Hastings Photographers (Na-No)

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Professional Photographers in Hastings ( Na-No )

Robert Nayler - H. Neale - Charles Thomas Newcombe - W. J. North (amateur)

Robert NAYLER (1834-1912)

Robert Nayler was born in Marylebone, London, on 7th July 1834, the son of Emily and Robert Nayler, a coachman. Robert Nayler was christened at St Mary's Church, St Marylebone Road, Marylebone, on 28th December 1834. Robert Nayler junior was Mrs Emily Nayler's first born. Robert junior had at least four siblings - William (born 1838), Henry (born 1840), James (born 1842) and Harriet Emily (born 1846). Robert Nayler junior began his working life as servant, but by the end of the 1850s, he was earning a living as a photographer. In 1855, Robert Nayler married a twenty-one year old Irishwoman named Sarah Matilda Flanagan. [The marriage of Robert Nayler and Sarah Matilda Flanagan was registered in the London district of St Pancras during the 4th Quarter of 1855].

Robert Nayler began his photographic career in London. In 1859, Robert Nayler opened his own studio at 178 Great Portland Street, St Marylebone, London . Nayler was still listed as a photographer at 178 Great Portland Street in a London trade directory issued in 1861. The 1861 census records Robert Nayler as a twenty-seven year old "Photographist" living with his first wife, Sarah Matilda Nayler (born c1834, Waterford Ireland), at 58 Bolsover Street, Marylebone, London. Robert's wife, recorded as "Matilda S. Nayler" on the census return, was working as a "Dress Maker". After closing his studio around 1861, Nayler might have found employment as a photographer in one of the London studios owned by Charles Thomas Newcombe (born c1830, Hoxton, London). [See entry on Charles Thomas Newcombe, below]. In May 1863, Charles Thomas Newcombe announced that he had opened "an establishment for First Class Photography"" at 22 White Rock Place, Hastings. Sometime between 1863 and 1865,  Robert Nayler came down to Hastings to work as a studio manager in Newcombe's branch studio at 22 White Rock Place.

Early in 1866, Robert Nayler left Newcombe's employ and opened his own photographic portrait studio at 21 White Rock Place, Hastings, next door to his former employer's business premises. By this date, Newcombe had ended his association with Hastings and the studio at 22 White Rock Place, Hastings had been passed to Henry William Ashdown (1844-1908).

[ABOVE] Newspaper advertisement announcing the opening of Robert Nayler's photographic studio at 21 White Rock Place, Hastings.( Hastings & St Leonards News, 2nd March 1866 ). As this advertisement points out, Robert Nayler had previously been employed as a studio manager by the London photographer Charles Thomas Newcombe.

Early in March,1866, Robert Nayler placed advertisements in the local press informing the "Resident Gentry and Visitors of Hastings & St Leonards" that he had "opened a first-class studio" at  21 White Rock Place, Hastings. Charles Thomas Newcombe, Robert Nayler's former employer, had a good reputation as an accomplished portrait photographer and so Nayler was keen to emphasise the fact that he had been "Late Manager to Mr. C. T. Newcombe of London."

Like the majority of professional photographers working in Sussex at this time, Robert Nayler derived most of his income from the production of carte-de-visite portraits, small albumen prints mounted on thin white cards, measuring roughly 21/2 inches by 41/4 inches (6.3 cm by 10.5 cm). We do not know exactly how much Robert Nayler charged his customers for these carte-de-visite portraits, but during this period the average price for a dozen cdv portraits was 6 shillings (30p).[ See the chart on carte-de-visite prices,below ]

When Kelly's Post Office Directory of Sussex was published in October 1866, Robert Nayler was listed as a photographer at two establishments - 21 White Rock Place and 4 Trinity Villas, Hastings.

Robert Nayler's studio was in business as a professional photographer in Hastings for a relatively brief period. By the end of 1867, he had sold his studio at 21 White Rock Place to Frederick Treble (born c1830, Middlesex) and moved back to his home city of London.

[ABOVE] Robert Nayler's trade plate, giving details of his White Rock Photographic Studio at  21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866).

[ABOVE] Portrait of a bearded man, a carte-de-visite photograph by Mr R. Nayler, White Rock Photographic Studio, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866).

