Henry Lawless of Exeter - a portrait of a portrait

Old photos were frequently copied long after the original portrait had been taken, often subsequent to the death of the subject, and I have come across many examples in the compilation of my Derbyshire Photographers & Photographic Studios collection. However, sometimes the memory of a departed family member was celebrated in a slightly different fashion.

A style not often encountered, this "portait of a portrait" was sent to me recently by Angela Johnson. The cabinet card probably shows her great-great-grandfather Henry Lawless (1826-1877), an Exeter wine merchant, churchwarden and town councillor. She writes:

"It has been suggested that the photo was taken of a portrait after his death....of course, it may not be him ... I have tried to make out what the bits and pieces are by blowing up the picture, but it just isn't quite clear enough to decipher the titles of the books etc. - the folded bit of paper looks like a cartoon about the Town Council."

The photographer William S. Sugden died at Brighton in 1880, so this portrait must have been produced before then. William Sugden was in partnership with Edward Williams at 88 High Street, Exeter briefly between April 1877 and February 1878. However, in March 1878 the two went their separate ways. Scott (1985) shows them both with premises in March 1878 - Sugden at 88 Queen Street, and Williams at 241 High Street, Exeter - but no later listings in that town.

This photo is a rather unusual one, and I believe it must have been taken after the death of the subject. The arrangement of the framed portrait on the writing desk with the books, ink well, quill pen, lamp and loose papers was meant to portray his life and work, and the distinguished person that he was. His clothing looks tailored to me - you don't often see people this well-dressed in photographs from the 1870s. The portrait style, card mount design and known dates for Sugden's studio operation in Exeter, confirms a date of between 1877 and 1880. I suspect that it was taken shortly after his death, either in 1877 or 1878.

The clothing style suggests to me that the original portrait, which appears to have been enlarged considerably from the size of a standard studio portrait, was taken not long before the presumed subject's death in 1877. All of the items placed on the desk are likely to have had some significance, if only we could work out what it was.

I would be interested to hear from any other viewers who have come across studio portraits such as this one, not just copied from older photos, but incorporating the older photograph, in a separate frame, with carefully selected and arranged accessories to embellish the portrait and give an impression of his importance.

References:
History, Gazetteer & Directory of Devon (1878-79), Historical Directories from the University of Leicester
Photographers in Devon 1842-1939 : a brief directory for photograph collectors, by C.G. Scott, 1985, The PhotoHistorian Supplement No. 101, ISSN 0957-0209

Thomas Gallimore, maltster & brewer of Ashbourne

This photo, sent to me by Jo Bevan, was among a small collection of photographs possibly acquired in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and including several early CDVs by photographers (George Edgar, Robert Bull & Louis Twells) in that town.

The carte de visite mount is clearly marked, "Copied by Winter Derby" and is similar to others by W.W. Winter taken and/or copied at the Midland Road studio in the late 1870s and early 1880s. However, the man's clothing, his pose, and the portrait style suggest that the photograph was originally taken much earlier, perhaps in the early to mid-1860s.

The inscription on the sack clearly stands for "Gallimore, Ashbourne." Thomas Gallimore (1820-1874) was a maltster, brewer and publican, proprietor of the Old Red Lion Inn in the Market Place, Ashbourne. At the time of the 1861 Census, George Edgar was lodging next door to Gallimore at the Red Lion. In fact, he was the only photographer working in Ashbourne at this time, and it seems likely that he was the original photographer who took this portrait. It also seems highly probably that the subject is Thomas Gallimore himself, holding a sack of barley (or perhaps hops), used in the brewing and malting process.

This photo is a good example where the studio name is a red herring with respect to finding out where it was taken. In this case, it is fortunate that a knowledge of the provenance of the photo, in conjunction with a detailed examination of the subject and "studio accessories," reveal enough clues to discover not only the original location, but also to provide a likely identity for the subject.

It is also a nice illustration of how accessories were often used by portrait artists, as they often styled themselves, to convey an image, in this case of an industrious, down-to-earth middle-aged man, proud of the business that he had built up over some twenty years. If it was indeed taken in the early 1860s, then it would have been quite a novelty for someone of moderate means in this small Derbyshire market town. Although photography had already been existence for over two decades, the high price of daguerreotypes and ambrotypes had largely limited their availability to the more wealthy clientele. Only with the widespread introduction of the carte de visite in 1860 had it become affordable to a wider proportion of the population.

