Derby Operatic Company

Derby Heritage

We had another lovely few Heritage Open Days at the beginning of September and were lucky enough again to receive more Winter's original photographs from visitors, one of whom brought in a copy of a Derby Opera Company souvenir programme.

Commercial Photography

Hubert remembers doing regular work for Derby Theatre and Derby Operatic Company, and we were delighted to flick through the pages of the programme for the production of Glamorous Night by Ivor Novello.
You can see from the souvenir programme that the Derby Opera Company was established in 1891, and in the year of the production (1955) was performing at Derby Hippodrome Theatre.

It includes some fantastic portrait photography of the company by Hubert King who rembers cast members coming to the studio on a Sunday morning, ready in their costumes and make up.

I particularly like the portait of Company President, R. P. Williamson, with his fabulous pipe!

The progamme includes a number of adverts and it's good to see a couple of Winter's fellow Derby icons; Foulds, and Bennets.

Winter's still specilaises in portraiture - do come in for a new one or to share your old Winter's photos!

Photographic History Course

Free Online Course on Photographic History

 

The University of Edinburgh are running an online course on the history of photography from the daguerreotype to the imapct of the cheap kodak camera.

"Explore the Victorian craze for photography, examine its history, from the earliest images in 1839 and how it has influenced the way we capture and share images today as photography moved from being a niche concern of the few, to one of the most important cultural forms of the modern world."

At Winters we will be studying the course from 12 October along with archivist Jane Middleton-Smith, artist Debbie Cooper and some of our brilliant heritage volunteers. We invite you to join us and share your experience and thoughts!
You can sign up for the course on here: https://www.coursera.org/course/vicphoto
The course runs for 5 weeks and requires from 1 to 3 hours study per week.

Heritage Tours in September

National Heritage Open Days 2015
Visit us 10-12 September for a free tour!
Full details in the HOD website

A Really Good Advert

19th Century Studio Prints

When the first studio photographic portraits appeared around the 1850s, the cards onto which the photographs were pasted were as often as not lightweight and plain. A very few had the name of the studio inscribed on them but little else in the way of embellishment.

Artwork & Advertising

Illustrations suggesting the rise of photography as an art form

However, move on a decade or two and the cards had become almost more interesting than the photos themselves. The trend for over-decoration that characterised high Victoriana was also evident, in miniature, on the reverse of cartes de visite portraits. Some typical themes were flowers, exotic locations and winged beings, such as cherubs or fairy folk. Others displayed illustrations of cameras, often with an accompanying artist’s palette, signifying photography as an art form (see below). Coats of arms and crests were also utilised, often suggesting Royal patronage, including that of Queen Victoria herself. However, a court case in 1884 involving the nationwide firm of A and G Taylor indicated that claims of patronage by distinguished people were frequently implied rather than actual. This firm was hauled over the coals for using the royal arms without ‘the consent of the queen’.

Exhibition Medals

Walter William Winter won many medals for his work

W W Winter steered well clear of making false claims; the studio's track record did the talking. Winner of many medals from photographic exhibitions both in the British Isles and indeed worldwide, Winter only needed to cover the bacs of his photographic portraits with displays of these awards to show his photographic prowess.

In the attached images can be seen medals won from Bedford to Berlin and Calcutta to Chicago. Winter’s customers could not help but be impressed by the success of this Derby firm on the world stage of photographic endeavour.
Only one of the ‘backs’ bears a written date, that of 1897, but both show medals gained from the 1880s through to the 1890s. Some of these same medals can still be seen to this day, displayed in a glass-fronted ‘cabinet’ at Winter’s premises. These medals act as a fitting reminder of how successful the studio became and continued to be, a really good advert indeed.

Exotic locations were often featured on the rear of studio prints

Chris Hibbert

Winter's Heritage Volunteer Team

Volunteers Blog - Anne

Untold Stories behind the photographs...

Last week was my final session as a volunteer at Winter's as the first round of funding comes to an end. I've met so many interesting people involved in the project, all with a passion and an enthusiasm for this important process...and that was before I'd even started working on the glass negatives. Something about this project seems to have fired  the imagination of so many. Perhaps it is the uncovering of a whole store of Derby's history or the little frisson of excitement one feels when the next glass negative is cleaned, wondering what will be seen for the first time in 70, 80, 90, or 100 years.

Every photograph raises questions of one kind or another

I have been lucky enough to have worked on three sizes of glass negatives. The large ones were very formal photos and made me wonder; who was  the Grand Master in his full  regalia, or the gentleman photographed at his desk in his own study? Someone who wanted a portrait surrounded by his own books rather than go to the studio–possibly a man of standing?  And who was the lady in a graduation robe? Now the date of that image would be very interesting. 

