Foreword - Alan D. Craxford

It is always with some sadness that we approach a family treasure such as a photograph album that was not annotated at the time. Such is the case with Miriam's collection which appears on the previous page Miriam's Album. The captions and text are my own assessments prompted partly by notes made by my mother in the 1930s and partly my "best guess" today.

I was curious about the style of these pictures. They are mounted on thick card, often carrying advertisements on the rear. The album itself had obviously been made to carry cards of these sizes. My internet searches for information about the photographers and studios that had produced these images brought me to Photographers & Photographic Studios in Derbyshire, England which is part of Brett Payne's "South Derbyshire Genealogy Pages". An email correspondence ensued and Brett has kindly agreed to exercise his expertise and has provided the critique below.

Introduction

Thank you very much for the three batches of photos which you've sent so far, for which I am very grateful. I will make some notes on the photos, including some suggested dates, and send them on, perhaps also in several batches. Here is the first lot, of the derbyshire ones, naturally, as they interest me the most, and I have more information at hand! I will warn you in advance that I'm going dispute some of your identifications, but please don't feel you must take my word for it. I'm still learning too, and am quite ready to be proved wrong if you have other information which suggests otherwise. However, I hope you'll find some value in the interpretations that I will provide, even if it does create some headaches.

John and Ann Naylor

1A - Family Group taken by unknown photographer in an outdoor setting : Date approx. 1872-1874

"I am also attaching the Naylor group in its raw form. This is mounted on grey card with no other identifying features."

The rudimentary setting of this photograph, with a plain backdrop, and little attention paid to the usual pretense of an artificial studio, suggests that it was almost certainly taken by a travelling photographer. Perhaps he was associated with a travelling show, but he may just as easily have been an itinerant working on his own. Such photographers became common in the 1870s and 1880s, and often serviced the smaller towns and villages in the rural English countryside which didn't have large enough populations to support a resident studio. Several aspects of the photo suggest that it may have been a "practice" shot, or at least hurried, as there has been no attempt to hide the fake window seen at the right of the image.

Although the hairstyle of the wife/mother in the photo is reminiscent of the mid- to late 1860s, her clothes suggest a date closer to the mid-1870s. It's far more difficult to date the clothing of men and children with much degree of accuracy, but in general the men and older boys are dressed for this period as well. It's my estimate, therefore, that this photo was taken some time around 1872-1874. (This would tally with Alfred's date of birth in 1872 - ADC)

2A - Middle-aged couple, tentatively identified by Alan Craxford as John & Ann Cotterill
2B - Reverse: J Byron & Sons The size is about 4 inches by 2.5 inches."

To me, this couple looks identical with the couple included in the group portrait discussed above, and identified by you as John & Ann NAYLOR with their children. James Byron Clayton and his son Joseph Byron Clayton operated a studio together as "J. Byron & Son" at Ram Yard, Market Place, Long Row, Nottingham from 1871 until 1876. I would suggest that this photo was taken a couple of years after the family portrait discussed previously, probably c. 1875-1876. The clothing is, I think, again fairly typical of the mid-1870s, semi-rural England.

The F Day photographs

You noted: "The first are the photographs of Mary Naylor (F Day); two girls (F Day) and Miriam Naylor (Freckleton & Co). There is nothing on the back of any of these mounts. Mary Naylor was born in 1866 and was 13 years older than Miriam. It is clear that the pictures were taken in the same place and therefore I presume that one of the younger girls on the second F Day image was Miriam. I guess they would be around 5 to 8 years which would make the year 1885 - 8. Mary could be about 20 I guess. Miriam was born in 1879. Their father John Naylor was an undermanager at a colliery outside Alfreton. The family home was described in the 1891 census as Cotes Park Pit House - a tied house for the manager no doubt. They moved there sometime before 1871 and the family left after John died in 1897 and certainly before the 1901 census. The final picture of this group is one of the Naylor babies (there were ten of them!!) Interesting this is the second address for F Day"

3A - Two young girls standing at porch (aged about 7-8 and 10-11) by F. Day of Ray Street, Heanor : Date approx. 1899-1901
4A - Standing girl at porch (aged 13-16) by F. Day of Ray Street, Heanor : Date approx. 1899-1901
5A - Seated girl and dog in front of porch (aged 14-18) by Freckleton & Co. of 63 Long Row, Nottingham : Date approx. 1896-1901
6A & 6B - Baby (aged ?10m) on chair, by F. Day of Station Road, Heanor : Date approx. 1899

I believe that all four of these photographs were taken at around the turn of the century. Pinpointing the dates further is a little more difficult, but perhaps not impossible. Frank Day is shown by Adamson (1997) as having worked from a studio in Mansfield Road, Heanor from 1906 to 1912. However, I have evidence that he was working as a photographer in Heanor at least as early as 1901. Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire for 1899, probably compiled in late 1898, does not list him in Heanor, but by early 1901 the census shows him living at 169 Ray Street. Frank Day was born in Nottingham and lived there until at least the early 1890s. He married Gertrude Maud Allsop (of Wirksworth) in early 1897, and their first child Harold Edgar was born at Smalley in early 1898. They probably settled in Heanor in 1899 or 1900, where Frank started operating as a photographer, initially from his home in Ray Street. Joseph W. Freckleton operated a studio at 63 Long Row West, Nottingham from about 1896, and moved his premises to Long Eaton, at the latest, in early 1901.

