Directories

used in compiling the lists of Edinburgh's Professional Photographer

A wide variety of trade directories has been used to compile the list of Edinburgh's professional photographers.  The Post Office series of directories has been particularly useful.  

These directories have listings by trade, by name and by address, a County Directory (for Portobello photographers up to 1897) and a Portobello & Joppa Directory (for Portobello photographers in later years. 

Directories for 1840 to 1940 have been used extensively.  Those for other years together with Valuation Rolls have been used to provide further background details for the Notes on Photographers. 

The directories are useful not only for their formal listings, but also for the advertisements that they contain.  I have used three hundred different directories.  See table below.

Dates of the Trade Directories

Please note that many of the directories are current for a year beginning on a date other than 1 January - e.g. begin on Whitsunday 1850.

Where this is the case, the earlier year is recorded in the table above.  e.g. a directory dated 1850-51 is referred to as 1850 in the table above.

Trade Directories

used in compiling the lists of Edinburgh's Professional Photographer

Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory

1832, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38

Kelly’s - Slater’s Royal National Directory of Scotland

1896

1884, 85, 91, 96-99, 1900-20, 23-31, 33-45, 47, 49, 51, 52, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62-66

New Edinburgh Leith & County Directory

1938

Slater’s Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland 

Royal Photographic Society

PhotoHistorian Supplements

The Royal Photographic Society has produced PhotoHistorian supplements listing early photographers for many of Britain's towns and cities.   The following supplements from this series have been used in compiling this web site:

Many other booklets have also been published in this series.  Details and prices of all booklets in the Royal Photographic Society PhotoHistorian series can be obtained from Warner Schmidt ARPS, PO Box 28, Estree, Herts, WD6 4ST England.

Scottish Genealogy Society

Lists of Scottish Photographers

The Scottish Genealogy Society has recently published the following booklets listing photographers in Scotland, compiled by Richard Torrance.  For further details, please phone or fax (0)131 220 3677

These seven booklets cover the whole of Scotland.  The  first five booklets were published in 2001, the last two in 2002.

NOTE:  This series of booklets contains names, addresses and dates of photographers' businesses, and also photographic dealers,  photographers, photographic messengers, etc,   It also includes family details taken from the 1881 census.  It includes

These books can be ordered from the Scottish Genealogy Society, Edinburgh

PhotoResearch

A Directory of London Photographers

1840-1940

This hardback  book by Michael Pritchard is titled: A Directory of London Photographers 1841-1908.

 It has about 30 pages on the growth of early photography, directories, sources and references, followed by over 100 pages listing the London photographers.

The book was published by PhotoResearch in 1986. [ISBN 0 952311 0 5]

PhotoResearch

Lancashire Professional Photographers

1840-1940

This hardback  book by Gillian Jones is titled: Lancashire Professional Photographers 1840-1940.  It is bound to match the book 'A Directory of London Photographers 1841-1908' (above).

 It has 30 pages on dating photographs, with examples of cartes de visite and other photos from 1840 to 1910, followed by a 170-page list of Lancashire photographers with their studio addresses and dates in alphabetical order.

The book was published by PhotoResearch in 2004. [ISBN 0 952311 5 6]

Directories

Available On-Line

The National Library of Scotland has now made many of its Post Office Directories available on-line.  Please click the link below to find them:

Post Office Directories

Bibliography

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