Brett Payne's Victorian & Edwardian
Home / Studio Index / England / Derbyshire / Derby / E.N. Charles
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Emmanuel Nicolas Charles was born c. 1827 in France. After marrying Sarah Ball (born in 1831 at Walcote, Leicestershire) at St Peter, Nottingham on 23 June 1850, he lived briefly in Nottingham and Leicester before moving to Derby. Sarah had two sons, Alexis Leon born in early 1851 at Nottingham, and Amand Isidore born in 1853 at Leicester.
Heathcote & Heathcote (2002) record that Charles established a studio in Station Street, Derby in 1855, operating it as the partnership "Charles & Morris" [Derby Telegraph, 24 November 1855, page 1, col 5]. This may have been James Morris (born c.1829 Scotland) who was working as an apprentice to Edward Brown, chemist, in Macklin Street in 1851. The partnership could not have lasted very long, because by late 1856 Charles was listed as working alone, with a studio at 2 Midland Road, Derby (White, 1857). He continued operating from Midland Road, with trade directory listings in 1858 (Glover) and 1862 (Drake), until his death on 29 March 1863.
His widow Sarah Charles then reportedly ran the studio with the help of his former assistant Walter William Winter for a brief period. Walter Winter married Sarah Charles in the first half of 1864, after which Winter appears to have taken over the business.
Nicals and Sarah Charles younger son died in 1875, apparently without issue. The elder son Alexis Leon Charles (1851-1929) worked as a clerk for the Midland Railway Company in Derby. He married Sophia Dallison at Derby in 1872, and they had one son Alexis Amand Dallison Charles (1875-1951). He became an engineer and went out to for the Mashonaland Railway in southern Africa in 1900. He subsequently returned to England and was again living in Derbyshire in 1911.
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| Type I Used c. 1861-62 Cherubs, lion, phoenix, flags & shield gold ink |
Type II Used c. 1862-63 Phoenix, wreath & flags brown ink |
Type III Used c. 1862-64 Phoenix, wreath & flags blue ink |
Type IV Used c. 1863-64 Elaborate coat of arms red ink |
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ID #: encharles04 Source: Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Mons. Charles of Midland Road, Derby Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite (Mount 63.5 x 103.5 mm; Photo 56.5 x 91 mm) Card Type: Type I Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1861-1862 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified elderly man with top hat, probably in his 60s or 70s, full length seated portrait with table, curtain, painted panelling backdrop & carpet. |
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ID #: encharles01 Source: Collection of Nigel Aspdin Artist: Mons. Charles of 2 Midland Road, Derby Negative No. 774 Size: Carte de visite Card Type: Type II Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1861-1862 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified man with beard and bowler hat, probably in his 30s or 40s, full length standing portrait with chair, pedestal, curtain & carpet. |
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ID #: encharles02 Source: Collection of Nigel Aspdin Artist: Mons. Charles of 2 Midland Road, Derby Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite Card Type: Type II Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1861-1862 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her 40s, full length standing portrait with chair, pedestal, pot plant, curtain & carpet. |
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ID #: encharles03 Source: Collection of David Simkin Artist: Mons. Charles of 2 Midland Road, Derby Negative No. - Size: Carte de visite Card Type: Type III Card Thickness: - Date: Undated, probably taken c.1861-1862 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified older woman, probably in her 50s or 60s, full length seated portrait with table, painted backdrop, curtain & carpet. |
Indexed 1841- 1901 Census Images from Ancestry
International Genealogical Index (IGI) from Familysearch
Partial Transcript of the GRO Index from FreeBMD
Adamson, Keith I.P. (1997) Professional Photographers in Derbyshire 1843 - 1914, Supplement to The PhotoHistorian, No. 118, September 1997, Royal Photographic Society, ISSN 0957-0209.
Anon (1860) Harrison, Harrod & Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Derbyshire. London: Printed for the publishers by Thomas Danks, 9 Crane Court, Fleet Street, Historical Directories, University of Leicester.
Anon (1862) Drake's Commercial Directory of the Borough of Derby with the towns of Alfreton, Belper, Chesterfield and Wirksworth, E.S. Drake and Co, Sheffield, Courtesy of Nigel Aspdin
Anon (1863) Deaths, Emmanuel Nicolas Charles, The Derby Mercury, 1 April 1863, 19th British Library Newspapers, Gale CENGAGE Learning.
Glover, Steohen (1858) Directory of the Borough of Derby including the townships of Darley Abbey, Litchurch and Little Chester, Steven Glover (Author and Publisher), Printed by W. Bemrose and Sons, Derby, MDCCCLVIII, Compiled 1857, Courtey of Nigel Aspdin.
White, F. & Co. (1857) History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Derby, Transcribed by Neil Wilson.
Heathcote, Bernard & Pauline (2002) A Faithful Likeness - The First Photographic Studios in the British Isles, 1841 to 1855, Courtesy of David Simkin
Many thanks to Nigel Aspdin and David Simkin for the kind contribution of images.