just before or during the First World War, perhaps between 1911 and 1916. This is from a comparison of the young man's clothing with other photos in my collection, as well as the number 68770 which you quoted from the reverse, and which I think must be a negative number. I have a post card photo of my own family by this studio with the negative number 70932, which is accurately dated at 13 Jul 1917, and I think yours must have been taken not too long before this date. I think it must therefore be the father, Robert Stanley Lee Pare, born in 1887, as the son would have been a maximum of seven years old, while the father was somewhere between 24 and 29. Does this fit with any conclusions you might have come to?

Portrait of young man by Pollard Graham of Derby
Mounted print
Then two years later I heard from Graham again with an update on the portrait:

I have now discovered that it is from my mother’s side of my family and not my father’s, as I originally thought. My brother had the same photo, but smaller, in his collection, and it was still in its original envelope!

Photograph envelope used by Pollard Graham of Derby
The envelope from Pollard Graham & Co. with Head Offices and Works at 108a Friar Gate, Derby is addressed to "Mr. S. Harding, The Rookery Cottage, Brixworth, Nr. Northampton," with a Derby postmark dated 31 July 1914, and the hand written negative number 68770.

The gentleman in the photo we now believe to be Sidney Harding, my grandfather’s brother. At the outset of WW1, Sidney enlisted as a Private, regimental number 25220, with the South Wales Borderers (formerly 8145 Army Cyclist Corps) at Northampton, where he was working as an engineering apprentice. He spent periods attached to 229 Company Royal Engineers and the Machine Gun Corps. Sid was born in Wendover, Buckinghamshire, on 4th February 1894 and would have therefore been around 20 years old at the time of this photo.

How nice for Graham to have not only an approximate date for the photograph, but also an address and a positive identification for the subject. I would be a little bit wary about the date, though, because the smaller mounted print posted within the envelope may have been an additional copy ordered after the original portrait had been received.

For me, however, the second portrait and the envelope with which it is associated provide additional information, rarely seen because these envelopes often don't survive.


View Pollard Graham Studios 1878-1932 in a larger map
Firstly it demonstrates that in mid-1914, on the eve of the British declaration of war on Germany, Pollard Graham & Co. was operating, in addition to the Derby studio, seven branches in Coventry, Northampton, Burslem, Longton, Rotherham, Luton and Lincoln simultaneously. This appears to have been the peak of a rapid period of expansion for the firm, commencing around 1904. Between then and 1905 Pollard Graham opened new studios in Peterborough, Burnely, Leigh, Wigan and Northampton. Around 1910, he went into partnership with Albert Hutchinson - hence the "Pollard Graham & Co.." The Peterborough and Burnley branches were closed, followed by Leigh in 1911 and Wigan in 1913, balanced by the opening of several branches in other, presumably more attractive, towns elsewhere in the Midlands.

As discussed in a previous article, lack of business due to wartime hardships quickly caused the closure of all the branches, and the partnership between Graham and Hutchinson was formally dissolved in March 1915. The Derby studio appears to have remained in business for much of the war's duration, judging by the number of portraits of servicemen taken there (see Pollard Graham portfolio), although the number of customers was no doubt significantly reduced.


Environs of 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1912, by F.W. Scarratt
Image courtesy of Rod Jewell's Yesterday's Derby and its Districts
Secondly it indicates that the exposed negatives of portraits taken at the branch studios, in this case the Northampton branch, were sent to the firm's Derby headquarters for printing. I had already suspected this, since they included the words "Head Office and Works" in their card mounts from c.1910 to 1915, and because most, if not all, of the negative numbers used between 1895 and 1922 appear to fit into a single sequence. However, it's good to have confirmation that it was happening in July 1914. Presumably increased efficiencies in the postal service of the time made it feasible, and both economies of scale and the reduced capital requirement for individual branches made it worthwhile.

