A Pressphotoman mini-series of blogposts featuring new research about photography in 1860s Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne has just been published.
Part 1 explores how W. & D. Downey came to open a studio at number 9.
Part 2 traces William Softley Parry's photographic journey to number 17.
Part 3 investigates whether their neighbours at number 7, Edward and Eliza Charlton, were skilled 3D photographers.
Photo credit: Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne c. 1860s. Courtesy of Private Collection, Zurich.
Comments
Thanks Steve. Very interesting. I had not seen the WS Parry verso for 17 Eldon Square that you featured. My collection currently features three different ones.
William Sofltey Parry's wife Christiana, who ran the business with him, features in the 1864 newspaper ad you used, but not the 1870 one as by then she had died. If taken prior to 1868, the woman and child carte de visites that you included are likely to have been photographed by Christiana or one of her assistants, notably Miss Lizzie Elliot, who worked for the Parrys (c. 1865-1871).
Since writing part 2 of the series, I've learned that William and Christiana's eldest son, also named William Parry and also a photographer in North Shields, named one of his daughters Lizzie Elliot Parry (1876-1949), presumably as a tribute to his late mother's assistant, Miss Lizzie Elliot, and her role in keeping the ladies department going.
Hi
A few years back I researched a family album that came from this area and it had photos by Parry of Eldon Square. If you are interested in the article its at https://sites.google.com/site/leedsandbradfordstudios/home/tracing-....
Steve