Author Topic: William North, Photo Artist, 1871  (Read 320 times)

Offline PhilGH

  • RootsChat Extra
  • **
  • Posts: 16
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
William North, Photo Artist, 1871
« on: Friday 29 October 21 17:47 BST (UK) »
In the 1871 census for Silverdale, Staffordshire I came across an entry for:

William North, age 34, occupation Photo Artist, living in a caravan, place of birth - Leicestershire, Loughborough

I assume William North was some sort of itinerant photographer taking portrait photos but, although Silverdale had significantly expanded in the middle of the nineteenth century as a coal and iron mining community and undoubtedly had a growing middle class, the majority of people in the census for the village were miners or labourers.  I can’t imagine many of them had the money or energy to have their photo taken after a long week of hard manual work.

I haven’t been able to find any other trace of William North so have no clues to the type of work he was doing. Has anyone come across him or similar in the middle to late nineteenth century?
Handy
Hazlehurst
Delves

Offline CaroleW

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 73,992
  • Barney 1993-2004
    • View Profile
Re: William North, Photo Artist, 1871
« Reply #1 on: Friday 29 October 21 18:16 BST (UK) »
He is on the 1861 in Warwickshire as a lodger - occ painter
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Carlin (Ireland & Liverpool) Doughty & Wright (Liverpool) Dick & Park (Scotland & Liverpool)

Offline CaroleW

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 73,992
  • Barney 1993-2004
    • View Profile
Re: William North, Photo Artist, 1871
« Reply #2 on: Friday 29 October 21 18:18 BST (UK) »
In Midlothian Scotland 1881 - travelling photographer  1891 in Lanarkshire - same occ
Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Carlin (Ireland & Liverpool) Doughty & Wright (Liverpool) Dick & Park (Scotland & Liverpool)

Offline PhilGH

  • RootsChat Extra
  • **
  • Posts: 16
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: William North, Photo Artist, 1871
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 30 October 21 09:39 BST (UK) »
Thanks CaroleW. Until coming across this I hadn’t realised how early commercial photography had developed. It was only 30 years after the invention of the daguerreotype and Fox Talbot’s inventions. Then again if we look back 30 years to photography in 1991 it bears little resemblance to today’s world of digital cameras.
Handy
Hazlehurst
Delves