Featured Is This A Photograph?

Hello
I found this between pages in a sketch book. It looks like a photograph but it seems to be printed on a canvas type material. Chatsworth House has some connection to my family. I have seen it referenced in a few of my Grandparents belongings however I haven't connected the dots yet!

 

It might well be a photographic print on the canvas. I have seen such things before. I really can't tell the printing method from the pictures, though. I also can't tell whether it is a photograph of the actual house or a photograph of an artistic depiction of the house.

 

The company is still in business. You can always ask.

https://www.wwwinter.co.uk

Debora

 

Sure looks to be a photograph! And on canvas! I once bought a box of “Artist’s Inkjet Canvas” to play with.....just 6 sheets... only tried one sheet and wasn’t exactly excited with the results! Suspect it was either ME, the image I chose, or my settings in the program......OR a huge combination of ALL!!

 

I just always thought these were photographs printed onto linen photographic paper in sepia tone (pre-color photography) - are they something beyond more linen fabric woven into the photographic paper?

following..

 

The color looks like an albumen photographic print. This type of photograph was made on very thin paper because the preparation process involved floating the paper on a solution of egg whites containing the light sensitive chemicals. For the usual portraits, the print would be mounted on sturdy paper card stock (carte-de-visites, cabinet photos, etc.). In this case, it looks like it has been mounted on "drafting cloth".

"Drafting cloth is among the most common supports found in 19th and early 20th century architectural and technical drawing collections. Introduced in the 1850s, this flexible, durable alternative to paper was used primarily by architects and engineers for process drawings, tracings, and reprographic prints (e.g. blueprints, diazotypes). The fabric is typically cotton or linen, which has been starched and calendered to create a smooth, glossy drawing surface."
https://psap.library.illinois.edu/collection-id-guide/supportsarchrepros

 

Thanks Debora!
I will email them today and let you know what I find out.

 

Thanks @2manybooks
Yes, perhaps not canvas at all. Hopefully I will get a response to my email and share the info with the forum. The fabric (whatever it is) is very durable and has stood the test of time very well. Or, it may be a lot more recent than I think.

 

Indeed, it's not beyond 1950 and I think older. Thanks to 2many, I didn't realize the linen was only a backing for the photo emulsion sheet! I am thinking they must have been slid together in the final bath solution? and hung to dry to become "one" with the universe of the linen canvas paper.. ??

 

Like 1930ish possibly..

 

I have emailed WW Winter and asked if they would mind sharing the technique

 

I got an email back from WW Winter today and they have referred my enquiry on to one of their research volunteers
Hopefully I will have some info to share soon

 

@Figtree3, @Debora, @Aquitaine, @antidiem, @2manybooks

I received the response below from WW Winter. I thought you might be interested.
Tracey

Hello Tracey (if I may)
Thank you for your email regarding the old photo of Chatsworth by W W Winter. My name is Geoff Blackwell. I am one of the Trustee of the W W Winter Heritage Trust and a photohistorian. Your enquiry has set off a lot interest here. We have not seen anything like this before, although we do know that the company did operate as an art gallery as well as a photographic studio in its early history. The stamp on the back certainly makes sense. I have several lines of enquiry and this is going to be an interesting project for us. One thing we know for certain is that Winter had a good relationship with the family at Chatsworth House and was a frequent visitor there to take photographs.

May I ask - did your grandparents emigrate from UK in the early days. Are they likely to have purchased the "picture" in UK and taken it to Australia with them. Are there any family connections with Derby and Derbyshire. If you do not know, would you care to give me the names and dates of birth etc. for your grandparents and I will try and find out.

I am looking forward to getting involved in this research - and just to be clear, this is as much for our information as yours so there is no question of any costs

Thank you.
Kind regards

Geoff

 

Wow!

Debora

 

Thank you for the suggestion Debora

 

Oh, excellent! It sounds like they also should be able to find out your family's connection to Chatsworth House. You mentioned in your original post that you thought there could be a connection.

 

Wonderful!
As one of your relatives did the architectural sketches, and the photograph seems to be mounted on what might be drafting cloth, there might be a connection there - an interest in documenting architecture.

 

Yours may well be a very early photograph of Chatsworth. Here's one in the V&A's collection. 1850-1870 by F. Firth & Co. Notice how the sensibility of yours is closer to painting while Firth's focuses on architectural record.

Debora

 

WOW Tracey, this is wonderful! I can't wait to hear what else they find out

 

Ok, now I'm hooked. You have to give us updates on how this progresses!