Edward Hill. Mr and Mrs Hill
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Mr and Mrs. Hill give the address "Darlington Street" and Edward
Hill gives the address "41 Darlington Street". I take it that
they are members of the same family working from the same studio.
Unfortunately these photos cannot be dated, so establishing a
sequence is not possible. But Laws (see later) describes
himself as "Successor to E. Hill"). |
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A young man and a young lady by the same photographer. |
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Another, well-posed, young lady. |
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| Edward Hill (1840-1916). Courtesy of
Elizabeth
Bowsher. Edward was born in Lower Mitton,
Worcestershire in 1840. The family were listed in Falkland
Street Wolverhampton in 1851, where his father, Edward was a
widowed brewers clerk.
Edward married Ann Susannah Neale, in 1867 in Dudley.
They had four children.
The 1871 Census lists Edward as “Photographer Master” and
Edward was listed in Darlington Street as a photographer
from 1872 to 1888. He retired to Torquay by 1891 (when his
business in Wolverhampton was taken over by T. M. Laws).
Edward died in February 1916 in Torquay. |
Hobart & Co
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Hobart & Co. give their address as Queen Street,
Wolverhampton. |
Holmes and Morris
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This firm was at 44 Queen Street. Note the "artistic" design on
the back of the photo, showing signs of the aesthetic movement
style.
|
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Carl Holt
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Carl Holt had his "Photographic Art Studios" on Snow
Hill. Many thanks to Carl Green for these scans. |
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This is clearly the same studio backdrop and table.
It is very rare for two poses of the same sitter to survive. |
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Hudson & Co. Sunderland and Hudson.
J. Sunderland. F. Hudson & Co
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The names and addresses given on these cards strongly suggested
that these firms were connected in some way and clearly reflect a
complex history.
The best guess on present evidence is that F. Hudson started
off with premises at 61 Darlington Street, then became Hudson &
Co. and acquired premises at the Great Western Arcade,
Birmingham. Later they added branches in Dudley and then
Walsall.
Then we find Hudson and Co. ("late Sunderland & Hudson") at the
Great Western Arcade and at 96 Darlington Street and at Walsall,
Dudley and Coventry. |
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Then we have a card of J. Sunderland giving addresses in
the Great Western Arcade, 53 Queen Street, Wolverhampton, and at
Dudley, Leamington and Sheffield.
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This may be the earliest manifestation of this firm. Hudson
offers copies "painted in oils of water colours", suggesting that he
was also an artist. |
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The addresses given on these cards are:
The Great Western Arcade Birmingham.
7 High Street, Walsall.
220 Market Place, Dudley.
96 Darlington Street, Wolverhampton.
6 Norfolk Row, Sheffield.
2 Stafford Street, Dudley.
53 Queen Street, Wolverhampton.
45 Bath Street, Leamington. |
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By the time this photograph was taken, photographic
emulsion were more sensitive to light, so exposures were shorter, and
poses looked more natural. |
| Hudson & Company. Courtesy of
Elizabeth Bowsher.
Thomas William Hudson (1869-1899) was born in Galway, Ireland
and is listed in the 1891 Census as a photographer in Handsworth,
Staffordshire. From 1892 until 1902 Hudson & Company were listed
in directories as being in Darlington Street.
Thomas married Florence Cooper Hudson in Birmingham in 1898
and their son Richard was born in May 1899. Thomas died in
October 1899 and was buried in Merridale Cemetery. The business
continued for many years afterwards, although it appears without
connection to the family.
Postscript: Florence was enrolled as a midwife in 1909 and
died in 1945. Their son, Richard, was listed at the Royal
Orphanage in the 1911 Census. |
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