 

The price of carte-de-visite portraits in Hastings (1866-1868)

Hastings Studio

 Carte-de-visite Portraits

 

 3 copies

6 copies

12 copies

J. W. Thomas, 45 George Street, Hastings (1866)

2s 6d for 3

4s for six

6s per dozen

W & J. Blomfield, 44 Robertson Street, Hastings (1867)  

5s for six

8s per dozen

Edwin Whiteman, 52 High Street, Hastings (1868) 2s 6d for 3  

6s per dozen

F. R. Wells, 52 Robertson Street, Hastings (1867) 2s 6d for 3  

 6s per dozen

[ABOVE] Prices for carte-de-visite portraits at various Hastings studios in the period 1866-1868. The larger cabinet format was introduced in 1866. Messrs. W. & J. Blomfield charged 30 shillings for a dozen of the "New Cabinet Portraits". In the mid 1860s, the average weekly income for a whole working class family was 31 shillings. The general average wage of an individual worker around this time was around 14s 5d a week. The economist Leone Levi (1821-1888) estimated that for the whole of the United Kingdom, the average earnings of adult male workers was 19 shillings a week and for adult women the average weekly wage was 11 shillings. Workers under the age of twenty earned around 7s 6d a week, which would not have covered the price of a dozen carte-de-visite portraits at a high class photographic studio in Hastings (e.g. Messrs. W. & J. Blomfield of Robertson Street).
 

[ABOVE] One of the last advertisements that Robert Nayler placed in the Hastings & St Leonards Observer, in which he gives details of the variety of photographic formats available at his studio at 21 White Rock Place, Hastings.( Hastings & St Leonards Observer, 26th March 1867 ). Nayler's advertisement mentions his Chromo-tinted Photographs ("splendid Life-like Coloured Portraits"), his Family Carte de Visite Groups, Ivory Miniatures and Oil-Coloured Family Portraits.

Robert Nayler derived most of his income from the production of carte-de-visite portraits - small photographs which measured roughly 21/2 inches by 41/4 inches (6.3 cm by 10.5 cm). In his advertisements published in Hastings' newspapers in 1866 and 1867, Robert Nayler makes a special mention of his "Family and Children's Carte de Visite Groups." However, Nayler was particularly keen to promote what he called "Nayler's Chromo-Tinted Photographs", described in his adverts as "splendid Life-like Coloured Portraits which from their singular accuracy, delicate tone, and characteristic finish, from (sic - form) the most charming and agreeable Likeness ever procured by the public."

Robert Nayler also produced "Oil-Colored Family Portraits" and "Ivory Miniatures (Crayon's)" at his White rock studio in Hastings. The ivory miniatures were probably derived from a technique perfected in the mid 1850s by the society photographer John J. E. Mayall (1813-1901). After the introduction of Archer's collodion process a number of photographers experimented with materials other than glass to use as a base for collodion positives. In the early 1850s, John Mayall worked on producing a substance that resembled ivory and which could hold photographic images on its surface. He clearly hoped that he would eventually be able to produce photographs that closely resembled the portrait miniature on ivory. In October 1855, Mayall filed a patent for his "Artificial Ivory for receiving photographic pictures" (British Patent No 2381). A mixture of powdered bone or ivory and albumen was worked into a paste and combined with gelatine. The 'artificial ivory' mixture was rolled out in thin slabs and specially prepared to received photographic images. In the late 1850s, a number of artists and photographers were painting over photographs imprinted on 'ivory' and presenting them as traditional portrait miniatures. By the mid-1860s it was also common practice to apply watercolour to tint small cdv portraits or use oil paints to colour enlarged photographic portraits.

[ABOVE] A coloured portrait on "ivory" produced around 1860. Robert Nayler advertised Chromo-tinted Photographs ("splendid Life-like Coloured Portraits"), Ivory Miniatures and Oil-Coloured Family Portraits when he occupied the photographic portrait at 21 White Rock Place, Hastings, between March 1866 and March 1867.

 

 Photographic Studios at White Rock Place, Hastings

Charles Thomas Newcombe, a well known London photographer, opened a photographic portrait studio at 22 White Rock Place, Hastings in April 1863. The parade of business premises between numbers 20 to 25 at White Rock Place were to be particularly well served with photographic studios between 1863 and 1905. By the Summer of 1864, James S. Bayfield (1830-1908) had opened a customised photographic portrait studio at 25 White Rock Place. When in 1866, C. T. Newcombe, "Photographist of 109 Regent Street and 135 Fenchurch Street, London", closed his Hastings branch and sold the studio to Henry William Ashdown, the twenty-two year old son of William Ashdown, the proprietor of a 'fancy bazaar' at 29 White Rock Place, Newcombe's former studio manager, Robert Nayler opened his own establishment at 21 White Rock Place, Hastings.