If we look at the first three photographs in this group, it is obvious (as you have already stated) that all were taken at the same location, which you have assumed was the NAYLOR family's residence, Cotes Park Pit House in Alfreton. You have mentioned that the vegetation on the trellis in the Freckleton & Co photo is more overgrown than in the F. Day photos taken while he was based at Ray Street. It would be tempting to assume, therefore, that it was taken later, but I don't believe this was necessarily the case. If you look more carefully at the plant which appears to be espaliered on the wall to the right of the porch, the thicker branches are very similar in both Freckleton and Day images. It is conceivable, in my view, that the Freckleton photo might actually be earlier, and that some general pruning and cleaning up took place before the F. Day photos. The clothing worn by the seated subject in the Freckleton image also suggests a fashion of the mid- to late 1890s rather than of the early 1900s. At least the "balloon"- type sleeves worn by this young woman were superceded by the narrower sleeves shown in the F. Day (Ray Street) photos. Since the Freckleton & Co photo was obviously taken in Alfreton, not Nottingham, and if it pre-dates the Day photos, as I have suggested, I wonder if it was actually also taken by F. Day, but while he was employed by Freckleton & Co. of Nottingham as a travelling photographer. It's a long shot, but a possibility, nevertheless.

If Mary and Miriam NAYLOR were born in 1866 and 1879 respectively, then I don't believe that they could be depicted in any of these four photographs, I'm afraid. If I'm correct in my estimations of the dates of the photographs and the ages of the girls, then you should be looking for girls born c. 1885, c. 1889 and c. 1892 and another child born c.1897-1898. Is it possible that they were not the NAYLOR girls, but from another family?

Seaman & sons; Ephraim P. Short

8A - William Ball (?) - Young man, by Seaman & Sons of Chesterfield, Ilkeston and Alfreton : Date approx 1897-1899
"Almost certainly William Ball - born South Normanton 1863 - 1955. Mary Naylor's Husband."

Seaman & Sons used this format of card mount, which unlike their earlier mounts has no addresses or other information on the reverse, in the late 1890s and early 1900s. I'm afraid that I can't date it more accurately with much confidence, other than saying that it was probably taken around the turn of the century i.e. between about 1897 and 1905. It is possible that the Alfreton studio closed in around 1899, which would confine the date to between 1897 and 1899, but I can't be sure of this. I would estimate the subject of this photo to be aged roughly 18 to 20, giving a birth date of c. 1877-1881, which doesn't really fit with your "William Ball." I was wondering whether it might be one of the NAYLOR boys instead, particularly after looking at the group photo of them in later years (The Naylors.jpg) but none of them was born that late.

9A & B Subject unknown : Date approx 1892-1894

Ephraim P. Short had a studio at 17 Pelham Street from 1892 to 1899, after which he moved to 35 Derby Road. Although it is always more difficult with older women, as they tended to wear clothes for a little longer after they were at the height of fashion than younger women might. The style here is very definitely mid- to late 1880s rather than 1890s, when square rather than rounded shoulders were fashionable, and there was a rapid development of the "leg-of-mutton" type of sleeves. I would suspect, therefore, that she was hanging on to the older style, and would say that this photo must be from the early 1890s, perhaps 1892-1894. The woman looks to be at least in her 60s, perhaps even 70s, and an approximate birth date would therefore be c. 1820-1830.

Continued in column 2...

Page added - June 18th 2006
Last updated - April 12th 2012

Wallis and Reynolds

7A & B - Three young children, by Wallis & Reynolds, of 7a Exchange Walk, Nottingham

"We have assumed that the next group (Wallis & Reynolds) is of Mary with her younger brothers John Henry (b 1867) and Alfred (b 1869)"
Wallis & Reynolds operated a studio at this address from 1895 to 1901. The style of the cabinet card mount, as well as the style of studio pose and setting and the clothes the children are wearing, would suggest to me that the photo was taken during the later part of this period, perhaps between 1897 and 1901. Again, it doesn't seem possible to me that these three are the NAYLOR children that you have mentioned. In my view the oldest of the three children, obviously a girl, was probably born c. 1895, and the youngest perhaps between 1897 and 1899.