Sending large numbers of glass plate negatives from around the Midlands by post to the Derby Works in Friargate seems to me a venture fraught with risk. Perhaps I'm underestimating the transport methods available at the time, but I can't imagine that even a small proportion of losses due to breakage would have been acceptable to either the firm or their clients. I wonder, therefore, if they were by this stage using roll film rather than dry-plate glass negatives, rapid developments having been made in roll film technology on the 1890s and early 1900s. Kodak introduced 9 new roll film sizes - from 3½" x 3½" up to 7" x 5" - to the commercial market in 1898 alone. I appreciate that glass plates still provided higher quality prints, and remained popular for some years. It's clear that this subject needs more research, but perhaps a reader or two can help with some in depth knowledge of the cameras used by studios at that time.

Sepia Saturday 90: What did you do in the war, Grandpa?

This week's Sepia Saturday photo prompt is a cutely posed studio portrait of a young Princess, taken in Spain in 1916 when she was seven years old. Of course Spain remained neutral throughout the Great War, and visits to the studio may have continued unabated, even by ordinary folk. In Britain, however, the war had been going on for two years, times were tough, and many studios experienced reduced business, or were even closed due to the lack of customers.


Corporal Robert Hollis, Machine Gun Corps
Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham, 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1917-1918
Image © and Courtesy of Fran Powles
Derby photographers were no exception, and it is informative to note that Pollard Graham shut eight of their branches in the Midlands - from Northampton to Burslem to Lincoln - between 1913 and 1916, leaving only the headquarters studio serving customers. Even after the war, it would be some time before business picked up sufficiently for the firms to contemplate expansion again, with their first post-war branch opening in 1920. Understandably, their clientele had changed too, with the majority of clients being uniformed soldiers about to head off to war. Postcards tended to be the predominantly used format. For most people there wasn't much spare cash around for the fancier mounts and frames.

Corporal Hollis of the Machine Gun Corps probably had this portrait taken on a visit home from the front, perhaps even after a period of recuperation, since he is sporting a wound stripe on his left sleeve.


The Brown family, Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham,
108A Friargate, Derby, 13 July 1917
Image © and Collection of Brett Payne
While most portraits tended to be a single figure, or perhaps couple, I am fortunate enough to have a group portrait of my grandmother's family, the Browns, taken in the summer of 1917. The older two of her three brothers are dressed in uniform. Arthur was a Corporal/Sergeant Dispenser, RAMC, and served with the 57th North Midlands Field Ambulance Unit. He became a chemist after the war. I'm not sure what unit Frank served in, and the insignia on his lapels are not clear enough for me to make out. Ethel worked as an apprentice milliner before the war, but during the war both she and her mother Edith served in some medical capacity, probably at a hospital in Derby. Edith has what appears to be an RAMC badge pinned to the front of her dress, Ethel some other type which I've been unable to identify. Percy was still at school, while Fred Brown, at 47, was presumably too old to be called for active service.


Unidentified Royal Navy man, perhaps with his father
Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham, 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1917-1918
Image © and Courtesy of Grace-Ellen Capier
This rather nice vignetted portrait shows an unidentified Royal Navy man seated with an older bearded gentleman who may be his father. I can't decide whether the single stripe on his left arm signifies that he holds the rank of "Able Seaman, Higher Grade," or whether it is a "Good Conduct" badge. Also just visible on his right sleeve is part of another badge. By comparison with Royal Navy Badges used during the First World War, it may be something like an Armourer's badge.


Thomas Frederick (Fred) Green, Royal Garrison Artillery
Postcard portrait by Pollard Graham, 108A Friargate, Derby, c.1917-1918
Image © and Courtesy of Betty Bowler
A very young Fred who also visited Pollard Graham's studio, probably on the eve of his departure for the front, is wearing standard Great War issue uniform with an RGA (Royal Garrison Artillery) shoulder title. The Medal Index Cards show a Thomas F. Green, 189835, Gunner in the Royal Garrison Artillery, entitled to the Victory and British War Medals.


