cdv

Victorian Cartes de Visite of Redhill and Reigate

The Victorian Carte-de-Visite (CDV) was a form of photography that from the 1860s became affordable by almost everyone. A craze for collecting them known as Cartomania grew up and it is thought that three to four hundred million items were produced annually. CDVs could bear photos of art subjects, special occasions, events and famous people. It was also attractive to ordinary people to have themselves portrayed in as good a way as possible. They could buy several copies of the photo and then distribute them to family and friends. Many Victorian albums contain pictures not just of family but of neighbours and special friends.
The CDV probably originated in France when each one measured about 2 x 3 inches, the same size as a visiting card, from where it got its name. Later in the 19^th century larger ones of about 4 x 6 inches became into use. Large quantities of CDVs have no doubt been destroyed but millions still exist for us to see today. Their survival lies not just in the large quantities produced but also in the fact that they are mounted on sturdy card. Unfortunately most of those that remain that portray ordinary people bear nothing upon them to tell us who the person was. Nevertheless most show us a style of dress and outward appearance that make them worth a second look in this digital age.

1a	The smaller CDV An example of the smaller type of CDV, which measure two and three quarter by four inches. In this case the portrait is in the form of an oval shape but this is not typical. What is typical is the photographer’s name on the front and in much greater detail on the reverse. In this caser the photographer is that of H.Sanders of Station Road, Red Hill. The ‘Red Hill’ format of the town’s name would indicate that this might be a CDV dating from about 1860-75, but see example 2 below.	1b

2	Larger CDVs Two examples of the later 19^th century CDV which measured four and a quarter by six and a half inches (although shown here the same size as above). In both these cases the information about the photographer is on the front and the reverse is blank, except that someone has written Xmas 1894 on the one on the left, but many has as decorative reverse as the smaller Cartes. The photographer in this case is the Red Hill Photo Company of 17 Station Road Redhill, which was next to St Matthew's Church. The use of the 'Red hill' form of the town's name would again indicate an earlier date than 1894 but perhaps sometimes the form persisted in company names. The carte on the right is of the same woman as in the CDV on the left. Redhill and Reigate photographers played their part in this field and further examples of their work with local men, women and children who passed through their studios are shown below.	3

4	5	6
Many of the subjects were presented three quarter face, either standing or sitting, as shown in the three CDVs above. The portrait of the seated lady was done by Alan Richardson at the Wray Park Studio, Reigate. The centre photo of the lady standing was done by Berwick Photo of Reigate. The right hand photo, which has the name ‘Mrs Howcroft’ written on the back, was taken by Edwin Debenham of Reigate.

7	CDVs can be dated in many cases by the style of hair and dress. The styles vary from photo to photo, no more so than in these two examples. The one on the left was taken by Ballantine Thorp of 31 Station Road, Redhill, and the one on the right by J.Beard of Reigate, whose studio is describe on the reverse as being opposite the railway station.	8

9	Other subjects were presented full on as though they were fully comfortable in front of a camera, like the man on the left, who wished to say, ‘Look! This is me!’ The photographer was J.Beard of Reigate. The man on the right who, with arms akimbo certainly seems sure of himself, is another good example of the full on treatment, although is he saying 'Look at me' or 'Look at my dog'? The animal could be an example of the use of photographers props or perhaps belonged to the man and was a famous rabbit or rat catcher.. Plenty of props can be seen in other photos in this article but the use of animals was not unusual. The photographer is Dann & Sons of Redhill and the only way to know if the dog was a prop is if it appears in more of his works.	10

Other ways of presenting oneself were as if occupied, as is the lady reading a book, or in uniform as in the boy who may have just started his first job at the Post Office or the Railway Station and is perhaps spending some of his first weeks wages recording the fact.

The lady was photographed by Alan Richardson of Reigate and the boy by J.J.Merrett of Station Road, Redhill.

Head and shoulders photos, as in these CDVs, were also popular. The one on the left is by the Surrey Photographic Studio, which superseded Debenham and Richardson Beard at the Wray Park Studio. The one on the right by H.P.Richardson & Son of the Rembrant Studio, Redhill.

CDVs of children are naturally as numerous as any other study types. In some the child might seem perfectly at ease, as in the photo top left by J.J.Merrett of Station Road, Redhill, or perhaps in wonderment at what was going on, as in the centre photo, which has written on the reverse 'Winifred, 2 Years', and is another example of the work of Edwin Debenham of 51 London Road, Reigate. The right hand photo above is by Charles.R.Lenthal of the Wray Park Studio, Reigate.

In the photo on the right, by Flint, also of Station Road, Redhill, the child is perhaps apprehensive and slightly startled.

