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Charles McKean Portobello Photographer |
© Copyright: For permission to reproduce, please contact peter.stubbs@edinphoto.org.uk
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Question |
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When was Charles McKean in business? I have not found any reference to Charles McKean's Promenade Studio at Portobello in any of the old trade directories, so don't know when it operated. Perhaps somebody will email me to give me some information about the cycle in the photograph above, that will help to date the photo. There are no photographer details printed on the back of this photo, but there are a few small impressions of the name 'J Devlin' made with an ink stamp. Might he be one of the family of Devlin trawler owners? |
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Answer |
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When was Charles McKean in business? Cycle Photograph Thank you to David Gordon for passing on this reply from Nicholas Oddy, who has a good knowledge of old cycles. Nicholas wrote: "Charles McKean's photograph of the cycle, above, was probably taken in the first years of the 20th century. The machine looks like a modernized 1890s mount, set up for hard road riding. The rider looks pretty serious about it." David Gordon, South Side, Edinburgh: October 13, 2009 |
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Charles McKean More Cabinet Prints |
The cabinet print above is one of only three that I have seen from the Portobello studio of Charles McKean. Here are the other two: |
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Photographers John McKean and Charles McKean |
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Was Charles related to the photographer, John McKean, who had studios at Leith from 1882 until 1903. John McKean produced many cabinet prints. Here is an example (front and back). |
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Thank you to Isabel Dominy, Reading Berkshire who wrote: "I am an amateur genealogist, and that interest may have solved the mystery of the two McKeans. They are father and son. The 1901 census for Portobello lists: - John McKean, aged 41, photographer - Charles McKean, son aged 22, also a photographer." |