Unidentified young man, Army Ordnance Corps, c.1914-1918
Postcard portrait by F.J. Boyes, 22 & 24 Osmaston Road, Derby
Image © and Collection of Brett Payne
Frederick J. Boyes was another Derby photographer who attended to portrait requirements of those dutiful young men during the Great War. The AOC shoulder title of this unidentified young man with his very neatly combed hair show that he served with the Army Ordnance Corps, which dealt "with the supply and maintenance of weaponry, munitions and other military equipment."


Uncle Bill (Notts & Derby Regiment) and Auntie Hilda, c.1914-1918
Postcard portrait by F.J. Boyes, 22 & 24 Osmaston Road, Derby
Image © and Collection of Brett Payne
This young man and his new bride (I presume from the prominently displayed wedding ring) are identified on the reverse only as Uncle Bill and Auntie Hilda, but he wears the shoulder titles of the Notts and Derbys Regiment, as well as a circular badge containing a red cross, similar to that of Arthur Brown, above, which may signify that he is some sort of medical orderly.


Charlotte and Alfred Horobin with their nieces, c.1915-1916
Postcard portrait by F.J. Boyes, 22 & 24 Osmaston Road, Derby
Image © and Courtesy of Sally Jackson
Sally Jackson sent me this portrait of her grandparents Alfred Irvin Horobin and his wife Charlotte Louisa née Brady with their nieces, daughters of his half brother, Arthur Swinfield Newton and his wife Lillia née Tomlinson. Alfred is dressed in uniform, wears shoulder titles of the RFA (Royal Field Artillery), and has a crown on his sleeve, suggesting he was a warrant officer. His finely waxed moustache, not clearly visible in this image, is certainly in keeping with that rank - all he needs is a swagger stick - but I've been unable to find an appropriate Medal Index Card for him.


Frederick William Lomas of Derby, c.1914-1916
Postcard portrait by R. & R. Bull, Ashbourne
Image © and Courtesy of Derek Smith
Unfortunately this portrait of a fresh-faced Frederick William Lomas, taken by the Ashbourne firm of R. & R. Bull early during the war, is not clear enough for me to read his shoulder titles.


Unidentified man and woman, c.1914-1918
Postcard portrait by H. Hinge, Ashbourne
Image © and Courtesy of Ellen Oakley
Henry Hinge, also of Ashbourne, took this rather wooden - and now pretty battered - portrait of a non-commissioned officer, identified on the reverse only as "Gran's brother," and his presumed wife. He has sergeant's stripes on his lower sleeve, as well as two wound stripes, and is also holding a swagger stick, which makes me wonder whether he is a drill or staff sergeant. His shoulder titles are not visible, and I'm not familiar enough with regimental badges to recognise the one on his cap.


Louisa and Doris McAuslan at Green Hall Hospital
Postcard portraits by Frederick Holbrook, George St Studios, Belper
Images © and Courtesy of Robert Silverwood
Louisa McAuslan and her daughter Doris were working for the Red Cross at Green Hall Hospital in Belper during the war, when Belper photographer Frederick Holbrook visited and took these two fine portraits.


Frank Tomlinson, c.1914-1918
Panel print portrait by Seaman & Sons, Chesterfield
Image © and Courtesy of Phil Gregory
This less common format by Seaman & Sons of Chesterfield is often known as a panel print, although it is not too different from a postcard cut into three, and I have often seen them constructed in that manner. Phil Gregory's relative Frank Tomlinson obviously served in a Scots Regiment during the war, as evidenced by his Glengarry hat, but I have no further information about him.


Sergeant George Manning, Royal Field Artillery, c.1917
Mounted print by W.W. Winter, Derby
Image © and Courtesy of Christine Hibbert
Sergeant George Manning of the Royal Field Artillery paid a visit to the studio of W.W. Winter in Midland Road Derby "whilst at home on leave from the battlefields of Europe." The single bar on his lower left sleeve is a wound stripe, indicating that he had already been wounded in the line of duty.

Geoff Caulton's PhotoDetective web pages have some excellent descriptions and images of uniforms, badges, shoulder titles and other tips for identifying subjects on portraits from the Great War.

