Hello Stormybay
I hope you found what you were looking for in Ipswich last month. I recently came across this announcement in the Ipswich Journal of 12 April 1879 (page 8, column 5):
PHOTOGRAPHY.
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ROBERT CADE,
CORNHILL, IPSWICH,
WHO has received from his Patrons, for the long period of 27 years, such kind and continued support, begs very respectfully to thank them for all past favours.
Finding his health declining, R. C. has entrusted to his sons the responsibility of maintaining the reputation of his Establishment for high-class work.
A. H. CADE has been with R. Cade many years, and shared the cares of the Studio and Printing Departments.
J. WHITE (his son-in-law) has had many years’ experience in Photography, having been for some years manager of a large Establishment in India, and for four years chief operator at the celebrated Establishment of Disdéri and Co., Photographers to the Queen, Brook Street, Hanover Square, and R. C. can with confidence entrust the credit of the Firm to him. Mr. White will be found to be particularly successful with children, who require such care and patience.
R. C. will at all times be most happy to give the benefit of his long experience to any patron in any department of the Establishment.
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ALFRED HENRY CADE AND JOHN WHITE
BEG to inform the Patrons of Robert Cade and the Public that it will ever be their study to maintain the high class work which has made the Photo. Institute so well known in the Eastern Counties, and they trust that by careful and prompt attention to all commissions, they will receive a continuance of the favours so liberally given to R. C.
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The 27 years of Robert's business tally with the date of establishment printed on the back of some of his mounts: 1852. The Cornhill address was presumably 4 Westgate Street (now part of Debenhams), where John White and his family were living in 1881. He was at 18 (Upper) Brook Street (on the southern corner of Butter Market) by 1883 (assuming that he was wrongly named "Mr. G. White" in the Ipswich Journal on 11 Dec.) and placed the attached half-page advertisement in William White's 1885 directory of Suffolk.
The "slightly old-fashioned" design of John White's mounts is illustrated and discussed in "Looking at Old Photographs" (Federation of Family History Societies, 1998, pages 41 & 42) by Robert Pols (creator of the invaluable directories of early studio photographers at
http://www.early-photographers.org.uk) who also notes that John may have continued the numerical series formerly used at 18 Brook Street by Walter Azemberg Smith. This series probably commenced when Walter was managing the Artistic Department of the "Italian Studio" at that address for John Robert Sawyer of Norwich, well before taking over the Ipswich business in 1867 (Ipswich Journal 30 March etc.).
Sadly, without a corresponding register of sitters, those numbers don't identify unnamed faces. But, if enough of us can provide dated examples, perhaps at least a rough calendar will emerge. I have a couple of cartes de visite from 18 Brook Street, Ipswich, endorsed with these dates and serial numbers:
19793A by Walter A. Smith: "William Gobbitt about time of his marriage 1866."William was born in May 1837 and married in Sept. 1866. The studio was still owned by J. R. Sawyer at the beginning of 1867 (Ipswich Journal 23 Feb.) so this print can't be earlier than that, although it may be a reprint, ordered months or even years after the sitting.
57832 by John White: "C. Gobbitt. April 1889."Or is that 1887? William's daughter Celia Mary was born in Aug. 1868; it's not clear from her portrait whether she was 18 or 20.
As the rarity of such specific dates makes them all the more useful, I would encourage everyone to share any that come to light.
David Gobbitt
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