Early pictures of working folk, or at least ordinary people in their working clothes, were fairly uncommon. There were some photographers who took a special interest in documenting the lives or workers, but these generally tended to be of domestic staff, mine and factory workers and other employees. Portraits or self-employed people in their working clothes were rather unusual in the 1860s, so this image is particular interesting from that point of view.

Coming to America

Photographs are often used to tell a story. Good examples of this may be found in some of the photographs sent by emigrants to their kin back home in the old country. They wanted not only to be remembered by and keep in touch with their families, but also to share their new lives with their parents, siblings, cousins etc. Perhaps they were even trying to convince them of the good life, and persuade them to join them in their adventure.


Kimberly Carlton sent me this photo by Seaman & Sons of Chesterfield and asked: "I purchased this photo at a garage sale in the Kansas City, Missouri area, so I don't know the subjects. The back has some faint pencil writing that I think says "Frank Wood". It looks to be around the turn of the century, but not sure. Did this photographer ever work in the USA or is this pic from the UK? And why wouldn't these people be standing next to each other, I thought that was strange how spread out they were?"

I believe, by comparing the style of the mount with others produced by this studio, that the photograph was produced at around the turn of the century, as Kim has suggested. The shape of the house looks to me to be more suited to North America than late Victorian Derbyshire. I have no evidence that any members of the extensive Seaman family spent any time in North America, and have seen no other examples of photographs taken by them outside England. I wonder if perhaps the photograph was originally taken somewhere in North America, sent to relatives back home in Derbyshire, and subsequently copied by Seaman & Sons? From the shape of the sleeves of the dresses worn by the women, I think it likely that the photograph was originally taken in the 1890s.

The more I think about it, the less I can imagine this building being in Derbyshire, England, and the more convinced I am that it is located somewhere in North America, perhaps not far from Kansas City, Missouri where Kim rescued it from a garage sale. The style of photo, with the people spread out like that, although not as common as more formal studio portraits, could, I believe, have been intended by the photographer to give more of an impression of the lifestyle of the recently arrived immigrant family to their kinfolk back home in England.

Although the subjects are nominally the four people, in the usual stiff, unsmiling poses common to both indoor studio portraits and outdoor poses of the era, the photographic artist, as he would no doubt have styled himself, is trying to convey a much "bigger picture". The saw and horse, pile of freshly sawn logs, wagon or cart pulled by pair of large horses harnessed to a wagon, waiting in the yard, the rough wooden fences in the background, perhaps enclosing the yard or an orchard, and last but not least the large, solid, two-storey house, are perhaps employed to tell a story to their relatives at home - one of hard work and just reward for their efforts, and a picture of their new life in a new land.

Judging by the lack of leaves on the trees I guess this is late autumn or winter. Is that a smudge towards the top of the photo, or perhaps smoke coming out of the chimney? A fire in the hearth would not be out of place at that time of the year. I note that there are no young children shown in the photo. The man with a beard, wearing strong shoes, a wide-brimmed hat and long coat, marked above and below with two Xs, is obviously the primary subject, and presumably man of the house. The woman with a long dress standing behind him, and slightly to his right, is probably his wife The female at the extreme left appears to be a young woman - her dress is shorter, which suggests to me that she is perhaps in her teens. Perhaps she is a daughter. The younger man with a smaller hat and shorter jacket, holding the reins may be part of the family, but he could well be an employee on the farm.

This brings to mind the story of my own gg-grandfather, Henry Payne (1842-1907), who took his wife Henrietta and children to start a new life in America in 1880. First Henry and his 13-year-old eldest son Charles Vincent (my great-grandfather) sailed from Liverpool to Philadelphia on board the S.S. British Crown, arriving on American soil on 2 March [see my transcript of the Passenger List].


The S.S. British Crown of the American Line in 1881, by Antonio Jacobsen (1850 - 1921)


Passenger List for the S.S. British Crown of the American Line, arriving at the Port of Philadelphia on 2 March 1880
According to my gg-uncle Hallam, they "took up" a farm at Bladensburg, about four miles north-west of Washington D.C. They must have moved fast to find the farm and get the crops planted by late April or early May, although the census on 7 June shows a farm labourer Thomas Cash boarding with them, and he may well have helped, driving the wagon just as the man in Kim's photo.


