Cambridgeshire Photographers

Name: NORMAN, (Her)Bert b: 1895 Peterborough d:
Address: 4 Station Road, March
Working Dates: 1921-1933
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information: In the 1921 Census Herbert and his wife and one year old son were boarders at 48 North Street March with locomotive driver Henry Horace Hall and his wife and daughter. Herbert's occupation was "pro-photographer" and an employer working from Station Road March. The 1921 Census lists Gladys May HIND as an employee. Herbert was listed as a photographer in local trade directories 1925-1933. Below is an example of his work, a postcard view of an unknown local event. In the lower right hand corner is embossed "Bert Norman, The Studio, March" We are most grateful to Tim Reynolds for permission to reproduce this image from his collection.
References: Mike Petty, The Photographers, (a handlist of local photographers), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Collection, 1992
March Cambridgeshire, Kelly's 1925-1933. 1921 Census

Postcard by Bert Norman

Name: NORMAN, Charles b: 1841 Over Cambridgeshire d: 1915 Peterborough
Address: Willingham, Sheep Market, St Ives.
Working Dates: c. 1869-1877
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information: Charles was born in Over Cambridgeshire. In 1860 Charles was a photographic artist with Portrait Rooms in Harper Street, Bedford, when he and a friend were charged with abducting a fifteen year old girl, Ellen Bryant, from the care of her father. (Cambridge Independent press 10 November 1860 p7, Cambridge Chronicle 24 November 1860 p3). Both men were subsequently acquitted by a jury at the Bedfordshire Assizes on account of some doubt as to the precise age of the victim. (Cambridge Chronicle 16 March 1861 p4) Charles was listed as a watch and clock maker and photographer in Kelly's 1877 Directory of Huntingdonshire and in Harrod's Directory of Huntingdonshire 1877. We don't know how long he practiced these two professions - wherever he appears in official records he is shown simply as a watchmaker. Charles and his family were at Main Street Willingham in 1871 where he was a watch maker. His family then comprised his wife Elizabeth Ann b:1844 Dunstable Beds, daughters Ellen Jane b: 1865 Biggleswade and Rosetta b: 1869, Willingham, and sons Walter James b: 1867 Willingham and Arthur J.A. b: 1871 Willingham. At some point between 1871 and 1875 the family had moved to Sheep Market St Ives and another son, Charles Henry was born in St Ives in 1875. In 1881 Charles was still shown in the census as a watch maker at Sheepmarket St Ives. In 1891 Charles was still a watchmaker at Sheepmarket St Ives, as was his son, Charles Henry. In 1901 Charles had a watchmaker's shop at 30 St Leonards Street Peterborough. He had re-married - his new wife was Sarah (Moody?) b: 1855 at Whittlesey. In 1911 he was described as a watch repairer and was living with Sarah and one of her sons at 12 Nelson Street, Peterborough. Charles' son, Arthur John Arnold Norman, also became a watchmaker, and, like his father, also became a photographer for a while. In his case he operated from Western Road, Tring, Hertfordshire from 1899 to 1902, then went back to his earlier occupation as a watchmaker. He was listed as such, living in Cambridge at 56 Tennison Road, in the 1911 census. No evidence has yet come to light suggesting that Arthur was at any point a photographer in Cambridgeshire.

