John Burton
was born
at Collingham, Nottinghamshire around 1808. A printer and bookbinder by
trade, John Burton married Martha Neal and together they had at least
four
sons - Alfred Henry (b. 1834), Walter John (b. 1836), Oliver (b.
c.1841)
and John William (b. 1845). By 1842, John Burton had
established
a company in Leicester that was engaged in printing, bookbinding and
bookselling.
All four sons were trained in their father's business. In
1856,
the
eldest son Alfred Henry emigrated to New Zealand and found work as a
printer
in Auckland. After three years in Auckland, he moved to
Sydney in
Australia, where he continued to work in the printing trade.
There
is evidence to
suggest that John Burton senior had opened a photographic
studio by
1858 at
his business premises in
Leicester. He was assisted by his
sons
Walter and Oliver and, when Alfred returned to Leicester from Australia
in 1862, they formed the firm of John Burton & Sons,
Photographers
and Artists. Their main studio was based at 3 Haymarket,
Leicester
(White, 1863), but the firm soon established branch studios in Birmingham (1862), Derby
(1863) and Nottingham (1863 or 1864).
Birmingham
- "John Burton, Sons & Co." had their first advertisment
offering photographic services in the Birmingham
Daily Post
on 3 July 1862, listing their premises at 54 New Street (corner of
Bennett's Hill). Later adverts stated "Visitor's Entrance: 17
Bennett's Hill (Opposite the Theatre Royal)." In December
1862, they
advertised a "large photograph, painted in oils, of the 'Directors of
the Midland Railway' on view" at their rooms. Then on 15
January 1863,
they stated that they had "re-modelled and considerably enlarged their
photographic gallery," which was now called The Midland Portrait Rooms,
and stated that photographs of children were
"taken daily." On 5 April 1864, they announced that they were
also working from a "commodius gallery adjoining the pavilion" erected
at the Shakespeare Tercentary Celebration in Stratford-upon-Avon, to
which they had been appointed sole photographers. They
continued advertising until at least June 1865, but on 7 May 1866 a
snippet from the London Gazette
in the Birmingham
Daily Post announced the
dissolution of the partnership between "John Burton, Alfred Henry
Burton, Walter John Burton, Oliver Burton and Thomas Thorpe,
Birmingham, photographers."
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Derby
Mercury 15 May 1867 -
Advert for John Burton & Sons
Courtesy
of Clyde
Dissington &
The Magic Attic
|
|
Nottingham
- Alfred Burton
became
the manager of the Nottingham studio at 34 Long Row East and presumably
the three other brothers were involved in the other branch
studios.
Wright's Midland Directory for 1864 shows the firm of J.
Burton
&
Sons with premises at Caxton House, Long Row, Nottingham.
Heathcote
& Heathcote (1979) show them at 34 Long Row East from 1864 to
1868. Alfred
Burton married
in 1864, to Lydia Taylor at Ramsgate in Kent, while he was manager of
the
Nottingham branch studio. He continued to operate this branch
until he received an invitation from his younger brother Walter to join
him in New Zealand. In early 1868, the firm employed William
Seward as
their manager, and moved to premises at Cobden Chambers, Market Street,
which they took over from photographer Matthew Doubleday (Heathcote
& Heathcote, 1979 & undated). The Nottingham
branch
remained in operation until at least 1871, after which it was taken
over by their manager.
|
Advertisement
from
Wright's Midland Directory (1864)
Image © & courtesy of Historical
Directories
from the University of Leicester
|
Derby
- The first advertisement for the firm to appear in The Derby Mercury
was on 18 February 1863: "John Burton & Sons, Photographers
&
Artists, at Messrs. E. Clulow & Sons, 36 Victoria Street,
Derby,"
and it appears that the studio had only just opened, as the following
report is in the same newspaper: "The
other day we announced the opening of a new gallery in Derby, under the
direction of Mr. Burton, of Leicester and Birmingham, and we have since
had an opportunity of inspecting a very large number of Mr. Burton's
specimens ... A visit to Mr. Burton' s Gallery, at Messrs' Clulow's,
will afford very agreeable entertainment to every man of taste."
E. Clulow & Son themselves
had advertised "a large stock of new
and
beautiful patterns
[of carte de visite albums] just received,"
three months earlier.
Burton's reputation appears to have
preceded him, and
he managed to attract the patronage of many important Derby and
Derbyshire families: "In one very
large and handsome group of Volunteer officers these qualities are as
palpable as in the exquisitely beautiful cartes-de-visite; and in the
portraits of Lord and Lady Stamford delicate colouring is also
apparent. Mr. Burton has succeeded in producing an admirably
correct group of portraits of Ensign Turner, Colour-Sergeant Pratt, and
Corporal Clulow, of the Derby Volunteers, in uniform."
On
11 March, another article stated, "The
pictures obtained by this firm ... are remarkable for their sharpness
of detail and brilliancy of light and shade. In the cartes de
visite of several county families, these excellences are strikingly
prominent, particularly in those of the Earl of Harrington, and of
other members of the family recently taken by the Messrs. Burton, at
Elvaston Castle."
The firm even branched out into the
field of dramatic studies: "The
admiration of the lover of art will be excited by an inspection of some
of their fine studies of dramatic characters now in the course of
completion. Mr. John Coleman as Hamlet, and Miss Caroline
Carson
as the Queen, considered as examples of pure photography, may fairly
claim to be numbered among the gems of this fascinating art."
