Ayton
Conventions
Counsell
Daiches	ANSWERED
Edmonstone	ANSWERED
Elson
Empire
FGOS	ANSWERED
Hislop	ANSWERED
Kinnear
Langfier	ANSWERED
Medals
Moffat
Railway photographer
Raven
Reid
Valentine

 QUESTION:  Where can I get a good copy of this photo?

 QUESTION:  Why did John Counsell change to using the name John Counsell Stephens?

QUESTION: Does anybody know how to contact Alan Daiches, or the person who currently holds the copyright to his work?

REPLY:      Many thanks to Liz Kettle (brother of Alan Daiches) for contacting me  -  July 2003

QUESTION

Does anybody have a photograph of John Edmonstone, or any further information about John Edmonstone?

ANSWER 1

Since I first asked this question,  probably about 3 years ago, I have just had one response.  It comes from Janet Baker, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England.  Janet writes:

 

 

"I can only add that he was taught taxidermy by Squire Waterton, an eccentric landowner and naturalist from Walton near Wakefield in Yorkshire.  Waterton travelled to Guyana.  I would like to know how Edmonstone arrived in Edinburgh.  And anything more about his history?" Feb 19, 2006

 

ANSWER 2

Janet wrote, 3 days later, with an update:

 

"I now have a little, just a very little, more information about John Edmonstone, though it asks rather more questions than it answers and no pictures I'm afraid. It's an article from 'Notes and records of the Royal Society of London, vol. 33, no. 1 August 1978' called Darwin's negro bird-stuffer.  I got a copy from my local museum." Feb 22, 2006

 

ANSWER 3

My search on the Internet about 3 years ago found very little, but today (Feb 22, 2006) a search for "JOHN EDMONTON" EDINBURGH on Google has produced far more.

This seems to be mainly because John Edmonton appeared in a list of '100 Great Black Britons' compiled by Patrick Vernon in 2004. 

Here are a couple of extracts from these web sites:

 

"Professor Janet Browne told Making History that Edmonstone was brought from British Guyana to Glasgow by his master Charles Edmonstone, who owned the Cardross Park estate to the north of the city. A friend, Charles Waterton, who also owned land in Guyana, was an early naturalist who brought specimens back with him. It was he who taught the young slave, John, how to stuff animals. When he was freed, John Edmonstone used his new taxidermy skills first in Glasgow and then in Edinburgh where he worked occasionally at the university - where Darwin was studying. It is thought that Edmonstone lived for a while in Lothian Street, Edinburgh, though there is no plaque to commemorate." BBC Making History Program  October 25, 2005

 

 

Charles Darwin learnt taxidermy from John Edmonstone. Darwin was 16 years old at the time and becoming disillusioned with learning medicine He described Edmonstone as, “'very pleasant and intelligent”. John Edmonstone gave Darwin inspiring accounts of tropical rain forests in South America and may have encouraged Darwin to explore there.  Edmonstone also told young Charles Darwin about his life as a slave. Throughout his life Darwin hated slavery. Edmonstone may have encouraged this detestation in Darwin. Certainly the taxidermy Darwin learnt from Edmonstone helped him greatly during The Voyage of the Beagle. Wikipedia - Internet encyclopedia:  February 2006

 

 

 QUESTION:  Can anybody tell me more about the history of A W Elson and the photographs that it produced.  This would enable me to give a fuller answer to any future questions that I receive.

 QUESTION:  When was 92-96 Nicolson Street the address of Empire Studio?

 QUESTION

 Who was FGOS?

ANSWER

He was Francis Godolphin Osborne Stuart,  a London photographer, 1881-82.

ANSWER (continued)

Francis Godolphin Osborne Stuart was:

-  started work as a carpenter and camera maker in Aberdeen

-  became a professional portrait and landscape photographer

-  spent some time in London  (1881-82)

-  established a home and studio in Southampton (by 1883).

-  began publishing postcard pictures in 1901and covered much of (mainly southern) Hampshire and adjoining counties, as well as shipping and London.

The family business was continued under his name into the 1930's.  His postcard pictures are still keenly collected.

[With acknowledgement to Mike Pettigrew for the above details.  Most of the information has been taken from a booklet of FGOS' picture postcard reproductions (of Southampton), published by Ensign Publications.]

 QUESTION:  Do you have any information about A Healey Hislop or his work?

ANSWER:  Peter Casey tells me that he has a railway poster produced for the London Midland & Scottish Railway Company, not sure of the year this was produced but the image is signed by Healey Hislop. Could this be one and the same person Roger Bloomfield refers to?

The image is a street scene with Edinburgh Castle in the background and in the foreground a sign reads Royal Scottish Academy Exhibition.

Please click on the image above to enlarge it. 

Please e-mail me if you have any further comments.  Thank you.

 QUESTION:  Does anybody know where any of these photos taken by Kinnear and Raven are now?

 QUESTION 1:  Where was he before Glasgow?

QUESTION 2:  Was he related to Adolph Langfier, who had a studio in Harrogate? 

ANSWER 1 and 2:  Louis Saul Langfier and Adolph Langfier were brothers.  Both came from Poland to Britain.  The date that they came to Britain is not known.  Did they come directly to Glasgow? 

 QUESTION:  Does anybody recognise this sitter?

QUESTION 1:   When was the Medal issued?

QUESTION 2:  Were Medals issued at Conventions?

QUESTION 1:   Does anybody own any of these medals.  If so would they be willing to answer questions about them.

QUESTION 2:  What is FAPA?

QUESTION 1: Who is the person in the photograph above who took the photo below and many similar railway photos?

   ©

  QUESTION:  Does anybody know anything about this photographer?

My e-mail correspondent has 144 of Robert Reid's photographs, and has been trying to trace Robert Reid for the past 25 years!

  QUESTION:  Does anybody have a photograph of Frederick George Sykes, or know any information about him?

QUESTION 1:  When were these booklets produced?

QUESTION 2.  What was the original price of these booklets?

QUESTION 3:  Which areas were covered by these booklets?