Who Were They?

Hurray for Haberdashery!

Mrs Marvel

June 1, 2015

Tiny gem album with fabulous secrets to explore!

10 gem-filled pages

I really need to stay off of eBay, haha. I found this fabulous little gem album a while back and I really could not control myself. Once you see inside of it, you will understand why. The album holds gem tintypes, those tiny representations that were popular during the second half of the 19th century. Since I previously gave you a history lesson on the gem tintype, I won’t go into that today (just click the link there).

Do you like my hat?

Here’s the reason I call this little book the Haberdasher’s book. Nearly every photo is of a man and many of them have terrific hats! This is the first page seen when you open the book. It was previously repaired by someone skilled. You can see just a bit of the webbing in the upper center binding. Each page has 4 gem tintypes. There are 38 images in all.

Do you not just LOVE this?! Take a close look at the first image…not only does he have a snazzy bowler, but he has pince nez spectacles! We have bowlers, mustaches, bowties, spectacles and tons of character, all on one little page. I think I’m going to hyperventilate! :-) Some of the faces are repeated and two images have been removed, but for what it’s worth, this is a truly spectacular find and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Edmund Tomkins

Mrs Marvel

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May 5, 2015

Uncle Edmund

Lucy & Emily’s Dad

Today’s photograph is of Uncle Edmund Tomkins, either from America or who went to America. Uncle Edmund is sporting a rather wispy beard and mustache that makes me think there is an unfortunate scratch or blemish on the surface of the image. He must have been proud of it to wear it for his photograph, but in my book, this is not something to memorialize.

According to the back of the card, Uncle Edmund was also Lucy & Emily’s Dad. He may also be related to our previous subject, Uncle Taylor from Sheffield, as the handwriting on the backs is the same. They don’t look at all similar in their facial features, so possibly are in-law uncles or from opposite sides of the family. We can never know.

The photographer selected by Uncle Edmund was Helsby & Co, 34 Church Street in Liverpool, England.

The Faded Girl

Mrs Marvel

2 comments

April 27, 2015

Where are you, sweet child?

Decorative backmark for May & Co.

This later 19th century photograph, a CDV, once showed a pretty child, posed upon a chair, with round baby face youth looking out at her parents. Today, we know she was there, but over time the image has faded to a grainy suggestion of its former glory. I don’t know enough about vintage photographic processes to even suggest what has caused the photo to fade so badly. Perhaps it was exposed to direct sunlight, or perhaps it wasn’t developed properly in the first place.

The photographer was May & Co, of Station Road, Northwich, England. Northwich is in the county of Cheshire, northwest of London. I found a reference in an 1892 directory for Northwich, to a George Austin May & Co, photographer in Station Road.

A photo of a painting

Mrs Marvel

1 comment

April 20, 2015

A portrait from the 1830s or so

When photography became popular, it was not only seen as a way to capture living images of people, but also as a means to share older images. This CDV is an example of a photograph of a portrait or miniature that was painted in an earlier decade. I’m not very good with men’s clothing, so please chime in if you know better, but I’m guessing this portrait was made in the 1830s. Perhaps this was a beloved patriarch of a family. This could also be a memorial card given to friends and distant relatives when the subject passed away – in the 1860s.

The photograph was made by W. G. Helsby Jr in Denbigh and Ruthin. These towns are near coastal Wales, a bit southwest of Liverpool, England. The two towns were connected by a railway which was established in 1860 and used for approximately 100 years, closing in the 1960s.

Helsby’s Studios backmark

Note that part of the backmark indicates “other portraits copied as miniatures or enlarged to life size or delicately finished in oil or water color.” This image is clearly a copy of a portrait.

In remembrance

Mrs Marvel

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April 6, 2015

Striped bow tie

A memorial card?

From Gloucester, England we have a portrait of an older gentleman photographed by S. S. Soley. Someone inscribed on the back “In Remembrance of 17th Oct 70.” The date could possibly be 12th or something else, there seems to be an extra scratch of ink and it looks like a 4 upside down or an H. Regardless, this image can be fairly well dated to 1870, which was possibly the date of death of the man pictured on the front.

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