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In May 1863, the firm started to
include boasts of
Royal patronage in
their advertisements, claiming a visit from Her Majesty the Queen on 29
April, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales on 30 April, and H.R.H. the Princess
of Wales on 1 May. Six months later, they expanded the list
of
notable patrons to "the nobility and
gentry of the Midland Counties."
They didn't lose sight of
their main clients, however, and in December 1863 claimed "extraordinary advantages
for photographing
children."
An elaborate full page advertisement for the firm, listing their Derby,
Leicester, Birmingham and Burton branches, appeared in Wright's Midland
Directory for 1864 (at left).
Craven
(1993) states
that the Derby studio remained open until at least 1866.
However,
an advertisement from the Derby Mercury dated 15 May 1867 (see above,
courtesy of Clyde
Dissington & The
Magic Attic) shows that they were still
in business at Messrs. E. Clulow & Sons' premises the following
year. It also draws attention to the "New" cabinet portrait
"as
the most pleasing style that has been introduced in Photography for
some years." The
adverts continued to appear in The
Derby Mercury
until at least 25
September 1867, and the branch probably closed soon after that date.
Burton-upon-Trent
- In December 1863 the John Burton & Sons' advert in the Birmingham Daily Post
also listed premises in the High Street, Burton-upon-Trent.
The Burton listing continued to appear in the Birmingham branch adverts
until at least 19
January 1865, and in Derby branch adverts until September
1867.
It was listed as a branch on the reverse of card mounts until at least
the late 1870s. Both Wright's Midlands Directory for 1865 and
their 1874 Trade Directory of South
Derbyshire
list the photographer's address at 19 High
street, Burton, in premises
shared with Charles Jackson,
watchmaker and jeweller, but in the latter entry states "att. Thurs.,"
presumably meaning
that they were only in attendance for portrait sittings one day a week. |
Walter
John Burton (1836-1880)
Courtesy
of David
Simkin
|
|
New Zealand
-
In October
1864, Oliver Burton married Jane Skevington, while his brother Walter
John
married Helen Jemima Draper at Lincoln. Two years later, in
1866,
Walter and his wife emigrated to Dunedin in New Zealand, where he
established
a photography business of his own.
Early in
1868,
Alfred
Burton and his wife, together with their young daughter Oona Emma, set
sail
for
New Zealand. When he arrived in Dunedin later that year,
Alfred
entered
into a business partnership with Walter and together they set up the
firm
of Burton Brothers.
Back in
England, John
Burton and his two youngest sons, Oliver and John William continued to
expand the operations of John Burton & Sons, setting up
additional
studios in Burton on Trent, Melton Mowbray (by 1867) and
Oakham.
The studios in Birmingham and Derby closed around the time Walter and
Alfred
Burton emigrated to New Zealand.
|
|
Alfred
Henry Burton (1834-1914)
Courtesy
of David
Simkin
|
The firm of
Burton Brothers
of Dunedin, New Zealand proved very successful. Alfred Burton (above
right,
c. 1876) travelled over much of New Zealand taking landscape
photographs,
while Walter Burton (above left, also c. 1876) concentrated on portrait
photography in Dunedin. However, because of personal
differences,
the partnership between Alfred and Walter ended in 1877.
| Alfred
was joined in
his business at Dunedin by his younger brother John William, while
Walter
set up an independent studio. However, on 10th May 1880
Walter
committed
suicide by taking potassium cyanide. After Walter's death,
John
William
Burton returned to England. Alfred Burton continued Burton
Brothers
with the photographer George Moodie until his retirement in
1898.
He died at Dunedin on 2nd February 1914. |
|
The
Sutherland Falls Expedition. A survey party and two photographic teams
at Milford Sound, New Zealand. October 1888. Taken by Burton Bros. of
Dunedin
Click
on the photo to view a larger version of this image
Courtesy
of David
Simkin
|
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|
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Melton Mowbray
- Card mounts listed
the firm with representation in the Market Place, Melton Mowbray from
the late 1860s at least until the late 1890s. The Post Office
Directory for 1876 has no entry for Burton & Sons.
Wright's
Directory of Leicester & Fifteen Miles Round (1883-84) does
provide
a listing, between numbers 14 and 15 Market Place, which states, "att.
Tu." implying that they were only in attendance on Tuesdays.
John Burton
senior died
in 1881. His two sons Oliver and John William Burton were
both
still
working as photographers in Leicester at the time of the census in
April
that year, and both continued the business at 3 Haymarket in
Leicester until at least 1911.
The following
sites
contain interesting biographical and historical material about the firm
of Burton Brothers of Dunedin, New Zealand, as well as some examples of
their work:
Note: Many
thanks
to Mike
Casselden who
has provided information about the other
John Burton
(1810-1891)
photographer of Nottingham, who appears to be unrelated to the "John
Burton
& Sons" family of Nottingham, Leicester and Dunedin.
Mike's
great-great-granduncle
John Burton was born in Radford, the second son of the Reverend Thomas
Blount Burton. He made an early career as a portrait painter,
exhibiting
both at the Castle Museum in Nottingham and the Royal Academy, and
worked
as a studio photographer from his home in Portland Place, Nottingham in
his later years. He does not appear to have ever worked from
Derby.
I appreciate, too, David
Simkin's assistance in sorting
out who was who! |