White Rock Place is situated on Hastings seafront between Eversfield Place and Verulam Place in the west and Robertson Street and Carlisle Parade in the east. Originally, 'The White Rock' was a natural feature on the seafront and was used as a gun emplacement during the Napoleonic War. Between 1834 and 1835, the cliffs near White Rock were levelled and a new coast road was made, including a stretch which became known as White Rock Place. Given the prime location of White Rock Place, the buildings that overlooked the seafront were soon populated by seaside lodging houses and businesses that could be guaranteed custom from visiting holiday makers.

Unsurprisingly, White Rock Place became a favourite location for portrait photographers. Between 1866 and 1907, 21 White Rock Place housed a dozen different professional photographers. Over a period of twenty-five years, seven different photographic studios were based at 22 White Rock Place and between 1864 and 1905, a further ten studios operated from 25 White Rock Place.

[ABOVE] White Rock Place, Hastings, photographed around the time Robert Nayler was operating a photographic portrait studio at No.21 White Rock Place. In 1866, this parade of buildings contained a number of photographic portrait studios, including Robert Nayler at No. 21, Henry Ashdown at No.22, and James S. Bayfield at No. 25 White Rock Place. Around 1888, the photographic firm of Markwick & Co. established a studio at 26 White Rock  and there were photographic studios at 28 White Rock at the end of the Edwardian period. Further along, towards Robertson Street, there were photographers at work at No. 37a, No.38 and No 42 White Rock during the late Victorian and throughout the Edwardian period.

 

Carte-de-visite portraits taken at Robert Nayler's White Rock Studio, Hastings

 

[ABOVE] Portrait of a couple, a carte-de-visite photograph by Mr R. Nayler, White Rock Photographic Studio, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866). [ABOVE] Portrait of two men in matching suits, a carte-de-visite photograph by R. Nayler, Photographer, Hastings (c1866). [ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite produced by Mr R. Nayler, White Rock Photographic Studio, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866). [ABOVE] Portrait of a woman standing by a chair, a carte-de-visite photograph by Mr Robert Nayler, Photographer, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866).

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite produced by Mr R. Nayler, White Rock Photographic Studio, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866).

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait, "Photographed from Life" by Robert Nayler of Hastings (c1866).

[ABOVE] Portrait of a mother with her two children, a carte-de-visite photograph by Mr R. Nayler, White Rock Photographic Studio, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866).

[ABOVE] The reverse of a carte-de-visite produced by Robert Nayler, Photographer, 21 White Rock Place, Hastings (c1866).
 

Robert Nayler's Photographic Career after 1870

Robert Nayler returns to London

After he sold his studio at White Rock Place to Frederick Treble, Robert Nayler returned to London. At the time of the 1871 census, Robert Nayler was living at 76 Kentish Town Road, Camden in N.W. London with his wife Sarah and a ten year old adopted daughter named Elizabeth Jane Williams (born 1861, Marylebone). Robert Nayler was not working as a professional photographer at this time and he informed the census enumerator that he was currently employed as a "Commercial Traveller to a Provision Dealer". Robert's wife It appears that Robert Naylor and his wife Sarah Matilda separated later that year.

On 26th March 1872, Robert Nayler married Elizabeth Heath (born 1849, St Luke's, Finsbury) at St James's Church, Westminster, London. The couple's first child, Mary Emily Nayler, was born in Camberwell, Surrey, South London during the 4th Quarter of 1872. Around the time of the birth of their second daughter, Eliza Kate (born 1874, Walworth, Surrey), Robert and Elizabeth Nayler were living in the parish of St Saviour's in the Southwark district of London. When Elizabeth gave birth to her third child, Ida Alice Nayler (born 1876, Hoxton, Middlesex), Robert and his family were residing in Hackney, East London. By the following year, Robert Nayler had left London and was travelling around the West Midlands with his family.

Robert Nayler in the West Midlands

Around 1877, Robert Nayler, his wife Elizabeth ('Eliza'), and their three daughters moved to the West Midlands. Presumably, Robert Nayler was working as an itinerant photographer during this period. A son named  Robert John Nayler was born in the Aston district of Birmingham during the 4th Quarter of 1877. When William Valentine Nayler, the Nayler's second son and fifth child, was born early in 1879, Robert Nayler was working as a photographer in Greet, near Yardley, a few miles south-east of Birmingham. The following year Robert Nayler and his family were in the Staffordshire town of Bilston, near Woverhampton. A daughter named Florence Maud Nayler was born in Bilston during the 4th Quarter of 1880. Five months later, when the census was taken on 5th April 1881, Robert Nayler and his family were recorded at 3 Railway Street, Bilston, Staffordshire. On the census return, Robert Nayler is described as a forty-five year old  "Photographic Artist".