The first example of Charles' work below in a square cornered carte de visite of a head and shoulders cameo image of an unidentified young man. This is mounted on very thin cream card with a rubber stamp on the reverse "Photographed by C.Norman, Willingham" surrounded by a garland. The address, the image and mount are all likely to point to late 1860s, early 1870s, which would fit with Willingham as the birth place of three of Charles' children. Next below is a carte de visite of a lady standing and holding a book. The mount is square cornered cream card with "C.Norman St Ives" on the face and a red line round the image. The reverse has an intricate leaf and flower design with a large Royal coat of arms near the centre. On the reverse is written "Photographed by C.Norman St Ives (Hunts) Views of the town and neighborhood kept in stock" (Michael Brown Collection). Next is a carte de visite of an unknown baby, on a white card mount with gold border and square corners. The reverse of the mount has a more complex ribbon and floral bordered box in which is a smaller royal coat of arms and the text "Photographed by C. Norman, St Ives (Hunts) Views of the Town and neighborhood kept in stock". The baby in the photo is held on the lap of a woman, presumably the baby's mother, but the mother's face and head have been obliterated by the use of an oval mask in printing. Presumably this has been done in order to make the image of the baby larger, perhaps one of a number of images produced from a sitting. Below this is a further carte de visite with a similar mount. This is an oval masked portrait of Arthur Barré Dashwood Goldie, son of the Rev Charles Dashwood Goldie of St Ives. Arthur Goldie became a mining engineer in Canada. Simpson Family Archive.
References: Kelly's Directory of Huntingdonshire 1877

Carte de visite, young man, c.1860s / 70s

An early portrait of an unknown lady with book, by C.Norman, St Ives (Michael Brown Collection)

Charles Norman carte de visite of an unknown baby. Reverse of Charles Norman carte de visite

Carte de visite ny Norman of Arthur Goldie Reverse of Norman portrait of Arthur Goldie

Name: NORMAN, William Ingle. b. 1843, Royston, Hertfordshire, d.1894
Address: High Street, Royston
Working Dates: 1870 - 1894
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information: Just over the county border lies Royston, Hertfordshire. William Ingle Norman was a taxidermist (bird and animal preserver or naturalist) aged 17, living with his parents in Royston in the 1861 census. In the 1871 census William was shown as a photographer and naturalist in the High Street Royston, with his wife Sarah Ann (Boud) and infant son. Local directories list him as a photographer in High Street Royston in 1882, 1886 and 1890. His business is not listed in the 1866 and 1912 directories. Below is a carte de visite cameo portrait by William of an unknown man, probably from the 1880s.
References: Other examples of William's work can be found at www.hertfordshire-genealogy.co.uk/data/postcards/publisher-norman-royston.htm. His obituary appeared in the Herts & Cambs Reporter & Royston Crow - Friday 13 April 1894 p5. "Death of Mr William Norman. It is with much regret that we have to announce the death, after a very short illness, of Mr William Norman, naturalist and photographer, High Street, Royston, which took place under distressing circumstances on Sunday morning last. He was able to attend to his business at the beginning of the week, but the Monday afternoon was taken ill and a very severe attack of pneumonia ensued, under which he was unconscious nearly the whole time until death. Through his business and his ability as a bird-stuffer and naturalist the deceased was well known throughout the district. He had a genuine love for his calling in this direction, and especially for ornithology, and during the last quarter of a century many rare birds found in the locality have passed through his hands. In the musical life of the town he had always taken a prominent part, and as the leader for many years of the Choir at the Kneesworth Street Congregational Chapel, he will much missed. He leaves a widow, three sons and two daughters for whom the greatest sympathy fell in their sudden and trying bereavement. The funeral took place on Thursday (yesterday) afternoon at the Cemetery, where a large number of persons assembled to show their respect to the deceased.". The combination of taxidermist and photographer is very unusual. Today we would be worried by a person suffering from a sudden and fatal attack of pneumonia, whose occupation was stuffing rare birds and animals William is also mentioned in a legal case, Gifford v Franklin, in the Cambs Reporter & Royston Crow - Friday 28 July 1893, p6 concerning the disputed ownership of the body of a rare rough legged buzzard. The bird was being stuffed by William while its ownership was being disputed in court.

