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Artists
Reginald P Phillimore |
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Artist from Lancashire RP Phillimore (full name Reginald Phillimore Phillimore) was born near Manchester on 23 December 1855. He died one day after his 86th birthday. He worked initially as a teacher in Lancashire, maintaining his interest in painting. He was an oil and watercolour artist, producing his first work in 1873. He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. He was also an etcher with a keen interest in history, and author of guide books. |
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Moved to North Berwick However, a change of lifestyle occurred In 1894. He was left a house in North Berwick, on the Firth of Forth to the east of Edinburgh, by his Scottish aunts. He set up his studio there. |
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Postcards With the rise in popularity of the picture postcard from the 1890s onwards, he turned his hand to these and produced almost 700 different cards (or many more if variations are included). From the front window of his house, Rockstowes, 9 Melbourne Road, North Berwick, he was able to look out to the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. He included it on many of his postcards, including the one above. His postcards had a distinctive appearance. They often included historical notes and small sketches on both the front and the back, as well as the main subject. They were printed in black and white on sepia. Some including delicate hand-colouring, done for him by a 14-year-old girl from North Berwick. RP Phillimore produced some postcards of cathedrals, castles and villages in England, but most of his views were of Scotland - particularly scenes of old Edinburgh and of the Firth of Forth at the Bass Rock, close to his North Berwick studio. He produced the postcards himself, selling them for 1/2d each. He used at least 15 different publishers. Many were printed in Berlin by the phototype or collotype process. |
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Most of the details above are taken from: The work of Reginald P Phillimore in old picture postcards (Introduction) |
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Lived to age 86 RP Phillimore died at 7 Melbourne Road, North Berwick, aged 86, on 24 December 1941. The death certificate reports that his parents (both deceased) were: - Father: William Phillimore Phillimore, formerly Stiff, medical practitioner - Mother: Mary Elizabeth Phillimore Phillimore m.s. |
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The Phillimore Name The name chance mentioned above explains why members of the Phillimore family had two Phillimores in their names. They presumably had Phillimore as a 'middle name' when Reginald's father decided that the surname should be changed from Still to Phillimore. |
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With acknowledgement to DE Beets of Letchworth, England for details of the death certificate above [Registration District 713 North Berwick, Entry No 51] . These details appear in DE Beets' notes on RP Phillimore's postcards. |
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Reply 1. Sheila Montgomery |
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Sheila Montgomery wrote: |
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Watercolours "I have two Phillimore watercolours hanging in our lunge. I believe that he used to do the drawings and that Mary Pearson, a local girl, did the colouring. One of the watercolours was done from the front window of the house of his friend, Dr Richardson. The other is a scene in the Lammermuirs. Do these have an value? Sheila Montgomery: April 20, 2011 |
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Reply Thanks, Sheila, for telling me the name of the local girl who did the colouring for RP Phillimore. I assume this is the same girl as I referred to above as a 14-year-old girl from North Berwick. I don't know what value your water colours might have, but I did hear of a couple of Phillimore sketches that were sold for abut £40 each a few years ago. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: April 21, 2011 |
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Reply 2. George T Smith Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
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Thank you to George who wrote: |
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Value of Paintings "This page on the Artfact web site might provide some of the elusive values that some of your viewers seem to want." George T Smith, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada: April 22, 2011 |
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Comment Artfact claims to be the world's largest auction database. The link above points to a Reginald P Philimore page on the Artfact web site. I've never used the Artfact web site, and don't know what would be involved if I clicked on 'Subscribe Now'. If you have a look at the Artfact web site, please email me to let me know whether or not you found it helpful. Thank you. Peter Stubbs, Edinburgh: April 22, 2011 |