England Photographs and Postcards (National Institute)

Photographs
Visual documentation has been dominated by photographs for about 130 years and there has been a steady evolution from the beginnings in the early 19th century. Different processes belong to different epochs, just as with the printing methods described above. Since most family historians will be involved in dating photographs and different types were used at different periods, the type of photo can be a good dating aid.

Chart: Dating Types of Photographs

Daguerreotypes
Introduced in the 1840s and popular until the mid-1850s, the daguerreotype was essentially a negative image viewed against a black background. It has a mirror-like appearance and when tipped towards the light it can be identified as a negative. Only one copy of each photograph could be made, and since the background deteriorated on exposure to air there is usually a protective frame and they are often cased. Another feature is that the image is reversed: key items to watch for are:


 *  Jackets buttoned the wrong way (traditionally male jackets are left-over-right, females right-over-left).
 *  Hair parting is opposite to current fashion.
 *  Writing on signs is reversed.
 *  Gentlemen’s breast pocket on his right instead of left side.

Calotypes
This first negative-positive method was introduced in 1839 by Fox-Talbot and remained popular until the mid-1850s. They are rare, have a coarse appearance, red-brown or sepia in colour, or yellow if faded which they do rapidly in sunlight. However, many positive prints could be made from one negative.

Ambrotypes (Glass Positives)
A collodion method introduced in the early 1850s and lasting until 1880, had a glass negative which was mounted on a black background, and as the process was faster more relaxed poses were possible. Some are colour-tinted and all are typically enclosed with a gilt matt in a pinchbeck (gold-like alloy) frame in a wooden or leather union (presentation) case.

Tintypes (Ferrotypes or Collodion Positives)
This method was invented in about 1856 and as it required the least skill was popular with itinerant photographers. It continued to be popular with beach and fairground photographers until the 1940s, but mostly before 1914. Tintypes are easily recognised as they are on thin black or dark brown enamelled sheet iron, and either mounted in pinchbeck frames or roughly cut to fit in paper mounts, brooches, lockets etc. The subjects were very diverse, from studio portraits to casual social scenes of ordinary people, as the process was inexpensive. They tended to be small and rather dark and if they have been framed and glazed they can be confused with ambrotypes.

Albumen Prints
The most popular of the collodion processes, it was in vogue from 1850 until about 1895. The positive image was made on paper, had fine detail and a glossy appearance. They are sepia-coloured (yellow if faded), or rich plum colour if gold-toned, but are fragile and easily creased. Large quantities of views were sold by print sellers &amp; bookshops much as postcards are today.

Stereoscopic Photographs
Found from around 1852–1900 popularly in sets of views at home or abroad. They occur as mounted pairs of albumen prints which had to be examined through a viewer to achieve a three-dimensional effect.

Cartes de Visite
These visiting-card size (about 4” x 2½”) photographs were introduced into England in 1858, were most popular in 1860s, and still continued to be produced into the early 1900s. The earlier ones were printed on albumen paper, then came gelatino-chloride paper and the carbon-printing process. Eight prints were done at a time and these were pasted onto cards having the photographer’s name and address on the back. Early cartes had square corners but from the 1880s the corners were rounded. The carte cost about 1/-, only 2-3% of the cost of earlier methods, and so was now within reach of most families. Cartes were mainly portraits and those showing royalty and eminent people were popular as well as ordinary people’s likenesses; an example is shown below. All were avidly collected in a Victorian craze called cartomania, and many families had carte-de-visite albums with slots for the insertion of the cards.

Carte de Visite - Front and Reverse Caroline Mary Dashwood 1870 (From the personal collection of Dr. Penelope Christensen)

Cabinet Prints
The larger (about 6½” x 4½”) cabinet prints were introduced in 1866 and were more common than cartes by the 1890s. These were also largely portraits and collected in similar albums, or albums containing apertures for both sizes. There were several other popular print forms in addition to cartes de visite and cabinet prints between 1868 and 1914. An example is shown below.

Photographers’ Advertisement on Reverse of a Cabinet Print (From the personal collection of Dr. Penelope Christensen)

Postcards
Photographs produced in the format of a postcard date from Sep 1894 in Britain, although in the USA the sending of picture postcards through the post was permitted in 1867. Size is important in dating, the earliest (1894-1899) being small ones such as 5¼” x 3¼” or the 4½” x 3½” court card. The still common 5½” x 3½” dates from Nov 1899 and a number of unusual sizes were produced later. At first the whole of the back was devoted to the address with the picture and any message on the front; the divided back was authorized in 1902 in Britain ( Pols 1994).

Postcards were sent and collected by thousands of ordinary people until well after the Second World War when the telephone made this means of communication obsolete. Local views were popular and the family historian should attempt to find any postcards remaining in the family. Not only will the views be interesting but there will be a name and address dated by a postmark. By examining a range and placing them in date order one can glean much information about a family’s movements, including holidays which often included visits to relatives. The messages will also convey the flavour of the time and perhaps little gems of family data.

Today there are several firms that specialise in selling old postcards, especially topographical ones, and this is one way to obtain pictures of local churches, schools, businesses and events to add diversity to your family history. There are also special albums designed to hold postcards, and Hill has a handy illustrated history.

Francis Frith was the best-known photographer of places, beginning his work in 1860 and amassing over 40,000 glass negatives before he died in 1898. His sons continued his work and Frith postcards were on sale all over the country during the early and mid-20th century. Jay is one of many published selections of his work with 6,000 images. Prints are expensive but of excellent quality and are now coming out on CD-ROMs, 3,500 images on each.

Roll Film and the Snapshot
Eastman’s development of roll film and the box camera in the USA 1885-1895 brought photography within reach of a huge public as the equipment was cheap and the operator did not have to mess with the chemicals (Pols 1994). The era of the snapshot had arrived; the range of subject matter mushroomed according to the interests of the photographer. We now see people in their ordinary clothes engaged in everyday pursuits at home or at work, rather than stiffly posed in a studio maybe even wearing loaned clothes for the occasion.

Margaret F. Harker examines the history of many other types of photographs as well as the work of distinguished photographers in her work, Victorian and Edwardian Photographs.

Photo Restoration
Modern genealogists have scanners for copying and numerous programmes for producing enhanced images from old photos. Professional technologists offer their services in the genealogical press. An example of professional help for a poorly posed and severely mistreated photograph is shown below.

Photo-Restoration Gardner Family of Crayford, Kent 1900 (Thanks to Warren Sadler.)

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