Safeguarding the Family Treasures

Sad family news makes one think of the past and look back at the family treasure that have ended up in your custody. One of my first cousins, Helen Heini nee Clarke (1929-2018) has just died and I had planned to attend the funeral tomorrow, but unfortunately the current snow means I will not be going.

Instead I will be looking at this lovely hand-made album which was presented to my grandparents, Walter and Bertha Locke when they celebrated their Diamond Wedding on 15th July 1955. When it was made all their family got together and it contains a wealth of family photographs, the earliest taken in 1868 showing Walter as a baby with his parents and 11 siblings. This is unfortunately a rather fuzzy copy of the original but the copy of the whole family in Aylesbury in 1883 is far clearer and I have

put a copy of it on the "Ancestor" pages of my web site. While I have recorded the names of everyone in the picture I am not always certain which is which but hope to add that information later.

John and Caroline Locke and their 12 surviving children in 1883 (Click for their names and dates)

Yesterday I produced a digital copy of the album and started to document it, so that multiple copies can go to interested members of the family. In a few cases I may have better images and I definitely have other family pictures which are not in the album which I can add to the digital file.

So I echo my previous message, How Family History gets lost. If you have any unique photographs or documents that represent the history of your family - now is the time to ensure that the information they contain is properly recorded in a way that preserves it for future generations of family historians..

A "New" old picture of Harpsfield Hall, near Hatfield.

Lindsay has kindly provided a picture, believed to date from the 1870s, if this lovely old farm house, which was demolished in the 1930s to make way for the aerodrome at Hatfield (now itself consigned to history).

The man on a seat to the right of the picture is James Sinclair.

More about Harpsfield Hall.

Some Early (1850s) Hertford Photographers.

I have updated the information on some of the earliest photographers in Hertford.

The Monson brothers visited Hertford on two occasions in 1853. I have added further information to show how they were related and their later careers as photographers.

Thomas Vipond was another travelling photographer who visited Hertford in 1859/60. I have now discovered he continued as a travelling photographer for some time, based in Aylesbury, but later settling in Grantham. In 1864 one of Thomas's Aylesbury portraits was used by police to try and trace earlier activities of a pickpocket in other towns, which seems to be a very early example of the use of photographs in detective work.

In 1857 James Craddock set up a studio in Hertford with Hart (I have still not been able to identify Hart) but within a year the studio had passed to Arthur Elsden and James had "vanished" - except that I now know that he became a significant photographer in Simla, India, and that he, or one of his sons, was taking photoghraphs in England in 1880,
Arthur Elsden took over from James Craddock in 1858 and I have acquired an interesting carte de viste take in connection with a play "Payment on Demand" put on by the Hertford Grammar School in 1874. It shows "Vincent Elsden" but it is not certain which of the Elsden brothers, Arthur or James, it was. (Arthur Vinsent Elsden continued the Hertford photographic business after his father died.)

I would be interested to know of any surviving pictures from the 1850s taake by the above - or any other Hertfordshire photographer. Any earlier examples of photographs being used for detective work could also be of interest.

Could this be Sarah Rowbottom, Aged 100+ ???

In February 1865 The Hertford Mercury published an article about Sarah Rowbottom, nee Edwards, who was claimed to be over 100 years old. The article says:

We have before us a portrait of this centenarian, taken by Mr. Frederick Downer, of Watford, an accomplished photographer ... The eye of the old woman is very bright, the expression of her face shrewd and intelligent, but the wrinkles are wonderful. ...

The carte de visite reproduced here has a back consistent with it having been taken by Fred Downer in the mid 1860s. One copy is currently for sale on ebay and there seems to be more than one copy in existence. I am sure Frederick Downer would have sold multiple copies of his photograph of Sarah Rowbottom from his shop in Watford High Street.

Does anyone out there have any firm evidence that this is the correct photograph?

1860's CDV by Avery of Hitchin (and more on his family)

Jan contacted me and and provided additional information on George Avery, photographer, of Hitchin including a link to a useful family tree. George took over the business of Samuel Debenham in 1863 and sold the business to Thomas Latchmore in 1870.

At the same time as updating the family information on the George Avery page I have added two early photographs from about 1863/4. One, which has the hand written Hitchin address on, is of the Rev John Henry Howlett (1779-1867) who died in Kent, and the back suggests that it may have been taken in Kent at the time George was moving to Hitchin in 1863.

I would be very interested to learn of other photographs taken by Samuel Debenham (in Hitchin, Bedford or Luton) or by George Avery (in Hitchin or Kent).

[I have not investigated the history of the Rev Howlett - comments will be welcome.]