1880 Census entry for Henry & Charles V. Payne at Columbia Road (Bladensburg), Washington D.C.
Henrietta had given birth to their fourth son Fred at St. James' Road in Normanton (Derbyshire, England) in December the previous year, and probably waited in Derby for Fred to get a little older, and for word from Henry, before setting out to join them. They left Liverpool in late June, they arrived at the Port of Baltimore - via Norfolk and Halifax - on 7 July aboard the SS Hibernian [see my transcript of the Passenger List], and must have joined Henry and Charlie at the farm shortly after.


The S.S. Hibernian of the Allan Line


Passenger List for the S.S. Hibernian of the Allan Line, arriving at the Port of Baltimore on 7 July 1880 (NB. "Allan" written incorrectly for "Hallam")
Even after the rigours of an Atlantic crossing, they do not seem to have had much time for rest and recuperation. Only two days after their arrival, Hallam fell out of "the buggy" and broke his right arm, resulting in a "four or five week stay in hospital in Washington." In the meantime, Charlie was attacked by two "niggers" (Hallam's words, not mine) on his way back from Washington. Of far greater importance, however, was the fact that the climate did not agree with Henrietta's health. They returned to England soon after Hallam's recovery, "leaving all the crops in the fields", and the UK census shows them again running the family grocery at 38 St. James' Road in Normanton by 3 April 1881.


April 1880 Census entry for Henry & Henrietta C. Payne and family at 38 St James' Road, Normanton, Derby
The trip seems to have been a disaster, and Henry apparently gave up any ideas of leaving England again. It did not, however, put off their children. Hallam, Charles Vincent and Frank, together with CV's young bride Amy, made short-lived forays to Chicago in the early 1890s [1890-1892: Chicago, Pullman & the World's Fair]. My grandfather Leslie Payne was born during this stay in Chicago, and himself returned to North America when he was a young man, spending a few years before and after the First World War in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.


Henry & Henrietta Payne in Derbyshire, England, 1898
To get back to Kim's photo, it is evocative of the experiences of many thousands of English families, and of course those from all over Europe, who arrived in America in great numbers in the latter part of the nineteeth century and built new lives for themselves. Since we only have Uncle Hallam's brief words and the rather impersonal and matter-of-fact census & passenger list entries to hint of their experiences, we must resort to our imaginations to fill in the gaps and flesh out the story a little. I can pretend for a moment or two, perhaps, that this is my own family making their way in a new land ...

Mending Day in Arboretum Square

The post card format for photographs was introduced around the turn of the century, and was particularly popular before, during and after the Great War, although it continued in common use until the 1940s. Kevin Rhodes sent me this post card portrait of his relative Frances Rankin (at right) seated with an unidentified friend in a garden. Both are dressed in what appear to be maids' uniforms, and seated next to a table with a sewing basket and other sewing paraphernalia.

Kevin asked "Did the photographers go out to private houses and take alfresco pictures like this? And would they bother with the servants? It seems so by the evidence but I am surprised. I don’t know if the address on the Postcard fits to the picture."

My first task was to estimate a date for the photograph. It is unfortunate that the stamp has been ripped off, and that the postmark is largely obliterated. There is enough of the latter still visible to confirm that it was indeed posted in Derby, and the remnant of the stamp still stuck to the card is, I believe, enough to identify it as one of two King George VI green half-penny definitive stamps issued in 1911 and 1912. They were replaced by another issue later in 1912, suggesting that, if my identification is correct, the card may have been posted in 1911-1912 or shortly after.

The clothes worn by Frances and her companion appear to be appropriate for that approximate period. It's perhaps worth illustrating the development of domestic uniforms over the decades, from the 1880s until the 1940s, with the following selection of images from my own collection and from others on the web. Hover your mouse over an image for the approximate date, click on it to see the original source.

I found an interesting discussion of the lives of Victorian domestic servants on Peter Ward's web pages. Housemaids appear to have had slightly different uniforms from other house servants, such as the housekeeper, ladies' maids, cooks, kitchen maids and scullery maids.

