Late Cabinet Print

[John Hannavy]

Hi All,

Can anyone date the mount of this unusual cabinet image - it is not a style I have seen before. And if there is anyone out there who could throw some light on the cars, that would be a real bonus! The cabinet print was discovered in Scotland, so we may assume it is of British origin.

Thanks

John

[Brett Payne]

Dear John,

First, can I say that I very much enjoyed your book, "Victorian Photographers at Work," which I purchased and read recently, and have learnt a great deal from it.

I suggest that you ask Bozi Mohacek and his enthusiatic associates who operate the web site for the Surrey Vintage Vehicle Society about the workshop and vehicles. They are an extremely knowledgeable bunch, and my guess is that someone there will be able to give you chapter on the workshop. Contact them through their web site: http://www.svvs.org/

I notice that they also appear to be manufacturing bicycles in this factory! I seem to remember that several of the early motor car manufacturers started off as cycle makers.

The cabinet card design is a generic one fairly similar to several in my collection. I have always assumed that they are from some time in the late 1890s. The dark green glossy card was, in my experience, most popular from the early 1890s to early 1900s. The design is similar in style to one used by several of the A & G Taylor studios around the time that the various "franchises" appear to have been undergoing some ownership changes and "restructuring" in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

With my meagre knowledge of vehicles, and therefore based mainly on the clothing, photograph quality and card mount, I would say that this particular example dates from around 1896 to 1902.

Regards and best wishes, Brett

[John Hannavy]

Many thanks Brett,

I've emailed them, and will post any further information they can give me. The card, I thought, was dark grey, but looking at it again, it may indeed be faded green. You date range matches what i thought. Good to have the Taylor suggestion, I'll follow that up as well. I also recently bought a tinted postcard c.1904 published by A&G Taylor, which surprised me, as I have not come across postcards from them before. Did they do much in the postcard market?

Best wishes

John


Brett Payne said:

Dear John,

First, can I say that I very much enjoyed your book, "Victorian Photographers at Work," which I purchased and read recently, and have learnt a great deal from it.

I suggest that you ask Bozi Mohacek and his enthusiatic associates who operate the web site for the Surrey Vintage Vehicle Society about the workshop and vehicles. They are an extremely knowledgeable bunch, and my guess is that someone there will be able to give you chapter on the workshop. Contact them through their web site: http://www.svvs.org/

I notice that they also appear to be manufacturing bicycles in this factory! I seem to remember that several of the early motor car manufacturers started off as cycle makers.

The cabinet card design is a generic one fairly similar to several in my collection. I have always assumed that they are from some time in the late 1890s. The dark green glossy card was, in my experience, most popular from the early 1890s to early 1900s. The design is similar in style to one used by several of the A & G Taylor studios around the time that the various "franchises" appear to have been undergoing some ownership changes and "restructuring" in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

With my meagre knowledge of vehicles, and therefore based mainly on the clothing, photograph quality and card mount, I would say that this particular example dates from around 1896 to 1902.

Regards and best wishes, Brett

[Brett Payne]

I must say that I haven't come across any A & G Taylor postcards before, but the various branches of the firm were doing all sorts of things in several directions in the early 1900s, so I'm not surprised.

One of the keys to getting an accurate date for your photograph may be the poster advertisement for "Clincher Tyres" hanging on the wall. From what I have been able to find out, "clincher" tyres were originally made for bicycles, and later for motor cars. I've been able to find advertisements for various brands of clincher tyres ranging in date from 1891 (Aberdeen Weekly Journal - from "the best Coventry makers") to 1920 (North British Rubber Co., Ltd.) and I gather they are still used in one form or another to the present day on bicycles.

A Mr. Edge of Manchester set off from Land's End for John O'Groats on 6 June 1892 on "Peregrine safety clincher tyres."

There is a report in the Glasgow Herald of 20 November 1895 of legal action taken by the North British Rubber Company (Limited) of Castle Mills, Edinburgh in respect of their "patents for pneumatic tyres for cycles."

An advertisement in "The Graphic" (London) of 19 November 1898 refers to "Dunlop or Clinker Tyres" - still for bicycles.

This web page has quite a few advertisements for North British Clinchers from the first couple of decades, but sadly none quite as early as the one on the wall, which appears to picture a running boy (it seems familiar, but I'm not sure why).
http://www.nbrinklies.com/tyres.html

Regards and best wishes, Brett