Photography was one of the wonders of the Victorian world. The photographers were a mixed lot: artists, scientists, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, amateur psychologists, pillars of the community, conmen, visionaries, plodders and more. Some dabbled briefly in the trade before trying their luck in another field; others built up a business that was to turn into a dynasty. Some enjoyed careers that stretched over decades; others cut short their labours by blowing themselves up or poisoning themselves with the fumes of their chemicals.
The study of photographers has its own peculiar features, and I can think of no large group of ancestors whos work has survived in such copious and personally identifiable amounts.
Written by well-known British photo historian, Robert Pols, this is a guide to tracing the career and work of ancestors who worked in commercial studio photography. This book examines how you may be able to trace surviving examples of your ancestors photographs.
Contents:
About the author
Introduction
The photographic context
Conventional sources
Directories of early photographers
- Printed directories
- Online directories
- Photographic chains
- Online pay-per-view directories
Material in archives
- National collections
- Other repositories: single-studio collections
- Online repositories
- Single items in repositories
Career and biographical information in print
- Single-studio works
- Multi-studio works
Periodicals and serial publications
Photographic societies
Exhibitions
Visiting
The photographs themselves
- Finding examples
- Photographic mounts
- The images
Additional websites
General bibliography
Index of photographers
General index
