Portrait Photo Collection
Move your cursor over an image to read about the design
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Trade Directory entries
History, Gazetteer & Directory of Devon (1878-79)
- Keeping Charles, photographer, Exe bridge (betw 14 & 16 New Bridge Street), Exeter
- Keeping Charles, photographer, Esplanade, Sidmouth
Kelly's Directory of Devon (1889)
- Keeping Charles, photographer, 1 Exe bridge & 12 Holloway street, Exeter
Kelly's Directory of Devon & Cornwall (1893)
- Keeping Charles, 1 Clinton ter. Exmouth
Besley's Exeter Directory & Business Guide (1906-11)
- (1906) Keeping Charles, photographer, 32 Poltimore Square, Exeter
- (1909) Keeping Charles, photographer, 25 Longbrook Street
- (1910) Keeping Charles, photographer, 25 Longbrook Street
- (1911) Keeping Charles, photographer, 25 Longbrook Street
Post Office Directory of Exeter & Suburbs (1912)
- Keeping Charles, photographer, 25 Longbrook Street
Besleys Directory of Exeter & Suburbs (1915)
- Keeping Charles, photographer, 55 Ladysmith Road
Besley's Directory of Exeter and Suburbs (1916-19)
1916 - Keeping Charles, photographer, 55 Ladysmith Road, Exeter
1917 - Keeping Charles, photographer, 55 Ladysmith Road, Exeter
1918 - Keeping Charles, photographer, 55 Ladysmith Road, Exeter
1919 - Keeping Charles, photographer, 55 Ladysmith Road & 96 Paris Street, Exeter
References
Historical Directories from the University of Leicester
Indexed 1871- 1901 Census Images from Ancestry.com
1881 Census Transcript & International Genealogical Index (IGI) from the LDS Church's web site FamilySearch
Partial Transcript of the GRO Index from FreeBMD
Photographers in Devon 1842-1939 : a brief directory for photograph collectors, by C.G. Scott, 1985, The PhotoHistorian Supplement No. 101, ISSN 0957-0209
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Marcia Penny & Roger Vaughan for kind contributions of images and information.
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| Charles Keeping (1842-)
of Exeter Charles Keeping was born in 1842 or 1843 at Lymington in Hampshire. He married his first wife, Elizabeth Ann Hankins, in about 1861-1862; they had two daughters and two sons before Elizabeth died in 1877. Charles remarried in 1882 to Ellen Jane Attwater, and they had another three children. Charles
KEEPING (b. c1842-43
Lymington
HAM) m1: Elizabeth Anne
HANKINS (b.
c.1840 Crediton DEV d. 1877 Exeter DEV) m2: Ellen
Jane ATTWATER (b. c1859
Southampton DEV)
|- Lavinia "Minnie" KEEPING b. c.1862 Torquay DEV |- Alice Kate KEEPING b. c.1867 Torquay DEV |- Alfred KEEPING b. c.1872 Exeter DEV |- Frederick KEEPING b. c.1874 Exeter DEV |- Mabel A. KEEPING b. c.1887 Exeter DEV |- Frank KEEPING b. c.1891 Exeter DEV |- Edward W. KEEPING b. c.1897 Exeter DEV Charles Keeping first worked as a photographer in Exeter in about 1870, setting up a studio at New Bridge Street, after moving there from Torquay between 1867 and 1870. The studio moved to 1, Exe Bridge in 1873. He appears to have had additional short-lived premises at the Esplanade in Sidmouth (c.1878), 12 Holloway Street, Exeter (1889), Exe Island (1890), 43 St Sidwells, Exeter and Belgrave House, Paignton. There were also branch studios at Waterloo Road (c.1870-1872) and 62 Regent Street, Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. By April 1881, the business must have been thriving, because the census of that year shows his daughter Minnie Keeping, sister-in-law Mary Hankins and an employee Blanc Treble, all working as photographic assistants in the shop. In the mid- to late 1880s, the business was known as the "Exonia Studio". Between 1891 and 1893, the main shop appears to have moved to 1 Clinton terrace in Littleham, near Exmouth - there is a listing for 1893 of "Keeping & Co." at Imperial Road, Exmouth - but by 1901 he had moved back to Exeter and was living at 7 Ebrington Terrace, St Thomas. Further changes of premises in Exeter have been found in Exeter trade directories and Scott (1985) as follows: 1902
: 47 Alphington
Street, St Thomas
1903 : 48 Paris Street 1905-1906 : 32 Poltimore Square 1907 : 17 Poltimore Square 1909-1912 : 25 Longbrook Street 1915-1918 : 55 Ladysmith Road 1919-1923 : 96 Paris Street |
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If you have any further information about the various members of the Keeping family and the studio, or if you have any photographs by Charles Keeping, please email me. I welcome contributions of images to increase the variety of coverage on this site. If you are able to identify or have an interest in any of the subjects in the photographs shown below, I would also be very keen on hearing from you. |
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Click on an image to see a larger version, or on the  to see the reverse of
the photo |
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ID #:
ckeeping01 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: C. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. 2888 Size: Mount 64.5 x 103 mm; Photo 58.5 x 95.5 mm Card Type: Type I (gold) - Banner & hanging basket with stylized ivy & flowers border Date: Undated, probably taken c.1869-1870 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Lower corners clipped, bottom of card trimmed. Marked "Keeping / Exeter" on front. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her 30s or 40s, full length portrait with writing table and books |
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ID #:
