A new website was launched last year but it is still being refined that contains probably the largest database in existence of British and Irish photographers http://www.cartedevisite.co.uk/.
Although specific content requires payment to help cover the costs of setting up and maintaining the site (and collection used to produce it) there is an increasing amount of free content such as the biographies of British photographers http://www.cartedevisite.co.uk/photographers-category/biographies. Most of these have been produced in collaboration with actual descendants of the photographers and there are many more to be added. The database is maintained by Ron Cosens of Yorkshire and is based on details obtained from his massive photographic collection which he has been merged with extensive trade directory and other research by Sandy Barrie of Ipswich, Australia. Many others have contributed to the site and my role has been to contribute data from photos, censuses, newspapers etc. and to do biographical research. I am also interested in looking at British photographers that worked in Australia (and New Zealand) in connection with my research into biographies of Australian daguerreotypists and also I am writing a book on the history of the carte de visite in Australia.
Please feel free to visit the site. Should you have material you wish to submit such as a photographer's biography or if you are researching a particular photographer please feel free to make contact through the site. Ron, Sandy and I are all subscribers to this site http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profile/RonCosens; http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profile/SandyBarrie and http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profile/MarcelSafier.
Cheers!
Marcel Safier
Brisbane, Australia
Comments
See my site http://www.australianphotographcollector.com/
You may be interested to view the Captain Samuel Sweet CDV page 17 of my book (catalogue) if you dont mind flipping the pages.