Robert Thornton Brain was a retired Inland Revenue Officer in 1891 when he began taking stereoviews of Great Yarmouth and beyond. His stereoscopic photographs were usually given a serial number and a date, along with a brief description of the subject. He also included some technical details such as the exposure time, aperture and the manufacturer of the photographic dry plate. Various plates were tried by Robert Brain and included Ilford, Paget, Castle etc.
I am having difficulty in deciphering the annotation on this card of Great Yarmouth’s Britannia Pier that appears to say :- “Soo” for the manufacturer of the dry plate. Does any member of this forum have any ideas what dry plate manufacturer this abbreviation represents?
Any suggestions will be gratefully received.
Comments
Hi Paul
I suspect Sov. = Sovereign, made by the Imperial Dry Plate Co. Ltd (http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/site/entry_F15.html).
David
Or possibly Petrus, Carry & L Brain
If it helps... Not sure about the Soo but after that "Yarmo', Petrus Carry & Legrain.
There is a Peter Cary or Petrus Cary mentioned on Ancestry in Somerset around 1875...
https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/categories/bmd_death/?name=Peter...
Joe
I do not think it is a plate manufacturer. The top line looks to me like the 3 names of the subjects! Without other examples of handwriting to refer to: Soo. Garuis; ?trus Carry & L ?rain.