ckeeping06 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. 5823 Size: Mount 63.5 x 106 mm; Photo 58 x 96.5 mm Card Type: Type IIa (red) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "P", and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1870-1872 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified girl, probably in her mid- to late teens, three-quarter length seated portrait with table and open book. |
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ID #:
ckeeping09 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter & Waterloo Road, Weston-super-Mare Negative No. 7639 Size: Mount 63.5 x 106 mm; Photo 56.5 x 96.5 mm Card Type: Type IIb (red) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "P", two studios, and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1870-1872 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her 20s, three-quarter length seated portrait, vignette in oval frame. |
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ID #:
ckeeping08 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter & Waterloo Road, Weston-super-Mare Negative No. 9069 Size: Mount 63.5 x 106 mm; Photo 56 x 97 mm Card Type: Type III (violet on pale lilac card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "P", two studios, and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1871-1873 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her 40s, three-quarter length seated vignette portrait. |
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ID #:
ckeeping10 Provenance: Collection of Roger Vaughan Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter & Waterloo Road, Weston-super-Mare Negative No. 10295 Size: Carte de visite Card Type: Type III (violet on pale lilac card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "p", two studios, and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1871-1873 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified young woman, perhaps in her late teens, three-quarter-length seated vignette portrait. |
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ID #:
ckeeping07 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. 16943 Size: Mount 63 x 101 mm; Photo 56 x 95.5 mm Card Type: Type IV (red on buff card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "P", and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1873-1876 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her 20s, three-quarter length seated portrait. |
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ID #:
ckeeping02 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. none Size: Mount 63.5 x 89.5 mm; Photo 55 x 95 mm Card Type: Type Va (black on pale yellow card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, four fonts with two ornate initials, and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1874-1876 Notes: Thin card. Rounded corners. Lower corners cut. Trimmed at bottom. Subject: Unidentified girl, probably in her early to mid-teens, three-quarter length portrait. Probably the same girl (or sister) as in photo below (#ckeeping03). |
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ID #:
ckeeping03 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. none Size: Mount 63 x 100.5 mm; Photo 55 x 95 mm Card Type: Type Vb (black on white card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, four fonts with two ornate initials, and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1874-1876 Notes: Thin card. Rounded corners. Lower Corners cut. Reverse inscribed "Annie Lewis" Subject: Annie Lewis, probably in her early to mid-teens, head and shoulders portrait in oval frame. Probably the same girl (or sister) as in photo above (#ckeeping02). |
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ID #:
ckeeping04 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. none Size: Mount 63.5 x 101 mm; Photo 56 x 97 mm Card Type: Type VIa (black on yellow card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "P", and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1876-1878 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Top of card trimmed. Not marked on front. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her late 20s or early 30s, head-and-shoulders portrait in oval frame. |
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ID #:
ckeeping05 Provenance: Exeter Album Collection of Brett Payne Artist: Chas. Keeping, of Esplanade, Sidmouth & 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. 673 Size: Mount 63.5 x 103.5 mm; Photo 54 x 93 mm Card Type: Type VIb (black on yellow card) - Coat of arms, diagonal name, three fonts with semi-ornate "P", two studios, and extra text. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1878 Notes: Thin card. Square corners. Subject: Unidentified woman, probably in her mid-20s, head-and-shoulders profile portrait in raised oval frame. |
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ID#:
ckeeping12 Provenance: Sellek Family Album Collection of Marcia Penny Artist: Chas. Keeping, of Esplanade, Sidmouth & 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. unknown Size: Carte de visite (unknown) Card Type: unknown Date: Undated, probably taken c.1878 Notes: none Subject: Caroline "Carrie" Ellen Coxwell (1852-), half-length seated portrait in oval frame. |
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ID #:
ckeeping11 Provenance: Collection of Roger Vaughan Artist: Chas. Keeping, of Exonia Studio, 1 Exe Bridge, Exeter Negative No. 59086 Size: Carte de visite Card Type: Type VII (brown) - Bamboo, fan & swallows, three fonts with ornate initials. Date: Undated, probably taken c.1886-1890 Notes: Thick card. Rounded corners. Subject: Unidentified young woman, probably in her twenties, three-quarter-length standing portrait. |
