Hastings:  Pea-Per

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Professional Photographers in Hastings & St Leonards (Pe)

B. Pearce - Robert Pearce - George Pearson - William Weeks Pearson - Pedder & Mann - Alfred Peplow - Permanent Portrait Co. - Samuel Perrett - Arthur Robert Perry

Robert PEARCE - active as a photographer in St Leonards during the period 1897-1900

The Royal Victoria Studio made its first appearance as a photographic studio in St Leonards in a trade directory of 1896. Robert Pearce was recorded as a photographer at the Royal Victoria Studio, St Leonards from around 1897. Kelly's Directory of Hastings & St Leonards published in 1897 lists "B. Pearce" as a photographer at 6 Royal Victoria Buildings, Marina, St Leonards. The photographer's full name of Robert Pearce appears under the heading of "Photographers" in the commercial section of Kelly's 1899 Directory of Sussex. Kelly's Hastings & St Leonards' Directory for 1900, again lists the photographer as "B. Pearce". By the time Kelly's 1903 Directory was produced, the Royal Victoria Studio at 6 Royal Victoria Buildings, Marina, St Leonards had passed into the hands of the photographer Alfred C. Price (born 1865, Kilburn, London). Alfred Price is recorded as a "Photographic Artist (own account)" in the 1901 census for Hastings & St Leonards, so we can assume that Pearce had left the Royal Victoria Studio by 31st March 1901. The only "Robert Pearce" that appears in the 1901 census for Hastings & St Leonards is twenty-seven year old Robert Pearce (born c 1873, Wiltshire) who gives his occupation as "farrier".

[ABOVE] The trade plate of the Royal Victoria Studio, St Leonards, operated by Robert Pearce between 1897 and 1900. Pearce's Royal Victoria Studio was located at No. 6 Royal Victoria Buildings on the Marina in St Leonards-on-Sea. The Marina was (and still is) the main seafront road of St. Leonards-on-Sea. In the 1890s, Royal Victoria Buildings was a new development adjacent to the Royal Victoria Hotel, from which it took its name. Unusually for a Victorian photographic studio, Pearce's Royal Victoria Studio was located on the ground floor of the building.

 

A Mystery Photograph by Robert Pearce of St Leonards

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of three unknown girls by Robert Pearce of the Royal Victoria Studio, St Leonards (c1897). [PHOTO: Courtesy of Alison Stone of Leicester]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to Alison Stone of Leicester for supplying the Pearce photograph and for providing additional information.

Three Girls in an Attic : A Mystery Photograph by Pearce of St Leonards

The photograph on the left was found in the attic of a house at 48 Eastleigh Road, Leicester. The photograph was brought to my attention by Alison Stone, the present occupant of the house.

The photograph appears to be a group portrait of three sisters aged between 10 and 18. This cabinet portrait was taken at Robert Pearce's Royal Victoria Studio around 1897, but the house where the photograph was found was not built until around 1903. In 1906, the occupant of 48 Eastleigh Road, Leicester was a cashier named Harry Arthur Chitham, who appears to have moved into the house shortly after his marriage in 1905. Harry Arthur Chitham was born in Leicester in 1879, the son of Caroline Judith Polhill  (born 1855, Wolverton, Buckinghamshire) and Joseph Chitham (born 1843, Nuneaton, Warwickshire), a button merchant. Harry Arthur Chitham married Christiana Marlow [born 1881, Desborough, Northants.] in Kettering, Northamptonshire during the Fourth Quarter of 1905. Christiana Marlow was the daughter of Mary Ann and Samuel Crick Marlow [born 1843, Desborough, Northants.], a boot manufacturer. After his marriage Arthur Chitham returned to live in his native city of Leicester.

There is a possibility that the three girls pictured in this photograph were connected to the Chitham Family or the Marlow Family, but, of course, the group portrait could have been left behind by any of the families that occupied 48 Eastleigh Road, Leicester between 1903 and 1998.
 

If anyone viewing this photograph can help identify the sitters, please contact me and I will pass on the information to Alison Stone

Photographic Portraits by Robert Pearce of the Royal Victoria Studio, St. Leonards

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman by Robert Pearce of the Royal Victoria Studio, St Leonards (c1899)
[RIGHT] A cabinet portrait of a mother and child by Robert Pearce of the Royal Victoria Studio, St Leonards. A date of  "September 1898" is Inscribed in ink on the reverse of this cabinet photograph.

[ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of a mother and child by Robert Pearce of the Royal Victoria Studio, St Leonards (1898).

Pearson of West Hill, Hastings  -  George PEARSON (born 1859 Great Chart, near Ashford, Kent)  and William Weeks PEARSON (born 1870, Ashford)

George Pearson was active as a photographer in Hastings from around 1889 until 1920.

William Weeks Pearson was in business as a photographer in Hastings from around 1900 until 1933.

[ABOVE LEFT] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman by George Pearson of West Hill, Hastings.c1900. [ABOVE RIGHT] The design on the reverse of the carte-de-visite portrait by George Pearson of West Hill, Hastings, shown on the left. George Pearson was based at 30 Vicarage Road, in the West Hill district of Hastings. Around 1900, George's step son, William Weeks Pearson, who lived just around the corner at 22 Whitefriars Road, established his own photography business. In the early 1900s, both George Pearson and William Weeks Pearson labelled their photographs either "Pearson - Photographer - West Hill, Hastings" or "Pearson - Photographer - Hastings" and so it is not always clear whether it was George Pearson or his step son William who took a particular photograph.

"Pearson of West Hill, Hastings" is the name of a photographer which applies either to George Pearson (born 1859), or his stepson William Weeks Pearson (born 1870).

George Pearson was born in Great Chart, Kent in 1859. In 1877, at the age of 18, George Pearson married Eliza Weeks (born c1851, Egerton, Kent), a twenty-six year old woman with a seven year old son named William James Weeks. After her marriage to George Pearson, Eliza's son was known as William Weeks Pearson.

George Pearson was a baker and corn dealer by trade, but after he and his family moved to Hastings around 1884, he became increasingly interested in photography. In 1888, George Pearson, who was then only a part-time photographer, attended the inaugural meeting of the Hastings & St  Leonards Photographic Society. From around 1890, George Pearson worked as a professional photographer from his home at 30 Vicarage Road, West Hill, Hastings. George Pearson produced studio portraits in cabinet and carte-de-visite format at his home in West Hill, Hastings. Pearson also took portraits on Hastings beach and travelled around Hastings and the surrounding area with his camera making "outdoor portraits".

In 1889, George Pearson's stepson William Weeks Pearson (born 1870, Ashford, Kent), married Sarah Elizabeth Ades (born 1872, Ore, Hastings). William had probably assisted his step-father in his photography business during the early 1890s. By 1901, William Weeks Pearson had established his own photography business, mainly working as a beach or seafront photographer, but occasionally visiting local schools to take class group photographs. After the First World War, William Weeks Pearson specialised in producing group photographs taken on the beach and issued them in the popular postcard format. These group photographs were appropriately known as "Pearson's Popular Post Cards". 

To view a more detailed account of the careers of George Pearson and William Weeks Pearson click on the link below:

George Pearson and William Weeks Pearson

PEDDER & MANN - active as a partnership between 1857 and 1858

Mr Pedder and Thomas George Mann (born 1838, Hastings, died 1874 Hastings)

Thomas George Mann was born in Hastings in 1838, the son of Harriet and Thomas Mann senior, a carver & gilder. Thomas Mann junior opened his photographic portrait studio at his father's business premises at 20 Robertson Street, Hastings  in the Summer of 1856. The following year, Thomas Mann junior entered into a business partnership with a Mr Pedder, forming the firm of Pedder & Mann. Mr Pedder was presumably a veteran photographer as an advertisement for Messrs Pedder & Mann issued in May 1857 mentions "their long experience in the Photographic Art", yet Thomas Mann junior was only nineteen years of age and had been in business as a photographer for a period of only twelve months. Advertisements published in the local press between April and July 1857 make it plain that the studio of Pedder & Mann was based at the business premises of "Mr Mann's, Carver & Gilder" at 20 Robertson Street, Hastings. The advertisements for Pedder & Mann informed the public that they produced "Photographic Portraits, both on Paper & Glass" and called "particular attention to their mode of taking glass pictures, which they guarantee to be permanent in any climate". This is clearly a reference to the production of collodion positive portraits, a technique perfected by Frederick Scott Archer in the early 1850s. The prices quoted by Pedder & Mann - "Portraits, from 2s 6d ; in case, coloured, from 5s" - are slightly more expensive than those offered by other professional photographers who specialised in the production of "collodion positive" portraits on glass.

