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Ayrshire / Re: Photographs by John Humphrey of King Street, Kilmarnock 1860-1889
« on: Sunday 16 April 17 05:52 BST (UK) »
Hi Donald,
Well you’ve really got my brain buzzing with your information.
My dating is obviously all wonky. I had assumed that tintypes, pretty rare in Scotland, were a survival of the past that were quickly and systematically replaced by cartes de visite. I knew that the technique survived into the early 20th Century, but on a pretty small scale, and particularly in the USA, but your info about your relative’s date of birth clearly shows that John Humphrey was dabbling in it late in his career; he died in March 1889. I had also assumed that they predated his partnership with James Paton (1862-57), but evidently they came after that period. I need to dig around to see how common that was in Scotland at the time.
In a way, it figures, since the mounting cards for these tintypes seem so crisp and colourful that it’s hard to imagine them being issued in the late ’50s and early ’60s.
It’s certainly possible that your relatives had a big family event or somesuch which brought them all to East Ayrshire, but, since tintype photography was very mobile, and often performed by itinerant photographers away from any fixed studio – at fairs or special sidewalk sessions - it may be that John Humphrey was travelling on business in Lanarkshire at the time, rather than the other way around.
Anyway, I’ll await the appearance of your blog with great interest. Thanks so much for your response.
John Humphrey (Toronto)
Well you’ve really got my brain buzzing with your information.
My dating is obviously all wonky. I had assumed that tintypes, pretty rare in Scotland, were a survival of the past that were quickly and systematically replaced by cartes de visite. I knew that the technique survived into the early 20th Century, but on a pretty small scale, and particularly in the USA, but your info about your relative’s date of birth clearly shows that John Humphrey was dabbling in it late in his career; he died in March 1889. I had also assumed that they predated his partnership with James Paton (1862-57), but evidently they came after that period. I need to dig around to see how common that was in Scotland at the time.
In a way, it figures, since the mounting cards for these tintypes seem so crisp and colourful that it’s hard to imagine them being issued in the late ’50s and early ’60s.
It’s certainly possible that your relatives had a big family event or somesuch which brought them all to East Ayrshire, but, since tintype photography was very mobile, and often performed by itinerant photographers away from any fixed studio – at fairs or special sidewalk sessions - it may be that John Humphrey was travelling on business in Lanarkshire at the time, rather than the other way around.
Anyway, I’ll await the appearance of your blog with great interest. Thanks so much for your response.
John Humphrey (Toronto)