19
The CDVs above by Smith & Co. of the Clarendon Studio, London Road, Redhill, has an accompanying CDV (right) in which the parents also appear and which one assumes were shot in the same session. These two CDVs are different from others seen so far in that they seem to have been taken at the home of the family pictured and not in the studio, located out of doors, and also are in black and white against the sepia of the others..

CDVs of multiple numbers of people are not uncommon. The couple on the right are possibly man and wife and the card is another example of the work of the Surrey Photographic Co. at the Wray Park Studio, Reigate. The other two are possibly both pairs of sisters. Both are by E.Dann & Sons or Brighton Road, Redhill and the one on the left has the name C.Lewis written on the back. It was not unusual for such photos to be taken to mark an event, which could be a happy one such as a betrothal, marriage or birthday, or sad and taken at the time of a bereavement. When it comes to determining which CDVs are marking bereavement the task is made difficult by the fact that it is difficult to find CDVs in which the subject is smiling.

24	. Two CDVs that cannot be taken to represent anything other than bereavement are shown here. On the left the photo is of a grave. This is another unusual example in that there is no photographer’s marking of any kind one either the front or the reverse. The wording on the grave is: ‘In fond memory of John, the loved and loving husband of Anne Lane, who entered into rest May 24^th 1901. What makes it local is that the base of the stone has the stonemason’s name as Burton & Sons, Redhill. Perhaps the late date and lack of making make disqualify it from being a CDV in strict terms, but its mounting and size are otherwise the same. In the photo on the right A.E.Walker of 19 London Road, Redhill, a woman is tending a grave, another example of non-studio work.	25

26	Sometimes CDVs of local dignitaries or personalities crop up. The photo on the left is of Dr William Judson van Somerson, sometime of Linkfield Lane, Redhill,. In a booklet on the history of Shrewsbury Chapel by Christopher Bull, it is stated that Dr William Judson van Somersen parted with a portion of his back garden in order to erect the hall in Shrewsbury Road, the first building to belong to the Redhill Plymouth Brethren, apparently having acquired the land from the Rev. Henry Brass. The transfer of the land was made in 1888 and he may have moved at the same time. The photo was taken in 1887. This date is known as the same study appears in a book of local dignitaries published that year to mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The final CDV is believed to be of the wife of Dr Somersen. Both CDVs by H.P.Robinson and Son of Redhill.	27

28	On the left is another example of the work of E.Dann & Sons of Redhill. Pictures of mothers with very young babies don't always work perfectly but this one is well executed by the photographer. And the photo on the right is by a photographer whose work has not so far appeared on this page. It is a study of a man by Arthur Bilcliffe of 95 Earlswood Road, Redhill.	29

30	Left - Another example of the work of Sanders of Redhill. Right - A photo by another so far unshown photographer, F.Otto, whose school of photography was in Redhill High Street. On the reverse the address has the county mis-spelt as 'Surry'.	31

32	Left - A CDV by J.J.Merrett, Station Road, Redhill Right - This CDV is slightly different from the others as the photographer is Drewett of 47 High Street, Guildford, but he advertises himself at several other locations as well, one of which is Reigate. Added to that the lady's name is written under her portrait as Emma Moore, the same surname as myself - but probably no relation	33

...... This receipt for 12 cartes (CDVs) from the studio of Edgar Drewett (who produced the CDV above right) dates from December 1871. The price of 18/6 maeans that individual photos were priced at eighteen and a half old pence each, which seems a great deal of money for the time, although on the receipt it does say 'best', so they were top quality. The receipt has the date 1861 overwritten to be 1871 and one wonders whether the company had been in existence since 1861 and still had some receipts left, in which case they had massivly over-ordered them, or whether the 1861 date was a mistake by the printer.
...... The buyer, Mr Sampson, was an ancestor of David Clark who kindly sent in the receipt. His full name was actually Sampson Sampson, and with his father was in the hops/brewing business. Sampson was a very wealthy man. He owned the Maltings in Farnham, now a centre for cultural activities. David says that the Sampsons lived at Farham (see picture of his house).and the photos are assumed to have originally been obtained from the Aldershot premises of Edgar Drewett. Sadly David does not have any of those original photos.Many thanks to David Clark for the receipt and the interesting history that goes with it.

35	36	37
Another by J.Beard of Reigate; his work is also seen in 8 above.	A photo from F&F Knight of the Lesbourne Estate, Reigate. The mounting card is unprinted and the name is affixed on a label on the reverse.	Another cdv from Drewett (see also 33 and receipt above). This cdv is numbered 106677x and may well have been taken at one of his studios other than Reigate.