The business partnership of Pedder & Mann was brief. When F. R. Melville's Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex was compiled in 1858, Thomas Mann junior is listed as the sole proprietor of the photographic studio at 20 Robertson Street, Hastings. Later that year, Thomas Mann junior left Hastings for Tunbridge Wells. Thomas Mann junior returned to Hastings sometime before 1863. It is likely that Thomas Mann junior resumed his career as a Photographic Artist at his father's business in 20 Robertson Street, Hastings around this time, but he is not recorded as a photographer at this address in local trade directories until 1866.  Around 1869, Thomas Mann junior moved into a relatively new photographic studio at 52 Robertson Street, Hastings. Thomas George Mann died in Hastings during the 2nd Quarter of 1874 at the relatively young age of thirty-four.

[ABOVE] An advertisement for Pedder & Mann's Photographic Portrait Studio at 20 Robertson Street, Hastings, which appeared in local newspapers between 17th April and 10th July 1857. The above advertisement was published in The Hastings & St Leonards News on 10th July 1857.
 

To read a more detailed account of the life and career of Thomas Mann junior, click on the link below :

Thomas George Mann

Alfred PEPLOW

Alfred Peplow was born in Marylebone, London, on 9th July 1849, the youngest child of Mary Ann Colegate Smith and Richard John Peplow, a wood sawyer. Alfred was christened a few months later on 28th October 1849 at All Souls' Church, St Marylebone, London.

Alfred Peplow's father, Richard John Peplow (generally known as John Peplow) was born at Great Stanmore, Middlesex in 1808. On 25th June 1826, (Richard) John Peplow married Mary Ann Colegate Smith (born c1807, Rye, Sussex). The couple had at least eight children - Thomas Fountain Peplow (born 1828), Richard Henry Peplow (born 1831), John Philip Peplow (born 1834), Jane Elizabeth Peplow (born 1837), Alice Peplow (born 1839), Fanny Peplow (born 1843), Mary Ann Peplow (born 1844) and Alfred Peplow (born 1849).

By the time the 1871 census was taken, (Richard) John Peplow, his wife Mary Ann, and their youngest son, twenty-one year old Alfred Peplow, were living at 3 Greenland Grove, Cromer Street, St. Pancras, London. Alfred's father (Richard) John Peplow had previously worked as a cabinet maker, but when the census was carried out on 2nd April 1871, Mr Peplow was making a living as a picture-frame maker. Interestingly, Alfred's mother Mrs Mary Ann Peplow was working as a "Photographic Artist" when the census was taken. It was probably his mother's involvement in photography that determined Alfred Peplow's future career as a photographer.

Alfred Peplow married Mary Ann Johnson (born c1855, St Martin's London) at All Souls' Church, St Marylebone, London, on 25th December 1874. When the couple's first child, Henry Theodore Peplow, was born during the First Quarter of 1876, Alfred Peplow and his wife were living in the St Pancras district of London. By the end of 1877, Alfred Peplow and his family were living in Hastings, where Alfred had found work as a photographer. Alfred and Mary Ann Peplow's second child, a daughter named Annie Maria Peplow, was born in Hastings during the 3rd Quarter of 1877. Another daughter, Nellie Peplow, arrived two years later during the 3rd Quarter of 1877.

The 1881 census shows Alfred Peplow, his wife Mary, together with their three young children and a fourteen year old nephew at 173 St George's Road, Hastings. Alfred Peplow is described on the census return as a thirty-one year old "Photographic Operator". Alfred was probably employed as a photographer at one of the dozen or so studios operating in Hastings & St Leonards during the early 1880s. One of these studios was owned by William George Ramsey (born 1853, Bath), a young photographer from Bath who ran a photographic portrait studio at his home - Alpine Cottage, 22 Penrhyn Terrace, Priory Road, Hastings.  William George Ramsey had been in business at this address for less than five years when he died in Lewes during the 3rd Quarter of 1885, at the age of thirty-two. After the death of W. G. Ramsey the studio was sold to Alfred Peplow. The carte-de-visite portraits produced by Alfred Peplow at the Alpine Cottage, Priory Road between 1885 and 1886 are over-stamped with the words "Alfred Peplow, late W. G. Ramsey".

