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| John
Latham
was born c. 1830 in Manchester, Lancashire. He was the earliest
resident
commercial photographer recorded in Matlock. He moved there prior
to the 1861 census of April that year, and lived with his uncle and
aunt,
Robert & Elizabeth Latham, at Taghill Cottage. His cousin
Marianne Norman was also described as a "photographist", and was
perhaps an assistant. He appears to
have been the only photographer in Matlock for his first two years in
business.
Latham was a photographer of some stature, whose work was widely praised by his contemporaries, and whose stereoscopic landscapes are today regarded as fine examples from the classic period of the stereoview. Ann Andrews' Matlock web site includes an extract from The London Gazette showing that on 16 November 1869, John Latham was a "prisoner for debt at County Gaol, Stafford for twelve years or thereabouts at Matlock, Photographic Artist and General Toy Dealer, adjudged bankrupt. First Meeting of Creditors 4 Dec next." In the late 1860s, presumably after his bankruptcy, John Latham moved to Trentham, near Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, where he married Elizabeth Bott. They had a daughter Constance Elizabeth in March 1871. He remained in this area for the next thirty years, although in 1901, when his daughter was assisting him in the studio, he was shown by the census as living in Longton. |
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| Portfolio |
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(at left)
View of
Matlock,
Derbyshire, by John Latham of Matlock, Undated, but possibly taken in the late 1860s Format: Carte-de-visite Image © & courtesy of Roger Vaughan (at right) View of Lichfield Cathedral (Staffordshire),
Image ©
& collection
of Brett Payne
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(at left)
Christmas
photograph, by John Latham of Matlock, Undated Format: Carte-de-visite Image © & courtesy of John Bradley (at right) View of
Matlock,
Derbyshire, Image ©
& courtesy
of John Bradley
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| References Images kindly provided by Brett Payne, Roger Vaughan & John Bradley 1861 Census of Matlock Bath on the Wirksworth Web Site by John Palmer 1871 Census of Matlock Bath on the Matlock & Matlock Bath Web Site by Ann Andrews 1881 UK Census - online from the LDS church 1891 UK Census - online from Ancestry.com 1901 UK Census index - online from the PRO FreeBMD International Genealogical Index - online from the LDS church Before the Snapshot & Postcard - Victorian Photography & Photographers in Matlock & Matlock Bath, by John Bradley |
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