The name on the front of this cdv is A. Richardson but this is another example of the work of Charles R. Lenthal seen also in cdv 17 above. The reverse has Alan Richardson logo overstamped by the words, ''CHARLES R. LENTHAL, LATE ALAN RICHARDSON, PHOTOGRAPHER, REIGATE'. Presumably Lenthal had had no time to fully establish himself with his own printed cards (see below) when this photo was taken	34a	34b

By the time this photo of two ladies was taken Charles Lenthal had his own mounting cards printed.	35a	35b

43	44
Another studio portrait by the Wray Park Studio at Reigate	A private soldier serving with the 16th London Regiment Queens Westminster Rifles dated 7.6.18. Photo by E.G.Warren of Redhill

45a	45b
A potrait of a Victorian lady by Dann & Son of Brighton Road Redhill. It is wondered if she went into his studio with the hat and brolly or whether they were props. The stamp on the reverse may be an early version of it.

	This cdv was sent by Philip Davies. Taken in 1895 it shows his great grandmother with her four daughters. They at that stage either lived at 154 Cromwell Road, Redhill or 12 Upper Bridge Road, Redhill. Philip's grandmother is the little girl on the left hand side. She married Wally Ward who was a regular at the Dragon pub in Redhill and his picture features under the Dragon part of the Pubs of Redhill page on this website.

The end of the CDV
46	Not a cdv this one but a postcard by Harry Snook of the Milton Studio, Lesbourne Road, Reigate. On the reverse is witten, "Dear Alice, Just a few lines wishing you a happy Christmas and a bright New Year. From your old friend, Elsie Stonehouse." If you are going to give a portrait of yourself perhaps a postcard is better than a cdv as it more easily carries a message and, just as importantly for us, a name, as well as being able to be posted. The popularity of the postcard from the first years of the 1900s heralded the end of the cdv. On this postcard the word 'Stonehouse' is written smaller the rest of the text but is squeezed in at the bottom of the card so we can't tell if the young woman was Elsie Stonehouse or Elsie from the large house in Reigate with that name. See web page about The Stonehouse.

Beard J., The Photographic Studio, Reigate (opposite the station)
Bewick, Reigate
Bilcliffe, Arthur, 95, Earlswood Road, Redhill (listed in 1899 street directory)
Dann, E. & Sons, The Excelsior Studio, 83, Brighton Road, Redhill (listed in 1899 street directory)
Debenham, Edwin, 5 London Road, Reigate
Drewett, 47 High St., Guildford, Reigate, Lewisham, Dorking, Blackheath and Basingstoke.
Flint, 28 Station Road, Redhill. (listed in 1899 street directory)
Hawkins of Brighton
Knight F. & F., The Lesbourne Estate, Reigate
Lenthall C.R., The Wray Park Studio, Reigate
Merrett, J.J., Station Road, Redhill
Redhill Photographic Company, The, 17 Station Road, Redhill (next to St Matthew's Church).
Otto, F., High Street, Redhill.
Richardson, Alan, The Wray Park Studio, Reigate
Robinsonson H.P. & Son, Rembrandt Studio, Redhill (listed in 1899 street directory)
Sanders, Station Road, Redhill
Smith & Co., Clarendon Studio, Redhill (listed in 1899 street directory at 19 London Road)
Snook, Harry, The Milton Studio, Lesbourne Road, Reigate.
Surrey Photographic Co., Wray Park Studio, Reigate
Thorp, Ballantine, 31 Station Road, Redhill
Walker A.E., 19 London Road, Redhill

Finally

CDVs are interesting, especially those ones by photographers local to where you live. But whatever the location they give a glimpse of an age gone by. Some carry identification but frustratingly the vast majority carry no identification to the person whose picture is on it. Then now and then one comes along with not only a name but additional information that serves only to pose more questions. The CDV below is an example.

There is nothing to say who the photographer was or where the photo was taken - it's what's written on the back that's so intriguing.

Thomas Cartwright. He rose high but fell low - carrying with him the respect of those he knew - he was too honest to retain out of the wreck of an immense fortune enough to live upon.

Who was Thomas Cartwright? How did he rise? How did he make that fortune? What caused his fall? What is his story?

If you can answer any of those questions please contact author.


37	38	More CDVs by Lenthal of Reigate. This time the people are named as Mr and Mrs Stenning. The reverse is the same as 36b above. Seethe same two people below by a Brighton photographer.

39	40	Unusually CDVs of the same two people as above can be seen here, this time taken by photographer C.Hawkins of Brighton.

41	42
A splendid photo of two people, as clean and sharp as could be from the Dann studio. .