When Alfred Peplow took over the former studio of W. G. Ramsey at 22 Penrhyn Terrace, he changed the name of the premises from "Alpine Cottage" to the "Alpine Studio". By the time the 1891 census was taken, Alfred Peplow and his growing family were established at the cottage at 22 Penrhyn Terrace. Since the last census, Mary Peplow had given birth to five more children - Amelia Peplow (born 3rd Quarter 1881), Daisy Peplow (born 1883), Lily Peplow (born 1885), Jane Peplow (born 1886) and Willie John Peplow (born 1889). Also living at 22 Penrhyn Terrace, Priory Road, Hastings was Alfred's widowed mother, eighty-four year old Mrs Mary Peplow, described on the census return as a "General Dealer". ( Mrs Mary Ann Peplow's husband, Richard John Peplow, had died in London on Christmas day 1878 at the age of seventy-one. Mary Ann Peplow, Alfred's mother, died in Hastings towards the end of 1893 at the age of 86 ). On the 1891 census return, Alfred Peplow gives his occupation as "Photographer". Surprisingly, Henry Theodore Peplow, Alfred's eldest son, had decided to become a dentist rather than a photographer and was working as a "Dental Assistant" in 1891. When the 1901 census was taken, none of Alfred Peplow's grown-up children were working in photography - Daisy Peplow had become a teacher at a Board School and her fourteen year old sister was working as a "Caretaker" for the School Board. Nellie Peplow was working as an upholsterer and sixteen year old Lily was employed as a dressmaker's apprentice.

Mrs Mary Peplow, Alfred's wife, gave birth to their last child in 1895. Albert Edgar Peplow, the couple's third son, arrived during the 3rd Quarter of 1895. When the 1901 census was taken, Alfred Peplow was still living at 22 Penrhyn Terrace, Priory Road, Hastings with his wife and eight of his nine children (Alfred's eldest daughter, Annie Maria Peplow had married Richard Hunt, a London postal worker, in 1899). Alfred Peplow was widowed early in 1906, when his wife Mary died at the age of 52.

Alfred Peplow remained in business as a photographer in Hastings until about 1910. Around 1902, the houses in Penrhyn Terrace were absorbed into Priory Road and the buildings were re-numbered. From 1903, local trade directories list Alfred Peplow as a photographer at 225 Priory Road, Hastings. Kelly's 1911 Directory of Sussex lists Alfred Peplow as a private resident at 28 Quarry Road, Hastings. Presumably, Alfred Peplow had retired from business by 1911. In the same directory, Alfred's eldest son Harry T. Peplow is listed as an "artificial teeth maker" in Rye.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Alfred Peplow, Portrait, Group and Architectural Photographer of the Alpine Studio, Priory Road, Hastings.

[ABOVE] A portrait of  Kate Ransom, the fifteen year old daughter of a Hastings bank clerk, photographed by Alfred Peplow at his Alpine Studio in Priory Road, Hastings around 1885. Alfred Peplow was still using his predecessor's old stock of card mounts and has printed his name above the details of the former occupier of the Alpine Studio, William George Ramsey, who had died in 1885 at the age of  thirty-two.

 

[ABOVE] Portrait of a Sailor, a carte-de-visite by Alfred Peplow, photographer of the Alpine Studio, Priory Road, Hastings. [ABOVE] Portrait of a child in a sailor suit, a carte-de-visite by Alfred Peplow, photographer of the Alpine Studio, Priory Road, Hastings. [ABOVE] Portrait of two young women, a carte-de-visite by Alfred Peplow, photographer of the Alpine Studio, Priory Road, Hastings.

Permanent Portrait Co. -  a company which operated a photographic portrait studio and photograph enlarging works in St Leonards during the period 1889-1899

The Permanent Portrait Company had a photographic portrait studio and enlarging works at 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea between between 1889 and 1899. The proprietor of The Permanent Portrait Company was Zaccheus Joel Hunter (1841-1926).

