William
Constable's Photographic Institution in Brighton
William
Constable had paid £1,000 to Beard for a licence to
take daguerreotype portraits in Brighton. Constable opened
his Photographic Institution to the public on Monday 8th November
1841. Before
the week was over, Constable wrote to his sister Susanna and
gave a progress report on his new enterprise:
I opened my concern of business last Monday
for the first day or two I took but very little money indeed
. . . I could not help feeling anxious and nervous, although
the result was what I reasonably ought to have expected
But I feel every day that I am growing in notice and have
no doubt that I am gaining a very fast and respectable foothold
here . . . I am crowded with visitors all day from
11 to 4 . . . there is nothing against me but the lateness
of the season.
William Constable seated in front of
Cruikshank's 1842 picture of an early daguerreotype studio.
|