H W Lane, Photographer in St Albans for nearly 50 years

Henry William Lane was a photographer in St Peters Street, St Albans from about 1890 until at least 1937 and I have started to collect information about at least his earlier activities. I would be very interested to hear of other examples of his work, .

Click Here for Time line and examples of his work.

Dating the early photographs of William Coles of Watford

CDV back circa 1889

William Coles (1853-1938)

In 1881 William Coles was an assistant chemist working for Theophilus John Piggot, photographer, at Leighton Buzzard. By the late 1880s he was trading as a photographer in Queens Road, Watford, and was still trading there in 1926. For a short time around 1890 he also had a studio on the Broadway, Chesham, and by 1899 had a studio in Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, which continued for about 10 years. His carte de visite and cabinet cards usually have a negative number and the time line below suggests dates for various backs. Later backs say "by special appointment of Princess Eulalia of Spain - possibly after the Princess's visit to Watford in 1899. As a result if is possible to assign approximate dates on his Victorian photographs from the negative numbers and printing on the back.

Cabinet back circa 1900

Unknown Mother & Child

Unfortunately few of the wonderful portraits are identified - but perhaps, if your ancestors came from the Watford area you may be able to suggest a name.

He was also selling views of many local towns and villages by the early 1890s, and was producing a wide range of view post cards in the 1900s - some of which may have been from earlier negatives. He also produced a number of post cards of news events, which are normally dated.

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A Den of Serpents in Watford circa 1890?

When this card came up for sale on ebay I brought it because I was interested in the photographer, Fred Downer, of Watford. In particular it had a name so this could help me to date the card, and perhaps add to my knowledge of the photographer's work.

It looked a pretty straight-forward item to put online as the 1890 trade directory told me that William Arthur Stradling was a surgeon living in Station Road, Watford, and he was listed with his family in the 1891 census - but not the 1881 or 1901 censuses. All I need to do is check up on his date of death and I had got him recorded.

A quick check on FreeBMD told me he died in London in 1902 and I could have left it there - but it would only take a few minutes to check the British Newspaper Archive ... ...

What I found meant I wanted to find more - and I was hooked ...

Timeline for J. Barnard, St Albans Photographer

St Albans

I have just completed a timeline (with examples) for John Barnard (1841-1894) who took portrait photographs, and some views, when he had a studio in St Albans between about 1878 and his death in 1894. It seems he initially opened a studio in St Albans at the same time as he had a studio in Bedford. The St Albans studio then passed to another photographer, Atlas Church (biographical time line to follow), but when, after little more than one or two years, Atlas Church left, John returned to having a studio in St Albans. I am currently not certain whether the ""City Portrait Rooms" and the "Silvio House Studio" were in the same building or not.

Timeline with more pictures.

Photographers

Further examples of his work, particularly if dated or have a negative number, would be very welcome, as they would allow the time line to be refined further.

The picture of the lady "climbing over a style" comes from the City Portrait Rooms and dates from about 1880.

Three Victorian Photographers (Hertford, Hitchin & Ware)

Pictures

I have just added examples of the work of three Victorian photographers linked to Hertfordshire, with short biographies of each.

Cabinet Card by Henry Newton

Henry Martinson appears to have been working as a photographer in Ware for a short time around 1890, moving away and apparently giving up photography as a profession after his marriage in 1892.

Henry Newton was a photographer working in Hertford between about 1891 and 1912, his business having been taken over by J M & C W Sneesby by 1914.

CDV by Nichols

George Albert Nichols seems to have moved around a bit but two carte de visite show he worked in Hertfordshire, apparently in the late 1870s. One is a portrait of an elderly gentleman which give an address in Wormley - which was surely to small a village to support a professional photographer. The other is a school group with a similar back and a Hitchin address.

A Sequestrated Clergyman and Watford Union Workhouse

Rev Henry Goodwin

One of the sad things about ebay is the large number of Victorian portraits for sale which have lost contact with their families - and no-one knows who they are. I acquire some of them and recently I purchased two to illustrate the work of a Watford photographer, Joseph James Southwood. One was a "Fine Art Studio" carte de visite  of a tightly corseted young woman and there are no clues to her identity. The other was cabinet card of a elderly bearded gentleman, with a cross, who could well be a minister of religion. In addition there was a partial identification - someone had written the words "Goodwin father of Edward Goodwin" on the bottom.

Watford

I quickly discovered that in 1901 Edward J Goodwin was a 38 year old Wholesale Jeweller's Bookkeeper living with his father, Rev. Henry Goodwin, at 20 Westland Road, Watford. It turns out that Rev Henry Goodwin had been the vicar of Twyning, Gloucestershire, but in 1863 he had got into financial difficulties and was sequestrated and left the parish. In 1880 he became the chaplin at the Watford Union Workhouse and continued to live in Watford until his death in 1908.

Interestingly Gordon asked me about Henry Goodwin in 2001, when the only census information available online was for 1881, and my reply to him then now looks very dated.

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