Zaccheus Joel Hunter was born in Southwark, Surrey, South London, in 1841, possibly a son or nephew of Zaccheus Joel Hunter, a druggist of London. On 25th February 1864, Zaccheus Joel Hunter married Margaret Maria Bloomfield (born c1832, London) at the Holy Trinity Church in Clapham, Surrey.

Zaccheus Joel Hunter was a financier and owner of houses. In the Post Office London Directory of London, published in 1882, Zaccheus Joel Hunter is listed as a Financier of 4 Pilgrim Street, Ludgate Hill, London. The 1881 census records Zaccheus and Margaret Hunter as residing in Heathfield Road, Croydon, Surrey, with their seven children, together with three domestic servants. On the census return, Zaccheus J. Hunter is recorded as a "Financier" and "Landlord". The following year, Zaccheus Joel Hunter set up The Permanent Portrait Company at 236 Regent Street, Westminster. In 1883, the Regent Street studio passed to Baron William Charles Nastrowsky (c1845-1919) and Hunter set up a new branch of The Permanent Portrait Company at 52 Peckham Rye, Camberwell, South London. The Camberwell studio was closed in 1887, but within a few years, Hunter established a new branch of The Permanent Portrait Company at 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea.

The Permanent Portrait Company's photographic studio at 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea appears to have been managed by Zaccheus Hunter's eldest son, Joel Hunter (born 1869, Lambeth, Surrey). Local trade directories list J. Hunter as a photographer at 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea between 1899 and 1900. The Permanent Portrait Company had a photographic portrait studio  at 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea between between 1889 and 1899.

By 1901, Zaccheus Joel Hunter had retired from business due to ill-health. The census taken on 31st March 1901, records Zaccheus Joel Hunter and his family living in Tooting. Zaccheus Joel Hunter is shown to be out of work - "unable to obtain employment on account of age". Joel Hunter, is recorded at his father's house, but, at the time of the 1901 census, he too is without employment, being described by the enumerator as an unemployed commercial clerk, aged 32. Within a few years, Joel Hunter was once again earning his living as a photographer and between 1903 and 1904 he is recorded as an "Artist Photographer".

[ABOVE] The trade plate of The Permanent Portrait Company of 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a woman posed with her pet dog, photographed at the studio of The Permanent Portrait Company of 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea.
 

 
[ABOVE] Two members of the Salvation Army  photographed at the studio of The Permanent Portrait Company at 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. Cabinet Portrait (c1890). [ABOVE] The trade plate of The Permanent Portrait Company of 61 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea as printed on the reverse of the cabinet portrait illustrated on the left (c1890).  
 

Samuel PERRETT (born in 1860 or 1867, Bridgewater, Somerset) - listed as a photographer at 52 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, between 1905 and 1907

Samuel Perrett is listed as a photographer at 52 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea in Kelly's 1905 Directory of Sussex and the entry is repeated in the next two editions published in 1906 and 1907. it appears that Samuel Perrett was still working as a photographer in St Leonards-on-Sea in 1911.

Samuel Perrett was born in Bridgewater, Somerset, around 1867. Available documentary evidence indicates that Samuel was the son of Sarah and Samuel Perrett senior (born c1831, Bristol), a tea dealer and grocer of Bridgewater, Somerset.

By the late 1880s, Samuel Perrett was living in St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex. Towards the end of 1888, Samuel Perrett married Mrs Ellinor Bolton (born c1849, Dover, Kent), the widow of Felix Palmer Bolton (1849-1887), a chemist and druggist of Hastings. [The marriage of Samuel Perrett and Elinor Edith Bolton (formerly Dickeson) was registered in the district of Hastings during the 4th Quarter of 1888]. The birth of the couple's first child, a girl named Jessie Lucy Perrett was registered in the district of Hastings during the 2nd Quarter of 1889. The following year a boy named Samuel Wilfrid H. Perrett was born in St. Leonards-on-Sea. [ Birth registered in the district of Hastings during the 2nd Quarter of 1890]. By 1890, Samuel Perrett was residing at 10 Shornden Villas, Bohemia Road, St Leonards and is recorded in a local directory as the "Secretary of the Bohemia Liberal and Radical Club", based at 107 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea.

The 1891 census records eleven year old Samuel W. H. Perrett (born 1890, St Leonards) living with his father Samuel Perrett and two year old Jessie L. Perrett (born 1889, St Leonards) is recorded at a separate address with her mother Mrs Ellinor Perrett.