Carte de Visite by Atlas Church, St Albans

Atlas Belus Church, and his son, Atlas Robert Church, seem to have taken on the studio of J. Barnard in New London Road about 1880 and only been there for two or three years before moving on. 

I only know of two examples of their St Albans work - and neither have properly printed backs or footings. (More Info.)

If you know of other examples of their work while at St Albans please let me know.

A striking circa 1865 photograph from Watford

Can you help identify this lady whose name is difficult to read?

Frederick Downer of Watford started taking carte de visite in 1862 and this is believed one of his earliest - and is delicately tinted.

Click HERE to see the complete CDV.

Photographer updates

Post Cards

Updates, in most cases involving new CDV images, have been made to the following Victorian or Edwardian Photographers, to help with dating examples of their work.

Atherstane Basebe of Hertford, Hemel Hempstead and Watford
Misses M & A Austin of St Albans
Thomas Milburn Cooper of St Albans
Fred Downer of Watford
Thomas Benwell Latchmore of Hitchin
William Norman of Royston
Samuel Glendenning Payne of Aylesbury, Thame and Tring

Victorian Photographers - Watch the Birdie

Photographers

I have recently discovered an interesting site "Watch the Birdie" which contains information on Victorian Photographers - at least some of which come from Hertfordshire. It is run by Christine Hibbert and describes itself as follows:

I’ve been collecting cartes-de-visite photographs for some years now. These are small photographic images from the second half of the 19th century and are a window on the world of Victorian society.

My main interests, however, are the names and studios of the photographers who produced these images. Therefore I have collected data from all over Britain relating to 19th century photographers and set them out in alphabetical order, with open-ended dates where known. Trade directories are my main source for these dates, as is census material.

The backs of c-d-vs are minor works of art in their own right. They show name, address and services offered by the studio and can be invaluable if there was a photographer in your family tree,  if  you need to date an old family photo or if you just appreciate graphic design. All the names recorded in the main lists relate to c-d-v photos in my collection.

I hope to add more of these images, backs and fronts, in the course of time and hope you will venture into the world of our 19th century ancestors, when the photographer said ‘Watch the birdie’.

1880s Pictures of St Leonards, Sandridge

Sandridge

I have just added three 1880s pictures of St Leonards, Sandridge, including an interior which shows the box pews before the 1887 restoration to the St Leonard's page.

Box Pews in St Leonard's Church circa 1880

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.

Some Hertfordshire Photographers from circa 1870.

Post Cards

For many families the earliest surviving pictures of the ancestors are the Victorian Carte de Visite (CDV) and I have been collecting examples by different photographers to help you date the old portraits from the details printed on the back.

An unknown House by Fred Downer of Watford

Frederick Downer of Watford started out as a photographer in 1862. He started from his father's shop in Watford High Street, before opening a photographic studio in Loates Lane. This picture of an unknown house, and two portrait pictures, were produced before the Loates Lane address appeared on the back of his CDV - so are probably from about 1870, or earlier.

The Basebe family were artists and photographers and Athelstane Basebe was probably the one who took photographs in Hertford in about 1872. He left the county to return to Hemel Hempstead in about 1890, (I have no examples of this period) and Watford about 1900.

An unknown group by Cooper of St Albans

Thomas Milburn Cooper moved to St Albans in about 1865 and practiced as a photographer until his death in 1901. I have added three additional examples of his work, and have arranged 5 different backs into probable date order. This portrait group is believed to be from about 1870.

Samuel Rudd (died 1871)

Thomas Benwell Latchmore of Hitchin started out as a photographer in 1865 and took over the business of George Avery in 1870. The portrait of Samuel Rudd of Hitchin gives the pre-1870 address and the dating is supported by the fact that Samuel died in 1871. The back reveals that he also has a studio at Royston in the early years.

If you have examples with different backs, or known dates, I would love to hear from you - so I can improve the timelines for these , and other, Hertfordshire photographers.

Laz Roberts - a St Albans pioneer in Chromophotography in 1870?

Pictures

To ensure interesting material on this site I scan ebay looking for low cost items which might have a significant historical interest. Recently this carte de visite caught my eye. While the picture of the little girl was uninteresting compared with many others, the back caught my eye. It named a St Albans photographer I had never heard of with a distinctive name and a penciled date. So I brought it!

St Albans

One can never be certain what one is going to find in such cases. Laz was a photographer in High Wycombe, Bucks in in 1868 and 1871, and he was in St Albans circa 1870 so he was only in St Albans for a short time and I could have stopped the investigation at this point.