Roger Capewell has an extensive web site devoted to Military Images, including a comprehensive list of badges with images.

For questions about the Great War, both of a specific and more general nature, the Great War Forum is well worth trying. Chris Baker's The Long, Long Trail gives valuable advice on how track a particular soldier's service during the war, including an excellent article on how to interpret Medal Index Cards.

Which sibling is it? The importance of a detailed date

Portrait A - Carte de visite, Burnley-Leigh-Peterboro-Derby, #15008
Probably the most common problem I'm asked to solve by clients is to identify which of several family members the subject of a photograph could be. Is it the father or the son, the mother or the daughter, or which of several brothers or sisters could it be? Sometimes it's as easy as estimating the approximate age of the subject and which decade he or she visited the studio.


Portrait B - Cabinet card, Derby-Burnley-Peterboro-Leigh, #15008
All too often though, and particularly in the case of sibling identification, a more accurate date and a firmer handle on the age are required. Age evaluation is a subjective process, and I usually leave open the widest possible margins for error. When the subjects are younger, I usually ask my own teenage children what they think - they seem to have a better idea than I do, probably because they are closer to the ages of the subjects. I very rarely offer an opinion when asked about potential similarity of facial characteristics between family members - that's a minefield best left to the family themselves to ponder on.


Portrait C - Carte de visite, Burnley-Leigh-Peterboro-Derby, #16706
There are many aspects of a portrait which can be used to estimate an approximate date, but I concentrate here on one which can often provide the most accurate dates of all. A good understanding of photograph types and formats, together with a knowledge of clothing styles and hair fashions, will usually get you to the right decade, perhaps even down to a five-year period or so. Detailed documentation of a photographer's career, including the addresses of his various studios and any negative numbers he may have used during that time, can in some cases be used to narrow the time frame right down to a year or two. A word of warning, though - it's usually the most time consuming of all the techniques available, and it doesn't always yield satisfactory results.


Portrait D - Cabinet card, Derby-Leigh, no negative #
Anyway, I thought I'd give readers an example of how this can work well. I recently completed a detailed study of Derby photographer Pollard Graham, culminating in the compilation of a new profile and gallery, including several dozen new images that have been sent to me by visitors to my Derbyshire Photographers web site over the last three years.


Portrait E - Cabinet card, Derby-Burnley-Peterboro-Leigh, #16790
This analysis resulted in the identification of at least 38 distinct card mount designs and photograph formats used during a career which spanned five decades. I've put forward a provisional sequence in which these card designs and photo formats were used, together with a dating guide, although the paucity of accurately dated portraits with which to anchor the sequence means that it must be considered, at best, tentative.


Portrait F - Carte de visite, Burnley-Leigh-Peterboro-Derby, #18359
The six Pollard Graham portraits that accompany this text are from my aunt's collection. As can be seen from the annotations on the reverse of the card mounts, there is some confusion in the identification of the subjects. However, it is almost certain that they are one or more of the daughters of Henry Payne (1842-1907) and Henrietta Christina Benfield (c1842-1912). I left them out of my analysis inadvertently, but can now use this to some advantage, by comparing them with the dating study to see whether (a) they fit well into the proposed sequence, (b) approximate dates can be estimated, and (c) the subjects can be identified with any greater certainty.


Portraits A & B - #15008 - Taken c. early 1906
The first pair of portraits, a carte de visite and a cabinet card with the same negative number, are from the same negative. The mounts used are Types 14 and 15 in my Pollard Graham classification, probably used between 1905 and 1908. The hat appears to be somewhere between the cartwheel amd merry widow hats described by Geoff Caulton in his excellent guide to Edwardian and later fashions, Photo Detective, confirming a date of between 1905 and 1908. I think this is Helen Payne (aka Nellie), who was born on 18 October 1883 and would have been in her early 20s at the time.


