How did people become photographers in Britain, commercial or amateur, before 1860? They couldn't enter the family business. I imagine few people had seen actual examples of photographs before visiting the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. I presume this was a considerable stimulous for a wide variety of people to try out the practice. The Frederick Archer process coming at about the same time must also have facilitated increasing adoption of photography. It seems probable that pharmaceutical chemists commonly tried out photography as they were used to manipulating chemicals and materials and were well connected with the commercial networks for supplying photographic chemicals, papers and equipment. My impression is that these commercial networks became prominent in 1852-53. There is presumably a good literature on this theme with which I am unaquainted. I would appreciate being directed to one or two key sources.
This is all by way of preface to asking if anyone is aware of examples of photographs by Charles F. Ravis of Bristol? Like William Pumphrey, he came from a Quaker family. He was born in London. In 1841 he was an assistant teacher at a Quaker school in Colchester, then he was a teacher at Bootham School in York 1844-49 at the same time as William Pumphrey. He was again living with his family in London in 1851, listed as "Clerk (to an Optician)". By March 1856 we find Ravis in Bristol advertising as a photographic artist and optician with a "well-lighted and commodious Photographic Gallery, where portraits are taken in every style of the art". He was also the local agent for Smith & Beck's achromatic microscopes. The venture was evidently unsuccessful as we find Ravis in 1861 as a commercial clerk in the wholesale tea trade. So it is likely examples of his photographs are rare. Anyway, I should be pleased to hear of known examples.
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