Local Celebrity Cartes

In the early 1860s, Brighton studios were advertising cartes de visite of local celebrities. William Hall, a former partner in the photographic firm of Grey & Hall and now the sole proprietor of the studio at 13 St James Street, was one of the first photographers in Brighton to promote celebrity cartes. In a newspaper advertisement dated 27th February 1862, Hall offered to the public cdv portraits of "Eminent Ministers - taken from life." Hall listed 20 church ministers who were featured in his cdv portraits, including the Reverend T. Trocke of Chapel Royal and Reverend J.L.Knowles of St Peter's Church.

Local Celebrity Cartes. Brighton photographic studios, such as Hennah & Kent, produced carte de visite portraits of local clergymen. The Catholic priest on the left and the minister in the centre are unidentified, but the carte de visite portrait on the right has the name "Revd. Cooper" pencilled on the back. Portraits of local celebrities photographed at Hennah & Kent's studio were sold at W H Mason's Repository of Arts , which shared the same premises at 108 Kings Road, Brighton.

 

Celebrity cartes from Brighton,.featuring ministers from local churches. On the left is the Revd John Grace ( 1800-1865) a minister of the Baptist Tabrnacle in West Street from 1847 to 1865, photographed at Merrick's Studio.The church minister in the centre is unidentified, but is featured in cartes from several Brighton studios. This full length portrait is from Constable's studio at 58 Kings Road, Brighton. The minister on the right, also taken at Merrick's studio, is the Revd. John B. Figgis ( born c1838 Dublin ) , who was the Weslyan minister at the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel in Brighton's North Street.

 

'The African Princess'

In September 1862, the photographic firm Merrick & Co of 33 Western Road, was offering for sale, at 1s 6d a copy, a cdv portrait of Sally Bonetta Forbes, 'The African Princess', who had married Mr.James Davies at St Nicholas Church, Brighton the previous month.

 

Sally Bonetta Forbes, who became Mrs Sarah Davies on 14 August 1862. A portrait by Merrick & Co of Brighton. In 1848, when she was aged around five, this daughter of a West African Chief, was taken into slavery by the King of Dahomey. In June 1850, she was rescued from slavery by Captain Forbes of the English ship Sally Bonetta and brought to England. She was named Sally Bonetta after the ship and took the surname of Forbes from the sea captain who delivered her from slavery.

Sally Forbes, the "African Princess", and her husband James Davies, photographed in 1862. Sally, who as a young girl had been rescued from slavery by an English sea captain, married James Labulo Davies, an African Merchant of Victoria Road Brighton at St Nicholas Church on 14 August 1862.After her marriage, Mrs Davies returned to Africa with her husband.


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Website last updated: 23 December, 2002

 

This website is dedicated to the memory of Arthur T. Gill (1915-1987), Sussex Photohistorian

 




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