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John
Henry Gaunt was born c. 1858 at Brampton, the only son of Henry
Gaunt (1830-1908) and Esther Doe (1830-1878), and as a young man he
followed his father into the butcher's trade. Both are listed as
butchers in the 1881 Census and in the 1887 edition of Kelly's trade
directory. By 1891, however, Gaunt junior was describing himself as a
teacher of music, living at 64/66 Chatsworth Road, New Brampton. He was
married in 1892 to Mennette Ellen Ball, and by 1895 (Kelly) he was a
"teacher of music & musical instrument dealer" at 77 Chatsworth
road, Chesterfield. The 1899 edition of Kelly's shows him as a "musical
instrument dealer" of West bars, Chesterfield, and the 1901 census as a
"Musical Inst. Dealer & Teacher of Music" working from home on his
own account at 2 Clarence Rd, Chesterfield. Kelly (1912) shows him
again as a "musical instrument dlr." at 39 West bars, Chesterfield. I have been unable to find a single reference to him working as a photographer, but the existence of a large format mounted print, shown below in an image sent to me by Bill Addy, demonstrates that he was either an amateur who had an embossing stamp made with which to "sign" his work or, more likely, that he tried his hand at commercial photography, perhaps starting off by canvassing his extended family for potential clients. This excursion or sideline from his main profession as a music teacher and musical instrument dealer would not have been particularly unusual. |
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Moorhay Farm, near Old Brampton by J.H. Gaunt of Chesterfield Undated, but possibly taken in the early 1900s Format: Large format mounted print Image © & courtesy of Bill Addy Notes: see Photo-Sleuth article |
References
Images kindly provided by Bill Addy 1841-1901 UK Census - online from Ancestry.com FreeBMD International Genealogical Index - online from the LDS church North East Midland Photographic Record - Picture the Past Wright C.N. (1874) Directory of South Derbyshire, Third Edition, October 1874, Derby. Anon (1881) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co., London. Anon (1887) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co., London. Anon (1891) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Nottinghamshire, Kelly & Co., London. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories Anon (1895) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Kelly & Co. Limited, London. Anon (1895) History, Topography, and Directory of Derbyshire, T. Bulmer & Co. - by kind courtesy of Sonia Addis-Smith Anon (1899) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland & Nottinghamshire, Kelly & Co., London. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories Anon (1912) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire 1912, Kelly's Directories Ltd., London. Anon (1917) Chesterfield Year Book & Directory for 1917, Printed by The Derbyshire Courier, Chesterfield, Dec 1916 - by kind courtesy of Rita Effnert Anon (1932) Kelly's Directory of Derbyshire 1932, Kelly's Directories Ltd., London. Adamson, Keith I.P. (1997) Professional Photographers in Derbyshire 1843 - 1914, The PhotoHistorian, No. 118 Supplement, September 1997, ISSN 0957-0209. Courtesy of John Bradley. Craven, Maxwell (ed.) (1993) Keene's Derby, Breedon Books, Derby, pp. 200-202. - by kind courtesy of Sonia Addis-Smith |
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