Portraits C & D - #16706 - Taken July 1906
The next pair, likewise a cdv and cabinet, are also clearly from a single negative, even though one of them is unnumbered. The mounts used are Types 15 and 16, from c.1905-1908 and c.1908 respectively. I note that this negative number is immediately adjacent to that on a portrait of Sarah Emma Payne née Parker, sister-in-law of the Payne girls (see pgraham38), suggesting that the subject may have visited the studio together with Sarah. That photograph is dated July 1906, so we have known point around which to anchor the negative number sequence - the previous sitting was possibly earlier in 1906, or late the previous year.

This young woman looks a little older than Helen, and her clothing is perhaps a little more mature, fashion-wise. The straw boater is typical of the Edwardian era, but not as wide-brimmed as they would become later in the decade. I think the caption on the reverse correctly identifies her as Lucy Mary, otherwise known as Maggie. She was born on 29 November 1876, therefore 29 years old when she visited the studio, and would marry Robert Nathan Chadwick in February the following year.


Portrait E - #16790 - Taken c. late 1906
Portrait F - #18359 - Taken c. 1907
The fourth and fifth portraits in the sequence have negative numbers suggesting they were taken slightly later in 1906 and in 1907, respectively. Both hats are closer to the typical merry widow hat, although lacking in extravagant ostrich feathers usually seen with that style, so perhaps tending towards a swaithed hat, which became popular around 1910. The subject looks like Helen again. There is a possibility that it is Lily, who was only 19 months older than Helen, but in the only other photograph that I have of Lily from that period, she looks more like Maggie than like her younger sister.


Pollard Graham's Negative Number Sequence, 1905-1922
Pollard Graham only started annotating the card mounts of his portraits with negative numbers when he opened his branch studio in Burton-upon-Trent around 1895. He appears to have used this same sequence more or less continuously from then until around 1922, after which a new sequence may have been started. The lowest and highest negative numbers in the sequence found thus far are 34 and 92985 respectively. This suggests an average rate of roughly 3400 and 3500 sittings per year, or just under 300 sittings a month.

Due to the paucity of accurately dated examples from this photographer, it is difficult to gain an accurate picture of how the "production rate" varied over time. That there was some variation, I have little doubt. The business brought in during the pre-War heyday from 1906 to 1914, when they had eight branches operating simultaneously, for example, would have been drastically reduced during the war. This hiatus appears to be reflected in a flattening out of the "curve" around 1914-1917 in the provisional chart above.


Payne family members and friends, Derby, c.1900-1903
Plotting the negative numbers of the above six portraits on this chart confirms that they were probably all taken within a short period of time, between 1905 and 1907. I can therefore make tentative identifications of the subjects with a much greater confidence, knowing how old the three Payne sisters would have been at the time. Unfortunately the only photograph that I know of which shows all three sisters in the same portrait is the out-of-focus, probably amateur, group portrait of Payne family members and friends taken a few years earlier, around 1900 to 1903, in the garden of 83 St James' Road (New Normanton, Derby).


Detail of group portrait showing, from left to right, Lily, Helen, Aunt Sarah, Lucy Mary and my grandfather Leslie (aged about 8-11 yrs)
The facial similarities between Lily and Lucy Mary are evident in here, although all three understandably look very alike.

The ability to narrow down the dating of a portrait to under a year depends on many factors, not the least of which is a good knowledge of the photographic studio's history. Of course only a tiny proportion of individual photographers have been studied in much detail. Apart from my own work on Derbyshire photographers, there are several other online works in progress, such as David Simkin's Brighton Photographers and Sussex PhotoHistory, Peter Stubbs' EdinPhoto, the photoLondon database, and several ongoing projects by Ron Cosens, including a Photo Dating Wizard.

However, lists have been prepared of photographers/premises/dates for most areas of the United Kingdom, for example, by the Royal Photographic Society Historical Group, as supplements to their quarterly publication, The PhotoHistorian. These supplements are available from the RPS - a full list and contact details are provided here. They, and many other studies of photographers worldwide, are also listed in Richard Rudisill and Peter E. Palmquist's annotated bibliography, Photographers: A Sourcebook for Historical Research.