I wonder if anyone has come across William Henry De Lan (1844-1905)? He began his career in Bradford and then took to the road with a touring studio heading north. Eventually he ended up in Berwick-upon-Tweed around 1900, where he finally settled down with a bricks and mortar studio a year before his death. His three daughters, who all worked in the touring family buisness, continued the studio until around 1920.
I recenlty wrote this blog post about the family but would love to fill in some of the gaps.
https://photocollection.substack.com/p/the-mysterious-mr-de-lan-and-daughters
Perhaps a bit of along shot but throught it was worth an ask!
Many thanks, Cameron.
Replies
Hi Cameron
I have a few photos from the studio but cant offer much more information. I will see if I can find out anything from the local Bradford directories but I suspect he wont appear. The fact that there is no address on his cards could mean that in the early days he was operating from a caravan. there were some in Bradford.
Steve L
Thanks for those Steve. I would certainly agree that the examples where no place name is listed have been taken whilst he was on the road. I tried Bradford Archives and they couldn't really shed any light on him. Best, Cam.