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Alexander Ledingham Portrait of Fanny
2139 This studio portrait is of a young woman called Fanny. The stamp on the lower right of the image indicates it was taken by Ledingham of Rosemount. The easel and brush design of the stamp suggests Ledingham's artistic aspirations as a photographer.
Alexander Ledingham ran a photographic studio at 101a Rosemount Place from 1911 until well into the 1950s. He took over these premises from John S. Greenacre who opened his studio in June 1899. Prior to this Greenacre had worked with G. W. Wilson & Co.
Ledingham's father, another Alexander, run a newsagent and took a prominent part in public life. He ran his shop from 27 Bank Street, Ferryhill for 10 years before moving in 1890 to premises at 41 Victoria Road, Torry. He eventually retired from business in 1904. He played a large role in the incorporation of Torry into the city of Aberdeen and was involved in many improvements to the area.
Ledingham Senior died in August 1926 and his obituary is available to view on the Silver City Vault. It gives further details of his involvement in politics, the church and his work as an author - many of his titles are held by Aberdeen Local Studies. Treasure 32: George Washington Wilson South Africa Photography Collection
2320 George Washington Wilson is one of the great names in 19th century photography, famous for capturing images of people, buildings and landscapes across Scotland. His photography drew attention to the beauty of his country, but his travels further afield are not as well known.
As an innovative pioneer in photography, George Washington Wilson's work reflected the reality and attitudes of society during his lifetime (1823-1893). In our collections we hold a vast selection of photographs and portraits taken by the G. W. Wilson Company in South Africa. These images were taken by his son, Charles Wilson, and Fred Hardie, a company photographer of George Washington Wilson & Co.
The company's photographs of South Africa captured scenes of the country which would have been perceived as unusual and exotic to British people at the time.
South Africa and its Treasures
The majority of British colonization was concentrated in South Africa during the 19th century. In the past, the country was colonized in order to control one of the main trade routes to India. Due to the abundance of resources such as spices and tea, European interest in Africa increased dramatically in the late 19th century, especially with the discovery of gold and diamonds in the 1860s-1880s.
On their return to Britain, George Washington Wilson & Co presented many photographs showing these natural resources, from the Robinson Gold mine in Johannesburg to De Beers Diamond Mines in Kimberley.
Tea was also a very valuable resource, and people in Britain were keen to learn more about its production and its use in South Africa.
Photography and Tourism
The collection held by Aberdeen City Libraries shows local places of interest in South Africa. These photographs capture Cape Town and Johannesburg, two of the biggest cities in the country. Many Europeans emigrated to these cities in the 19th century, due to the discovery of valuable resources in the surrounding area.
With the rapid rise of tourism in this period, George Washington Wilson & Co. looked for new ways to promote and sell their work. Around 1880-1890, they started to commercialize their photography via picture postcards, a relatively new concept in Britain. This new form of media met with huge success as it was easy to write and cheap to send. It soon became the standard way to communicate with friends and family when abroad, a holiday tradition which remains today.
The postcards, in colour and having a standard size, featured many different scenes from South Africa and were viewed as an innovative way to publicize the country - and the works of photographic firms such as George Washington Wilson & Co. Aberdeen Portraits: Group No. 8
3110 Group No. 8 from Messrs G. W. Wilson & Co.'s Aberdeen portraits series published in 1907. An article in The Aberdeen Daily Journal of 27th April 1907, page 4, states:
"There are few more interesting local pictures than the two groups of photographic portraits of Aberdeen public men which were published by Mr G. W. Wilson in the very early days of photography - in 1856 and 1857.
These groups were selected and arranged by Mr (afterwards Baillie) George Walker, who is one of the very few survivors of the 196 note worthy Aberdonians portrayed; and an animated description of one of them is given by Mr William Carnie in 'Reporting Reminiscences.'
A third group was published 1896; and most of the faces presented in it have likewise vanished from the scene. The happy idea has just occurred to Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. to reproduce these three groups, along with six other groups (containing 100 portraits each) selected from the large collection of negatives taken at the firm's Crown Street studio between 1852 and 1896.
The nine groups thus constitute a collection fairly representative of the leading men of Aberdeen during the latter half of the nineteenth century. They are printed in permanent collotype, and are encased in a handsome portfolio, an index of names also being supplied. But each group can be had separately, and is so mounted as to be available for framing; while copies printed on gelatine paper are also to be had, and copies of the single portraits may be secured.
Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. claim - and probably with every reason - that this series of portraits is unique, no other city having a similar portrait gallery of its leading citizens, covering practically the whole period between the beginning of the photographic portraiture on paper and the end of the nineteenth century." Aberdeen Portraits: Group No. 9
3111 Group No. 9 from Messrs G. W. Wilson & Co.'s Aberdeen portraits series published in 1907. An article in The Aberdeen Daily Journal of 27th April 1907, page 4, states:
"There are few more interesting local pictures than the two groups of photographic portraits of Aberdeen public men which were published by Mr G. W. Wilson in the very early days of photography - in 1856 and 1857.
These groups were selected and arranged by Mr (afterwards Baillie) George Walker, who is one of the very few survivors of the 196 note worthy Aberdonians portrayed; and an animated description of one of them is given by Mr William Carnie in 'Reporting Reminiscences.'
A third group was published 1896; and most of the faces presented in it have likewise vanished from the scene. The happy idea has just occurred to Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. to reproduce these three groups, along with six other groups (containing 100 portraits each) selected from the large collection of negatives taken at the firm's Crown Street studio between 1852 and 1896.
The nine groups thus constitute a collection fairly representative of the leading men of Aberdeen during the latter half of the nineteenth century. They are printed in permanent collotype, and are encased in a handsome portfolio, an index of names also being supplied. But each group can be had separately, and is so mounted as to be available for framing; while copies printed on gelatine paper are also to be had, and copies of the single portraits may be secured.
Messrs G. W. Wilson and Co. claim - and probably with every reason - that this series of portraits is unique, no other city having a similar portrait gallery of its leading citizens, covering practically the whole period between the beginning of the photographic portraiture on paper and the end of the nineteenth century." Treasure 109: George Washington Wilson Portraits
330 This month we look at some of George Washington Wilson's work as a portrait photographer and especially the creation of photomontages selected from the large collection of images he had taken of men from the city and surrounding area who were leading figures in business, industry, law, education, and the church.
Wilson, encouraged by his friend George Walker of the firm of A. Brown & Co, booksellers, created his first grouping of Aberdeen Portraits in 1857, with a second collection in the following year. They spent many hours selecting and arranging the images to form an oval of faces where their perceived prominence of each individual is determined by the size and placing of each portrait within the oval. Images of Walker, Wilson and Wilson's brother Robert were included in the first selection.
The venture was a huge success with thousands of prints being sold, and, eventually a further seven groupings were created from the stock of images held. In 1907, a booklet with an alphabetical list of all 897 portraits was produced by G. W. Wilson & Co. when a portfolio of all 9 groups with the list could be purchased for 10 shillings and 6 pence. |