However I decided to investigate further. Via the usual genealogy tools I quickly traced him back to his birth in 1833, and discovered his father painted portrait miniatures. In 1861 Laz was colouring photographs. But what happened to him after 1871? Children continued to appear until 1879 (thirteen in total) and I tracked most of them down to see if this gave any clues to what happened to their father. I discovered his widow remarried in 1890 and the children usually described him as an artist rather than a photographer when they married. I was unable to find when he died. 

However a google search provided other examples of his work when based at High Wycombe, and a reference that in 1870 he was "working on entirely new process of his own, Chromophotography, and taking life-like carte de visite in Natural Colours" Perhaps he was following the work of a leading photographer and inventor in Bohemia - or perhaps he was developing a novel technique to produce "colour photographs" of his own. However he may just have been using a posh word to describe tinting photographs. It is not clear whether he ever produced commercially acceptable coloured portraits and if so whether any survive. If you know of any examples please let me know, as an examination would reveal whether he was using Eastern Europe process or not.

For more information see the detailed report on what I have found so far about Laz Roberts and Chromophotography.

I have been unable to identify the sitter or explain the date, which is much later than the photograph.

The First Hertfordshire Photographers

Photographers

David Simkin, who runs the Sussex Photohistory web site kindly drew my attention to the fact that P & C Monson had been taking pictures in Hertford as early as 1853. I decided to follow this up by using the British Newspaper Archive, via FindMyPast, to see if I could reconstruct the early history of commercial photography in Hertfordshire, using references in the Herts Mercury and  the Hertfordshire Guardian, both of which have been digitised for the relevant period.

Newspapers

It turns out that a photographer called Mr Williams had been at the Bull Inn, Hertford, in 1851. The first local photographist was a daguerreotypist called H F Cox in Fore Street in 1856 while Hart & Craddock were operating from North Crescent (later Arthur Elsden) in 1857. Charles Forscutt was operating at the Old Cross by 1859 and a plumber called John Charles Garrood started taking photographs in Ware Road, Hertford, in 1864.

More Information

I have also added many early photographic adverts to the Arthur Elsden page.

St Albans Athletic Sports, 1893 - rescuing an old picture

The Original - click for partial restoration

St Albans

Some years ago I posted the extensive list of names mention in the newspaper account of the Whit Monday Sports at St Albans, 1893. My interest was that the sports were the last to be held on the Home Meadow of Heath Farm, Bernards Heath, where my great grandfather, Jacob Reynolds, was the farmer.

As a result I was kindly provided with a very faded picture which not only showed the committee  but listed their names (G. C. Barnes, A. F. Blanks, Jonah Constable, A. H. Debenham, E. P. Debenham, F. W. Freshwater, R. Freshwater, Tom Griffiths, T. Marks, F. Matthews, C. W. Miskin, L. J. Myers, F. E. Reynolds, J. Reynolds, Jacob Reynolds, J. W. Sharpe, Horace Slade).  I have been able to improve it to the point where about half the faces are recognisable - but a complete reconstruction where everyone is recognisable is probably impractical. 

Thomas Savell, Builder of Barley, in 1863

Barley

abdu'Rashid Craig has kindly provided photographs of Thomas and Esther Savell, of Barley, taken by a London studio in 1863, together with a picture of their grave stone.

See Thomas Savell of Barley

Post Cards of Fore Street, Hertford

Places

Old Buildings, Fore Street, Hertford

Hertford

I have just added a page containing a number of different post cards, by different publishers of the Fore Street, Hertford. In almost every case I have been able to date either the publication of the post card, or the date the photograph was taken within a year or two. In each case a higher resolution picture is available by clicking on the image.

Fore Street, Hertford

A Dating problem with a Latchmore, Hitchin, picture

Herts Photographers

Latchmore Picture 6147

Have a good look at this picture, which Carol provided, and before reading the text below the fold try to estimate the decade when it was taken. (clicking on the picture caption will give you a larger image.) It would help if you could comment your thoughts.

Take care of your Daguerreotypes

The very earliest photographs in your family archives could be Daguerrotypes - which are firmly mounted in a glass photo frame to protect them.  The photograph is on the surface of a silver plate, with the light areas being silver/mercury crystals (which reflect the light and appear white) and plain silver (which appears dark). There is no negative - so each one is a "one-off" and they can be irreparably damaged if not looked after carefully. After some deteriorated when they were shown to the public in a museum, some detailed research was carried out to find out why they were so sensitive.

If you own such precious pictures from about 1850 you may be interested in an article "The Case of the  Disappearing Daguerrotypes" in this month's Scientific American. There is also a slide show of what can go wrong on the Scientific American web site.