The reverse of the post card shows that it was produced by the studio of Pollard Graham, who operated a studio in Derby for several decades from the mid-1880s until the 1930s.

I checked the 1912 issue of Kelly's Trade Directory for Derbyshire, probably compiled in late 1911, and discovered that the occupant of 5 Arboretum Square, Derby - the home address given by Frances - was none other than the photographer Pollard Graham himself! I think this deals directly with your question about whether photographers would normally have gone to private residences to take portraits of servants. The answer is, it probably depended on the circumstances.

I have a photograph of my great-grandparents and my grandfather (shown above), taken in about 1894 by a Derby studio photographer (in spite of the card mount stating Leeds!), almost certainly in their garden in St James' Street, Normanton. However, they could perhaps afford it. The Arboretum Square photo may well have been done for free by Pollard Graham for his employees. A nice gesture. We'll have to wait a few years until the 1911 Census is released, but when it is, we may well find this confirms that Frances and her friend were working for Pollard Graham. Perhaps we may also be able to identify her companion.

The Heathcotes - a family on holiday in Buxton (1881)

Bill Zeugofsge from Queensland, Australia sent me these images of three cartes de visite from his collection. Although he's unrelated and doesn't have any connections, genealogically speaking, with Derbyshire, he wondered whether I might be able to find out something about the subjects from the captions on the reverse:



Buxton is situated in north-west Derbyshire, on the edge of the Peak District. In the mid- to late 18oos, due to it's location and the presence of mineral springs, it developed as a fashionable resort. The photographer B.W. Bentley (1829-1886), although originally from Stockport, took advantage of the burgeoning tourist trade, settling in Buxton in the early 1850s. He, and after his death, his widow, continued to operate a studio at "The Quadrant" for almost four decades.

The implication is that the children depicted on these photographs, Agnes, John Gilbert and Rowland, could easily have been from elsewhere, and only in Buxton with their parents briefly on holiday, when they took the opportunity to visit the studio in late October/early November 1881. However, it does help that we have the exact date - 30 October - of the sitting, at least for the latter two.

Using a combination of the 1881 Census and the index of birth registration data on FreeBMD, I was able to identify them with a good degree of certainty. They were three of at least nine children of a Lancashire surgeon Rowland Heathcote senior (1841-1915) and his wife Elizabeth. At the time of the 1881 Census, they were living at 5 Stockport Road, Ardwick, near Manchester, Lancashire. and his wife, Elizabeth. Rowland and John Gilbert were twins, which perhaps explains why they are dressed identically, although it was not uncommon for siblings to be attired in this manner in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

According to information in the Manchester Medical Collection Biographical Files, presented online by Cheshire for Archives, the Heathcotes were a medical family. Rowland senior was a son of Ralph Heathcote (1795-1863), the founder of the dynasty. Ralph was a surgeon who lived at Waltham-on-the-Wolds near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. He and his wife Elizabeth Hickling had eight children, including four sons who followed him into the medical profession. Robert Hickling Heathcote (1823-1864) was the eldest; he studied at the Manchester Royal School of Medicine and became a general practitioner in Grosvenor Street, Manchester. Ralph Heathcote (1825-1911) was also a student in Manchester, and set up a general practice at Piccadily in that town. The third son to attend the Manchester school was Godfrey Heathcote (1830-), who qualified in 1855 and had a general practice in Great Ancoats Street, Manchester.

Several of Rowland's children also studied medicine and became doctors. Rowland Heathcote junior (1876-1943) graduated from Owens College in 1905 and was in general practice in Disley, Cheshire.

His twin brother John Gilbert Heathcote (1876-1950) qualified in 1905, having also studied at Owens College, and was an assistant school medical officer for Sheffield Council. Godfrey Heathcote (b. 1878) was a graduate of the University of Manchester and was an assistant school medical officer for Salford Corporation. The youngest son, Harold Heathcote (b. 1888) was a graduate of the University of Manchester, a school medical officer for Salford Corporation and a member of Manchester Medical Society.

Rowland and Elizabeth's eldest daughter Agnes Heathcote (b. 1872) is shown as a medical student in the 1891 Census, but in 1893 she married John Bennett Lancelot (b. 1864), Church of England minister and Principal of Liverpool College; by the time of the 1901 Census was shown with no occupation.