George McKenzie1827 - 1897 |
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Established 1850 George McKenzie was born in Coalton of Balgonie, Fife on 7 July 1827. He trained as a house decorator, carver and gilder He exhibited a case of photographic portraits (in which exhibition?) in 1852, and established photographic businesses in Paisley which he ran for about 45 years from around 1850, except for a brief period, 1877-81, when he was based in Edinburgh. He retired in May 1895 and died on 5 March 1897. [With acknowledgement to Richard Torrance for the information above, contained in his booklet 'Photographers in Western Scotland to 1914'.] |
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Cartes de Visite On a cartes de visite (dated March 1881 in ink) he advertised:
I have also seen another of George McKenzie's cartes de visite on which he gave addresses of 16 High Street Edinburgh and Willowbrae House, Piershill, Edinburgh. |
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Cabinet Print Here is an attractive cabinet print showing a horse and cart belonging to John Baillie, Baker, Portobello. This was presumably photographed during the period 1877-81 when G McKenzie was based in Edinburgh. |
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Question 1 |
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Edinburgh
1. When
did George McKenzie work at his two Edinburgh addresses? |
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Answer 1 |
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1. George McKenzie was probably based at his Willowbrae House,
1878-81. These are the years listed in Richard Torrance's book for
George McKenzie's Willowbank studio, Edinburgh.
[Willowbrae is Scottish equivalent of Willowbank.] |
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Question 2 |
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Paisley 2. GM McKenzie also had a studio in Paisley. When did he work there? |
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Answer |
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2. I have received the following message from New Zealand: "We have a carte-de-visite portrait inscribed "G McKenzie, photographic artist, 16 High Street, Paisley. This is a portrait of James McGregor (1829-1894) Presbyterian minister and theologian, who emigrated to New Zealand in 1882. The photograph is dated to 1862." John Sullivan, Curator, Photographic Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington 6001 New Zealand |
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The message above is helpful in that it provides an early address for George McKenzie - an address not listed in Richard Torrance's booklet 'Photographers in Western Scotland to 1914'.
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McKenzie Family 1881 Census |
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George McKenzie was listed in the 1881 census as: Photographic Artist: aged 54 Born: Caltoun of Balgonie, Fife Resident: Willowbrae House, Duddingston, Edinburgh Children 1. Charles: 2. Matthew: 3. Alfred: aged 17 (born: Paisley, Renfrewshire) 4. Norman: aged 15 (born: Langbank, Renfrewshire) 5. Homer: aged 13 (born: Langbank, Renfrewshire) 6. Harold: aged 10 (born: Langbank, Renfrewshire) |
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Benjamin McKenzie was listed in the 1881 census as: Photographer's Assistant: aged 44 Born: Latheron, Caithness Resident: 58, Cumberland Street, Edinburgh Wife: Mary Children 1. CM [daughter]: aged 15 (born: Edinburgh) 2. George: aged 10 (born: Edinburgh) 3. Robert: aged 8 (born: Edinburgh) 4. Benjamin: aged 6 (born: Edinburgh) 5. Thomas: aged 2 (born: Edinburgh) |
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Charles McKenzie was listed in the 1881 census as: Photographic Artist: aged 25 Born: Paisley, Renfrewshire Son of George McKenzie: resident with his parents |
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Matthew McKenzie was listed in the 1881 census as: Photographic Artist: aged 19 Born: Paisley, Renfrewshire Son of George McKenzie: resident with his parents |
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George McKenzie (Sen + Jun) Biographies |
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Thank you to Ron Cosens, author of the Carte de Visite web site, for telling me about new pages that he recently added to his site. |
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Ron wrote: "I have now published biographies of: Comments are always welcome." |
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Studios George McKenzie Senior (1827-1897) was a photographic studio in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland in 1861. He worked for a brief spell as a photographer in Edinburgh around 1880. George McKenzie Senior (1853-1894) worked in his father's photographic studio in Paisley, later opening his own studio in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, Scotland |