Friday 21 August 2009

The art of photography . . .

In 1901 it was possible for members of the public to purchase a Kodak Brownie with which to take photographs. However, before cameras were widely and cheaply available those wishing to have a pictorial record of family life and events went to their local photographer's studio to have a likeness made. The photograph below was taken in 1904 in Southsea, Hampshire and shows my grandmother holding my father, the youngest of her three sons. When my father was ten his father drowned off Sheerness in Kent when his ship went down. His name is on the Royal Naval Memorial in Portsmouth.
I believe this is a school photograph of my father's class. It was taken around 1910. Class sizes haven't changed much since then. Look carefully and you may see a terrier-type dog between the girls in the front row and another small black dog at the right of that row. I think my father is fourth from the left in the second row.

3 comments:

  1. These photos are marvelous, priceless treasures. Thank you for sharing them and thanks for the lovely comments on my blog.

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  2. Thank you Denise :-) The poignancy of old photos is that one cannot ask questions of the subjects. Nonetheless it's wonderful to see the styles of the time.

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  3. Very valuable treasure of family portraiture and you manage to keep them in their pristine condition. I have none from my own which is very sad.

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