Samuel Smith (photographer)
Samuel Smith (28 February 1802 – 18 July 1892) was an English photographer.
'Philosopher' Samuel Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 February 1802 Tydd St.Giles, Isle of Ely |
| Died | 18 July 1892 Wisbech, Isle of Ely, England |
| Occupation | timber merchant and photographer |
| Years active | 1852–1864 |
| Spouse | Myra Frances |
| Children | two daughters |
Biography
Samuel Smith was born in Tydd St Giles the son of John Smith, farmer. He was a merchant. He had two children Emily and Julia, after the death of his first wife Myra he remarried. His marriage to Frances Dawbarn (b1842) eldest daughter of Thos Dawbarn, Esq of Alfred House, Wisbech took place at the parish of Hunstanton church on 4 September 1860. In the presence of Thomas and Sylvester Dawbarn.[1] He died on 18 July 1892 and was buried in Wisbech General Cemetery on 22 July 1892.[2]
Career
He had been a timber merchant and a director of the Wisbech Gas Light & Coke company His earliest dated photograph Is that of 12 October 1852. His work dates between that year and 1864. Many images are of buildings long since disappeared, such as the stone Town bridge, Butter Cross, Old Workhouse and Octagon Church. The General Cemetery Chapel built in 1848 would have followed as the roof had been removed by Fenland District Council, and it was in danger of demolition, however Wisbech Society carried out a restoration project and it can now be compared with Smith's image of 1856. His image of Leach's eight-sail mill (c.1853) captures the mill before the sails were removed.[3] Smith was a member of the Wisbech Working Men's Institute as was another photographer William Ellis. After Ellis's death Smith printed some of his photographs.[4]
Legacy
The majority of Smith's surviving images are held in two collections. 190 negatives and over 100 prints are in the Wisbech & Fenland Museum and 125 other negatives and about 70 prints at the Kodak museum. These were acquired by Kodak in 1971 and compared to those held at Wisbech. An exhibition in Peckover House in 1973 was followed by others in London and the USA. No other comparable body of work is known to have survived from the 1850s for any other town in England.[5]
A Blue Plaque now commemorates him on his former home.[6] He features on the Cambridgeshire Photographers website (http://www.fadingimages.uk/photoSm.asp) along with other local pioneering photographers Lilian Ream and Geoff Hastings.
References
- "Married". Stamford Mercury. 14 September 1860.
- FJ Gardiner (1898). History of Wisbech and Neighbourhood, During the last 50 Years. Gardiner & Co.
- Michael Millward & Brian Coe (1974). Victorian Landscape. Ward Lock Ltd. ISBN 0-7063-1855-2.
- Thurman, Dorothy. "Ellis of Madagascar". Wisbech Society Annual Report. 57: 9–11.
- Coe, Brian (1974). "Samuel Smith: Photographer of Wisbech". The Wisbech Society 35th Annual Report. 35: 13–15.
- "Samuel Smith". www.wisbech.ccan.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
Further reading
Monger, Garry (2019). "Fenland's Photographers". The Fens: Wisbech & Surrounding. December: 18 – via https://thefensmag.co.uk/our-issues/.