In the 1899 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex, Samuel Perrett is listed as a private resident at No. 5 Shornden Villas, Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. Adrienne Roshier, who is connected to the Bolton / Perrett family, has suggested that Samuel Perrett worked as an artist- photographer in the Hastings & St Leonards area between 1885 and 1899

When the 1901 census was taken, Samuel Perrett junior, aged 11, and Jessie L. Perrett, aged 12, are shown living in Streatham, London, with their father Samuel Perrett, who is described on the census return as a "Drainage Contractor & Sanitary Expert". In the 1901 census, Samuel Perrett senior's age is given as 40 and his place of birth is recorded as Bridgewater, Somerset. In the 1911 census, fifty year old Samuel Perrett is shown in living at 40 Southwater Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. On the census return, Samuel Perrett, is described as a "Chemist and Druggist - now working as a Photographer". At the time of the 1911 census, Samuel Perrett's children - twenty-two year old Jessie Lucy Perrett and (Samuel) Wilfred Henry Perrett, a twenty-one year old "accountant's clerk" were living with their mother Mrs Ellinor Perrett at 100 Balham Park Road, Balham, S. W. London.

[ABOVE] Samuel Perrett listed as professional photographer at 52 Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea in the 1907 edition of Kelly's Directory of Sussex. At the time of the 1911 census, Samuel Perrett is shown living at 40 Southwater Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. The census enumerator describes 50 year old Samuel Perrett as a "Chemist and Druggist - now working as a Photographer".
 

[ABOVE] An Edwardian picture postcard showing Bohemia Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, where Samuel Perrett operated as a photographer between 1905 and 1907.
 

Arthur Robert Perry (born 1866, Throop, Hampshire) - active as a photographer in Hastings during the period 1890-1924

Arthur Robert Perry was born in Throop, Hampshire, during the 1st Quarter of 1866 and christened a year later in Christchurch, Hampshire on 10th March 1867. Arthur's parents were Robert Perry and Emily Wareham. Robert and Emily Perry were married at Holy Trinity Church, Southampton, on 4th April 1855. The couple had six children - Walter Richard Perry (born 1858), Lydia Ann Perry (born 1860), John Albert Perry (born 1862, Throop, Hampshire), William George Perry (born 1864, Throop, Hampshire), Arthur Robert Perry (born 1866, Throop, Hampshire) and Herbert Edwin Perry (born 1868, Throop, Hampshire).

Robert Perry, Arthur's father, died in 1873, at the age of 39. When the 1881 census was taken, Mrs Emily Perry, a fifty year old widow working as a dressmaker, was living with her four youngest children at No 2 Anerly Cottage, Holdenhurst, Hampshire. In 1881, three of the four sons living with their widowed mother were in employment. Nineteen year old John Perry was employed as a carpenter joiner and fifteen year old William Perry was working as a printer. Arthur Robert Perry is described on the census return as a "Photographer", aged 15.

Arthur Robert Perry married in 1890 at the age of twenty-four. [Arthur Perry's marriage was registered in the Gloucestershire district of Chepstow during the 3rd Quarter of 1890]. Arthur's bride was Elizabeth Emily Fisher (born 1857, Lydney Gloucestershire), a school mistress in her early thirties. In 1881, Miss Fisher who was teaching at a school in Holdenhurst, the same small village where Arthur was living with his mother and three brothers.

Arthur Perry and his wife set up home in the Sussex seaside town of Hastings. When the 1891 census was taken, Arthur Robert Perry was residing at 64 Mount Pleasant Road, Hastings. Arthur R. Perry is described on the census return as a twenty-five year old "Photographer's Assistant". Arthur Perry was probably employed by one of the twenty photographic studios then operating in Hastings & St Leonards. Within a couple of years, Arthur Robert Perry had taken possession of a photographic portrait studio at 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. The photographic studio at 13 Wellington Place had been set up around 1866 by Frederick Stephen Mann (c1822-1904), a carver & gilder and picture-frame maker. The photographic studio of F. S. Mann was in business at 13 Wellington Place, Hastings from 1866 until 1878. Frederick Stephen Mann did take carte-de-visite portraits at his Wellington Place studio, but he is better known today for his topographical views of Hastings produced in the 1860s and 1870s. Frederick S. Mann closed his photographic studio around 1879, but he continued trading as a carver & gilder, picture-frame maker and stationer at his business premises at No 13 Wellington Place until his retirement around 1892.