Some photographs of the Cook family

10A: George Cook - "My maternal grandfather. (1883 - 1968)"
11A: Miriam Naylor - "My maternal grandmother (1879 - 1916). Hand written reference in pencil - 31208."
12A: Elizabeth Burditt - "My paternal great grandmother (b 1849). Hand written reference on rear - 30848"

These three photos are all by John W. Heawood of Welford Place and King Richard's Road. The Welford studio was in operation from 1895 to 1902, after which it became the Mansfield Studio Co. and Heawood moved to new premises in 1904 in the Coronation Buildings, 76 High Street. The studio in King Richard's Rd appears to have closed in 1904. The style of clothing, particularly in 11A, suggests that the three photographs date to the latter part of Heawood's stay in Welford Place, probably about 1901-1903. 10A and 11A may well have been engagement photos, but if so then George and Miriam must have had a lengthy engagement, as according to FreeBMD, they only married in 1909. The negative number on the photo of George Cook's mother (30848) is lower than that on the reverse of George's wife-to-be (31208), showing that it was taken earlier, although perhaps only a few months.

13A. Miriam Naylor - Young woman, by Mansfield of Welford Place, Leicester : Date approx 1906-1908
"Reverse has a pencil reference which could be 217352 (the 1 and the second 2 are superscripts)"

As noted previously, the Mansfield Studio Co. followed Heawood at the Welford Place premises, operating there from 1906 to 1908, after which this address was used by A.H. Taylor Ltd. This places fairly tight constraints on when the photo could have been taken. The clothes are also indicative of that period. Perhaps this one is actually the "engagement photo"?

WALTER AND ELIZABETH COOK

14A & B: Walter Cook - "My paternal great grandfather (b 1853; died abt 1920)"

Frederick W. Broadhead had a long career in Leicester, from 1870 until 1900, and moved between several studios over this time, but since there is no address on the reverse we can't use that for dating. However, from his clothing and the general style of the portrait, studio props and card mount design, I believe it probably dates from the mid- to late 1880s.

15A & B: ? Elizabeth Burditt and Walter Cook

I don't have the dates of operation of the photographer Jennings, but from the clothing and style of this photo, it was taken in the mid-1870s, probably between 1874 and 1876. Cartes de visite changed to rounded corners in about 1878, so I know it's before then. I checked FreeBMD again, and found Walter COOK and Elizabeth BURDITT's marriage in 1874, so perhaps this photo was taken on or near that occasion.

A collection of unidentified subjects

16A & B: Unknown male

John Wilson is recorded as having a studio at 82 High Street, Leicester from 1888 to 1892, following William Rowe, who is recorded there from 1870 to 1886. The reverse of the carte visite shows that the two had been in partnership prior to Wilson's taking over the studio in 1888, and suggests that the photo dates from not long after this date. The CDV design, half-length portrait, and clothing all support a date of the mid- to late 1880s. The young man looks to be in his late 20s to early 30s, so I would estimate that he was born c.1853-1862.

17A & B Subject unknown - Teenage(?) boy, by Heawood of Welford Place and King Richard's Road, Leicester : Date approx c.1901-1903
"This one struck me as curious with the tissue thin piece of paper stuck on the back - inside out. This has the print - Marion Imp Paris - on it."

As with the other Heawood photos, it must be from the period 1895-1902, when the firm operated from Welford Place. It is difficult to narrow the dates down further, but I suspect that it is from a similar era to the other three Heawood photos i.e. c. 1901-1903. The boy looks to me to be aged about 15-17, so he was was perhaps born c.1884-1888. The tissue protector was commonly used on cabinet cards and cartes de visite from the 1880s onwards. If you check on the back of all of your photos, you will find evidence of the gum at the top of many of them, I'm sure. However, because of the nature of the tissue, and the fact that many if not most photos were inserted into the sleeves of photo albums, the tissue protectors did not last long. I have a few examples in my own collection, although regretfully none by Derbyshire studios, and none amongst my own family trove. Some of the designs on the tissue protectors were very elaborate, others less so. I haven't seen this particular one before.

18A Subject unknown
"Card is stamped Carte de Visite. This was paired with subject 17 in the album."

The style of the clothes and hat suggest to me a date of sometime between 1900 and 1910, possibly the latter part of the period.

I think that's all of the photos you have sent so far. Hope that you can make use of the interpretations.

Please contact us

If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site in general, or you have further information regarding this article, please Get in touch by leaving a message in our Guestbook. If you don't want the message to be added to the Guestbook, just say that in your text. We look forward to hearing from you.

Return to Top of Page