* It appears that in April 1881, while Robert Nayler was living with Eliza and their children in Bilston, Staffordshire, his first wife, Mrs Sarah Matilda Nayler, was staying with friends in London. Mrs Sarah M. Nayler, an Irish-born dressmaker, aged forty-six, was visiting Mr Alfred Simmons and his wife Maria at 69 Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town, London.

 

 

 

 

 

[ABOVE] A 1903 map of Bilston, showing its position two and a half miles ESE of Wolverhampton. When Robert Nayler and his family were living in Bilston in the period 1880-1881, it was a market town with a population of around 23,000. Bilston was in the heart of Wolverhampton's mining district and in the 19th century the town was well known for its extensive coal and iron works.

 

1881 Census : 3 Railway Street, BILSTON, Staffordshire

NAME

 

OCCUPATION

AGE

PLACE OF BIRTH

Robert NAYLER

Head

Photographic Artist

45

Marylebone, Middlesex
Eliza NAYLER

wife

 

32

St Luke's. Middlesex
Mary E. L. NAYLER

daughter

scholar

8

Camberwell, Surrey
Eliza K. E. NAYLER

daughter

scholar

6

Walworth, Surrey
Ida A. J. NAYLER

daughter

 

4

Hoxton, Middlesex
Robert J. M. NAYLER

son

 

3

Birmingham, Warwickshire
William V. C. NAYLER

son

 

2

Greet, Warwickshire
Florence M. G. NAYLER

daughter

 

5 months

Bilston, Staffordshire
[ABOVE] Extract from the 1881 census of Bilston showing the details of  the photographer Robert Nayler and his family. Nayler's first three children were born during his time in London, between 1872 and 1876. Nayler's two sons and his daughter Florence were added to the family during Robert Nayler's four year tour of the West Midlands.

Robert Nayler in London (1884-1912)

By 1884, Robert Nayler had returned once more to his native city of London. At the end of 1884, George Henry Nayler, Robert's third son, was born in Islington, North London. For a couple of years, Robert Nayler was residing in the London district of Holborn, where his last two children were born - Hilda Priscilla Nayler (birth registered in Holborn during the 4th Quarter of 1888) and Harry Edgar Nayler (birth registered in Holborn during the 1st Quarter of 1890). The 1891 census records Robert C. Nayler as a fifty-nine year old photographer, living with his wife 'Eliza' and all nine of his children at No.1 Hermes Street (off Pentonville Road), Islington, North London. Robert Nayler is not listed as a proprietor of a photographic studio in the various London trade directories published between 1884 and 1912. In 1901, Robert C. Nayler informed the census enumerator that he was a was working as a "Photographic Artist" on his "own account" (i.e. self-employed)

At the time of the 1901 census, Robert C. Nayler was living at 73 Cromer Street, St. Pancras, near Kings Cross Station. At the age of sixty-six, Robert Nayler was still working as a "Photographic Artist". By this date, three of his adult children had married - Eliza Kate Nayler in 1892, Mary Emily Nayler in 1893, and Robert John Nayler in 1896. Twenty-four year old Ida Alice Nayler was employed in domestic service, working as a "General Servant" in a household in Clerkenwell. Robert Nayler's three youngest children - one year old Harry Edgar, Hilda Priscilla, aged 12, and sixteen year old George Henry Nayler, who was employed as a provision packer - were living with their parents at the family home in St Pancras.

Robert Nayler, a veteran photographer who had worked in Hastings, London and the West Midlands, died in Islington at the age of seventy-eight. [ The death of Robert C. Nayler was registered in the London District of Islington during the 4th Quarter of 1912 ].

[ABOVE] Holborn, London photographed in 1875. Robert Nayler resided in this area of London between 1888 and 1891.

 

Acknowledgements

Fiona Adams is a descendant of the photographer Robert Nayler. Fiona's great, great grandmother was Mary Emily Louise Nayler, the eldest child of Robert Nayler and Eliza (Elizabeth) Heath.

 

Charles Thomas NEWCOMBE (born c1830, Hoxton, London)

In May 1863, the London photographer Charles Thomas Newcombe announced that he had "opened an establishment at 22 White Rock Place, Hastings, for First Class Photography", together with a "Show Room on the First Floor".  






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