Arthur Robert Perry is listed as a photographer at 13 Wellington Place, Hastings in the 1893 edition of W. T. Pike's Hastings & St Leonards Directory & Blue Book. A. R. Perry is recorded as a photographer at 13 Wellington Place in local trade directories until 1924. When the 1901 census was taken, Arthur Perry and his wife were residing at 82 Mount Pleasant Road, Hastings. Arthur R. Perry is described on the census return as a "Photographer (Employer)", which suggests he was employing staff at his Wellington Place studio. A. R. Perry of  13 Wellington Place is listed under "Photographers" in the Trades Section of Kelly's Directory of Sussex published in 1924, but his name does not appear in the 1930 edition of Kelly's Sussex Directory.

 

[ABOVE] The location of Arthur Robert Perry's photographic studio at 13 Wellington Place, Hastings, marked on a 1910 map. The green area is the Central Cricket & Recreation Ground. South of A. R. Perry's studio (marked by a red dot) is Hastings seafront with its beach and sea (marked in light blue ).
 
[ABOVE] The trade plate of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 7859 [c1895]. Arthur Robert Perry, who had set up his own photography business in Hastings around 1892, had acquired the former photographic portrait studio of Frederick Stephen Mann, who had traded as a carver & gilder at 13 Wellington Place since 1858. F. S. Mann probably began taking photographs of Hastings in the late 1850s, but he did not establish a photographic portrait studio at 13 Wellington Place until about 1863. When Frederick S. Mann retired around 1892, he sold the studio to Arthur Perry, who had been working as a photographer's assistant in Hastings since his marriage in 1890.

[ABOVE] Portrait of a Young Woman, a carte-de-visite by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 7859 [c1895]. The reverse of this carte-de-visite portrait  is illustrated above.
 
Carte-de-visite Portraits by Arthur Robert Perry produced in the mid-1890s
 

[ABOVE] Portrait of a baby on a fur rug, a carte-de-visite  photographed at the studio of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings [c1895] [ABOVE] Portrait of a Young Woman, a carte-de-visite by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings [c1895] [ABOVE] Portrait of Walter Scott, a carte-de-visite by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Inscribed in ink on the reverse of this carte-de-visite are the words "Many Happy Returns of the Day, yours to serve Walter Scott". Negative No.11,166 [c1895]

[ABOVE] Portrait of a Young Woman, a carte-de-visite by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings [c1895] [ABOVE] Portrait of a teenage lad, a carte-de-visite by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings [c1895] [ABOVE] Portrait of a Young Woman, a carte-de-visite by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. ]Negative No.8,680 [c1895]
 

Carte-de-visite Portraits by Arthur Robert Perry produced in the late 1890s and early 1900s

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a woman wearing a fancy hat, photographed at the studio of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 18,766 [c1905] [ABOVE] A portrait of a young woman wearing a jacket with  'frogging', photographed at the studio of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings.  [c1898]          [Photo Courtesy of  Kay Redmond of Crosby, Liverpool]

[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman, photographed at the studio of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 8,624 [c1900] [ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman, identified as "Trot", photographed at the studio of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 14,035 [c1902]
 

Cabinet Portraits by Arthur Robert Perry produced in the 1890s and early 1900s

[ABOVE] A portrait of Caroline Igglesden, a portrait by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. "Caroline Igglesden" is inscribed in ink on the reverse of this cabinet photograph (c1898). [ABOVE] A portrait of a couple by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings (1896). An identical photograph appears on the "Antiques & Collectables" website captioned   "Twin Lorrie and Husband, September 1896 ".

[ABOVE] The trade plate of Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 14,730. [c1905] [ABOVE] A cabinet portrait of an unknown couple by Arthur Robert Perry, Artist Photographer of 13 Wellington Place, Hastings. Negative No. 14,730. [c1902]
 

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Alison Stone of Leicester for supplying the mystery photograph by Robert Pearce of St. Leonards-on-Sea. Thanks to Kay Redmond of Crosby, Liverpool, for supplying the carte-de-visite by A. R. Perry.

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