Early W.I. photographers

Traces of early W.I. photographers

Travelling in the U.S. in 1993, I had the pleasure of meeting many W.I. descendants. Old photos were brought to my attention by people, whose ancestors originated from islands in the Lesser Antilles, like Saba, St Barth and St Thomas.
Basic questions - who was reproduced, when was the photo taken and where - could not always be answered. So I began systemizing information about W.I. photographers, a first step in obtaining a base for identification.

Of technical significance

The knowledge of photography was spred by the publication of Daguerre's invention after August 1839. The technique built on a positive picture, although as seen in a mirror. This meant that each picture was unique and could not be multiplied.

In the course of the years, the technique improved and names as ferrotype and tinotype became well-known. In Denmark for example, the positive technique dates back between 1840-1860, after that other methods became more and more dominant.

Daguerre was not alone, but he was the first to be acknowledge of developing a latent image on a preparated copper plate and stabilizing the picture. In 1840 an Englishman by the name of Fox Talbot found a method of combining negative-positive technique, and contact prints could be made from paper negatives. ....

Scattered notes about W.I. photographers

Biographical handbooks about photographers touching this field are rare. So far, I have only seen a Danish work by Ochsner Fotografer i og fra Danmark indtil år 1900 (Copenhagen 1969).

On St Barths

Referring Lamborn, Olsson 1979:68, says Carl C. Lyon was a son of an officer stationed on St Barth. Carl had been a US resident for many years, when in 1865 he visited St Barth with his family. In January 1866, he wanted to send photos he had taken to King Charles XV in Sweden, ".... the first such pictures taken of the island."
A number of Lyon's photos of St Barths, were given to the St Barthélemy Society (SSB) in Stockholm in the spring of 1978, by a Swedish architect named Ingemar Tommos. Further details might be found in the annual report of SSB for 1977/1978.

Astonishing indeed is a note by Sjögren 1966:110, who visited the Dinzey House around 1964. There he saw a daguerrotype of the Harbour of Gustavia, taken before the devastating fire of 1852.

Hellström:314, mentions "Box 1C" in the Simonsson Collection at the National Archives in Sweden containing pictures, picture postcards and photos in connection with St Barth.
In 1992 the Royal Library in Sweden issued a report (# 19) listing Swedish portrait photographers represented in their collections. This report presents photographers in alphabetical and geographical order. However, neither C.C. Lyon nor St Barth are mentioned. KMTR See letter from the Royal Library in Sweden.

On the Danish Virgin Islands

Among the earliest photos from the Danish Virgin Islands are probably two daguerrotypes which were given to the Merchantile & Maritime Museum in Elsinore in 1980. Two views taken from the area of Blackbeard's Castle show seaside Charlotte Amalie. One towards Hassel Island and the other towards Denmark Hill/Frenchmen Hill.
Henningsen referring Ochsner (DVS 1980:4/15ff), says the pictures were probably taken during the first half of the 1850's. The photographer's name was Hans Hansen, assistant manager (Da; provisor) at St Thomæ Apothecary, owned by A.H. Riise. Hansen was born in Elsinore in 1819, and came to the islands in 1848. In 1872 he left St Thomas and went back to Denmark, never to return to St Thomas.
Originating from Hansen, additional daguerrotypes have been used as originals for litographs in E.M. Bærentzen's Danmark. A first edition was printed in Copenhagen 1856. KMTR Compare leaflet from Rulon-Miller Books of February 1991, page one.

A few advertisements taken from the St Thomæ Tidende (UBD STT) in 1868, show the development of photography, which may have left the daguerrotype behind.

From the St Thomæ Tidende (# 69) of August 26th, 1868.

NOTE
American Photographic Gallery
T. Carillo & Co. will take all sorts of pictures.
St Thomas. 25th August 1868

From the St Thomæ Tidende (# 70) of August 29th, 1868.

NOTICE

Wellcome's Photography
Mr B.N. Wellcome announces his arrival here again and has re-opened his Atelier.
He offers Card and Ferrotype Portraits, also Stereoscopic Views of the Harbour and Town of St Thomas, taken four days after the late Hurricane.

In his work about Danish photographers pre 1900, Ochsner (1969:575, 576, 578) lists several photographic artists operating on the Danish islands. This can be compared with the census of 1890, only listing three independant photographers on the islands (Ochsner 1969:544).

Sources

* Ochsner 1974 /OK