Wednesday, June 09, 2010

William Brigham And A Handsome Woman


I am still acquiring a small collection of Carte de Visites and my latest acquisition is a picture of a rather handsome Victorian lady taken by William D Brigham at his studios in Scarborough. I have no idea of who the lady is, but half the fun of collecting old photographs is not knowing who they are, where they came from, or where they are going. As for a date, I would guess the photograph was taken during the golden age of CdV's - the 1880s. By 1890, Brigham had moved his studio from the Esplanade (on the sea front) to Westborough (in the centre of town). I have been able to find a few examples of Brigham's work on the Internet - mainly a photograph he took of a young Edith Sitwell in the early 1890s.

Looking at the face in the photograph above, I am half tempted to try a "then and now" approach to it. A modern day photograph using a similar pose, a little bit of Photoshop magic .... the results might be interesting. I will have to see if I can get anyone to sit in the right pose. I will report back.

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:29 PM

    Good Day Alan, Lovely Victorian lady and such intricate clothing. I adore these old photos.

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  2. The portrait is an excellent example of sepia delight.

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  3. Then, people were so prim and proper and they pose well for a picture.

    Now, everything is the opposite.

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  4. She's a perfect subject for a then-and-now transformation! She already has a bit of a modern look to her face. Brilliant idea.

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  5. I shall be seeing my good friend Janie next week and I suspect that I might just persuade her to adopt the pose and be photographed. Janie, if you are reading this, be warned.

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  6. A then & now would be interesting. Just out of curiosity, where did you find Brigham's photo of Sitwell?--when I tried to Google this I got no results other than this post. Am always on the lookout for pix of poets who might show up on RFB someday!

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  7. look forward to seeing your re-creation photo! hope your friend janie is a willing model!

    how fun!

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  8. I too look forward to the then and now pictures.

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  9. I'm looking forward to seeing the transformation! I. too, have an endless fascination with long forgotten photographs of unknown people. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

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  10. Anonymous6:17 PM

    I really enjoy your old photos. I am always intriqued when I have a chance to go thru photos such as this one...always wonder what they're life was like, etc.
    We are all coming for a visit in about 15 years to Sorbie Castle... you must take us to the pubs, my friend! :) The Bach

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  11. Having been on Ancestry.com, it makes me wonder if there aren't so many people out there just dying to find photos of their relatives and meanwhile, people like you are rescuing them and putting them online. (They may not even know the thing they're searching for is right at their fingertips.) Weird.

    Kat

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  12. OK Janie...be a good sport and let us see you transformed! What a wonderful idea, Alan! :)

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  13. Okay, I'll have a go. Must practise that pursed lips expression.

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