carte de visite by William Ingle Norman, 1880s

Name: NORRIS, Herbert Ellis. b. 1859 St Ives Cambs, d.1931 Cirencester
Address: Vine Cottage Crown Walk St Ives
Working Dates: c. 1885-1891
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information:
Herbert Ellis Norris, antiquary and collector, was the founder of the Norris Library and Museum at St Ives Cambridgeshire. Herbert’s father and his grandfather were shoemakers in St Ives. In 1871 Herbert was living with his parents and brother and sister at Vine Cottage, Crown Walk, St Ives (which still exists today- see below). In 1881 the family were living in Crown Close (a different annotation for the same address) and Herbert’s father was listed as a draper and shoemaker. Herbert’s occupation was not shown in the 1881 census. His early interests were in natural history and photography, and in 1886 he appeared in a local directory as a photographer at Vine Cottage St Ives (directory entry yet to be traced). In 1888 Herbert’s book “History of St Ives” was published. He was also a regular contributor to Fenland Notes and Queries. By 1891 Herbert had left St Ives and moved to Cirencester, living initially in a boarding house as a single man running a jewelry and silversmithing business he had purchased. The business was obviously successful and by 1901 Herbert had two servants and a jeweller’s assistant living with him. In 1911 Herbert was still a silversmith and jeweller in Cirencester. Although he had left the area, Herbert retained a keen interest in local history in Huntingdonshire, building up an extensive collection of books, documents, prints paintings photographs and other local items. His other interests were chess, archaeology and he was a fellow of the Zoological Society of London. When Herbert died in 1931 he left his books, maps, pictures, manuscripts etc., relating to the geology, botany, topography, and antiquities of his native county of Huntingdonshire, to the Corporation of St. Ives, for the Public Library. The residue of his estate he left to the Corporation of St. Ives, for a public library and the upkeep thereof, to be known as "The Norris Library" and should this bequest not have been accepted then he left the ultimate residue to the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. The St Ives Corporation gratefully accepted the bequest and hence the Norris Library and Museum were born. A number of Herbert's photographs have survived in the Norris Museum, where you can also see a reproduction of Herbert's study. The cabinet photograph below is produced with the Museum's permission (accession No PH/S.IVE/Bridge/07). The face of the mount has the text "Herbert E Norris St Ives" and the rear has the text "Portrait and landscape photographer Herbert E Norris Vine Cottage Studio, St Ives, Hunts". One other photograph in the Norris Museum, PH/S.IVE/Bridge09, has a rubber stamp on the reverse "Herbert E Norris Cirencester", suggesting that Herbert may have continued photographic activities after leaving St Ives. PH/ST.IVE/Fr.Char/o4 is a cabinet photograph by Herbert Norris of the Rev T.Lloyd, Minister of the St Ives Free Church, which has been dated to 1885. (NB This is not the Herbert Norris, photographer, of 18 Queen St Newton Abbots, who appears in directories at the same time that Herbert Ellis Norris was in business as a jeweller in Cirencester).
References:
Norris Museum http://norrismuseum.org.uk/?page_id=98
David Viner, “Herbert Norris (1859-1931)”, http://www.cirenhistory.org.uk/nl59herbertnorris.htm
A number of his photographs are published in "The Changing Face of St Ives" by Bob Burn-Murdoch and Ken Ballard, Friends of the Norris Museum.
There is a portrait of Herbert Norris, in the Norris Museum, by Cambridge photographer R.H.Lord, PH/S.IVE/NorrisM/02
H.E.Norris, St Ives, is included in a "Directory of Cambridgeshire Postcard Publishers/photographers noted before 1914" by Michael Rouse in "Cambridge in Early Postcards", Oleander Press 1978.

