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.