Some of the middle size plates I dealt with showed shots of the shop floor at Leys and Ewarts, an engineering firm in Derby. Maybe it was for advertising or perhaps for the company magazine. The dress code was collars and ties, even for the man working the massive capstan lathe!

The smaller negatives became more personal; babies, toddlers, wedding photos, passport photographs. Why were the older couple with the unusual name - possibly  Polish - having a passport photograph taken? They look a little wary and uncomfortable in the photo; a button unfastened in the middle of his waistcoat, her coat looking a little too big. Where had they come from and where were they going?

Will mysteries be unraveled

This project is uncovering so many untold stories, some of which may be told, others partly solved and many will lie dormant for many more years until maybe a chance remark will set the story in motion and a family mystery may be unraveled.

Volunteers Blog - Daryl

Hello, I'm Daryl one of the Heritage Project volunteers.  Having recently been on the blogging workshop, offered to us by the Winter's Heritage Project, I thought I'd take the plunge and tell you about my experience of my half day conservation sessions at Winters.

I had done my half day of glass negative conservation a few weeks ago, but I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer for a second half day yesterday.

Being the second time (third if you count the Open Day) that I had been behind the scenes at W W Winter I felt a bit more at home.

I was working again with another volunteer that I had met at the Conservation Workshop in January which helped.  We had also been on the previous cleaning session together and at the blogging workshop.

We were directed to a back room on this occasion to address some 12 inch by 10 inch glass negatives.  Previously I had worked in the newly refurbished room on 3 inch by 4 inch negatives.  On that previous occasion we had not managed to process very many as it was our first visit, but this time we got through quite a few more.

During a break Louisa showed us some images from larger negatives that she had digitised by taking digital photos of them.  Unfortunately many of them were beyond recovery, but not all.  The images often of only part of the original were fascinating.  Although I have to admit to being more interested in the machines and buildings than the people, but that's just me.

There was a great image of what seemed to be a Foden Steam Lorry; our cursory web search suggested that it would have been between 1906 and 1911, over one hundred years ago !  Unfortunately our web search turned up nothing about the company painted on the lorry door "Spa".  The lorry was loaded with what looked to me like wooden crates which could have been beer or pop or could it have been "mineral water".  Was there a market for mineral water 100 years ago ?  I don't know, but I'm sure someone out there will :D

Back at the job we were there to do we cleaned and stored some images of Repton School Hockey Team, several wedding images, a couple of a workshop with belt driven lathes in operation and a company motor coach outing.

It was all over very quickly and since we are almost at the end of the first phase there were no further scheduled conservation sessions available.  I will have to wait and see what the next phase brings.

*Editors Note: We found a few Spa~Water bottles in the glass hole in the cellar. Spa-Tona (formerly Spa-Iron Brew) was a drink produced by Burrows & Sturgess of Derby. Hubert thinks we did commercial photography for them - hence the 'still full' bottles seen in this photo!

Volunteers Blog - Christine

The Importance of Research

Heritage volunteer, Christine, talks us through some historical research. It is this type of information that really helps to bring a story alive!

"When I first joined the Winter's project as a  volunteer the area that had most appeal for me was that of historical research. The first step was to decide which line of enquiry to take. Since Winter's was such a well-established firm in Derby, items in local newspapers seemed the best path to follow. The newspaper of choice was the Derby Mercury, and the starting date the early 1850s.

It was not long before all kinds of articles appeared, effectively chronicling the history of Winter's since Walter Winter first took over. From the newspaper I learned that although Walter was evidently a very accomplished photographer, all had not run smoothly with his business. An illegally erected studio, a fire on the roof and a theft from the shop were just some of the incidents that were reported. On the plus side much was made of the success of the studio in staying abreast of innovations in photography . It was also apparent that some of the best known likenesses in Derby were captured in Winter's studios, from mayors to manufacturers. Some photographic portraits were enlarged and sometimes coloured by hand, while others remained small enough to wear in a locket. The sale of fine art products also boosted the funds, as did exhibitions of well-known paintings.

As well as all Walter's business interests, the newspapers made it apparent that he was highly involved in his local community. As with many Victorian gentlemen philanthropy and religion were both part of the picture.

 

And Walter's employees were not forgotten either, as the firm's first works outing illustrated, when the employees were taken off to the Peak District to enjoy walks, games of cricket and a high tea. As time went on the photographic business went from strength to strength with generations of Derby families turning up at Winter's to have their photos taken. Doubtless, like my own family, many others have a cache of Winter's photographs tucked away in drawers or albums, an archive which has built up over one and a half centuries. It is great to be part of this amazing project which is beginning to uncover just how much of Derby life W. W. Winter captured over the years."