Herbert Norris Cabinet photograph of St Ives c.1886

Herbert Norris's studio was at Vine Cottage, which still stands today

Name: The NOVELTY PHOTO CO
Address: Nat Flatman Street, Newmarket, Cambridgeshire
Working Dates: c.1914
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information: To date the only traces found of this firm are the two cabinet photographs, illustrated below. The first of these has been posted on the Soham site of the Cambridgeshire Community Archive Network (CCAN) and is reproduced with their permission. The second in reproduced with the permission of Peter Norman. The first is believed to have been taken around 1914 and depicts Dorothy Latton at Soham Church of England School. The colour of the mount is unknown. The second image which appears to have been taken in a makeshift studio is of an unknown young girl. Edgar Aaron Young is known to have been a photographer at 41 Nat Flatman Street, Newmarket, around 1911-22. Could he have taken over from this firm, or could he have traded initially as the Novelty Photo Co? Nat Flatman Street was named after the jockey Elnathan "Nat" Flatman (1810 – 1860) and comprises around 100 terraced Victorian houses, and no obviously commercial properties.
References: Soham CCAN - http://soham.ccan.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/dorothy-layton-at-soham-c-of-e-school-james-deans-mum.
Edgar Young's entry on this site: http://www.fadingimages.uk/photoX.asp

No trace has been found of the company name at Companies House. Below are a number of instances of the use of this name, but none of these may be connected to this Cambridgeshire firm.

In the Gazette there is a record in 1906 of dissolving a photographic partnership trading as The British Novelty Photo Co, but this firm, involving photographers called Pike, traded in Notting Hill and so is unlikely to be connected. (The Gazette 8 February 1907, Issue: 27993, Page: 919).
In 1883 an advertisement appeared in the Royal Cornwall Gazette - Friday 07 September 1883 p1, "TO SHOPKEEPERS, OR PERSONS WISHING TO EMPLOY THEIR TIME.— The Novelty Photo Company, 5, Fullbrook Road, London, N., require an AGENT in each of the principal Towns in Cornwall for their popular 3d. PHOTOS of CELEBRITIES OF THE DAY. (See Advertisement in last week's Gazette). — Agent for Penzance — Mr. JEWELL, Tobacco and Fancy Repository, 8, Chapel-street.".
Then in 1906 there was an advertisement in the Southend Standard and Essex Weekly Advertiser - Thursday 26 April 1906 p5 "Young girl wanted to look after baby, apply Novelty Photo Co Pier Hill Buildings".
In 1914 a number of advertisements appeared e.g. "The increasing popularity of THE NOVELTY PHOTO CO. 150, Elgin Avenue W. POSTCARDS (FROM ANY PHOTO) IS DUE TO QUALITY ONLY. Better Value. Less Money. 6/- A HUNDRED. 3/6 for 50. 48 hours' dispatch. Terms: Cash with order. Owing the great demand and the phenomenal increase of business, the N.P.Co. have decided open their Up-to-Date Studio on Monday, July 27." The Era - Wednesday 22 July 1914 p23.
Another example is from The Stage Thursday 13 August 1914. p36 "THE NOVELTY PHOTO CO beg to inform their customers that the Studios are now open. POSTCARDS from any Photo, or TAKEN IN OUR STUDIOS , 6/- a hundred 3/6 for 50. 150, ELGIN AVENUE, MAIDA VALE. CASH WITH ORDER". Later advertisements that year informed the public that the company also had a West End Office at 26 Charing Cross Rd (The Stage 5 Nov 1914 p32). The Newmarket firm may, or may not have been connected with this London firm.

Novelty Photo Co photograph

Name: NUNN, Ernest b: 1887 d:
Address: E.Nunn Boot and Outfitting Stores, Sutton, Cambs
Working Dates: 1920s
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information: Not known if Nunn was simply a local shopkeeper and postcard publisher or also a photographer. An example card is shown below. In the 1921 Census Ernest is listed as the Sutton Sub Postmaster living in the High Street Sutton with his wife Gertrude and their one year old son.
References:

E Nunn postcard

Text on reverse of Nunn postcard

Name: NYE, Bruce A b: d:
Address: 2 Russel Street, Cambridge
Working Dates: 1957
Subjects, styles, advertising, other relevant information: See our entry for BRUCE
References: Kelly's Directory of Cambridge 1957

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