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| Abraham Booth
was born in Nottingham in about 1851. The 1871 Census shows him
working as an artist in Nottingham. In 1876 and 1877, however, he
operated a studio at Cobden Chambers, Market Street, Nottingham, which
he took over from William Seward, the
former manager of John Burton & Sons'
Nottingham branch. He appears to have returned the studo to
Seward in late 1877 or early 1888. Booth married Augusta Fletcher, daughter of a Ripley publican & farmer, at Nottingham in 1878, and a daughter Augusta Lydia was born in Nottingham later that year. They then moved to Ripley in Derbyshire, where they lived on Cromford Road with his wife's widowed mother and sisters. By 1881, Abraham had set up a studio at this address and was working as a photographer, with his sister-in-law Gertrude Fletcher, aged 21, employed as a photographic painter. However, his wife Augusta was not shown at home on census night. Kelly's 1887
directory shows that by late 1886, when it was probably compiled, he
had moved his studio to Oxford Street in Ripley. However, a
carte
de visite dating from before the move (see below) shows that he was
also operating a studio at King Street, Belper during this
period. Adamson (1997) states that Booth worked in Ripley
until
at least 1888, but does not list his Belper premises. Heathcote
& Heathcote (n.d. & 1979) show him in another studio at Dilks
Yard, 69 Long Row West from 1887-1888, after which he worked from 7a
(or 11½) Exchange Walk in 1889, and from 74a Mansfield Road c.
1890. By 1891,
however, Abraham and his sister-in-law had moved to Radford,
Nottinghamshire, where they lived and worked together at 2 Palin
Street, Hyson Green, the premises apparently situated on the corner
with Alfreton
road. A trade directory entry for 1894-1895 shows a listing
only
for Abraham Booth, but they appear to have gone their separate ways
after 1897 (Heathcote & Heathcote). Booth was also in
partnership with someone by the name of Wilkinson at 69 Long Row West
around 1896. Gertrude
Fletcher appears to have retained the 2 Palin street
studio, since she is listed there in an 1898-1899 trade
directory. By April 1901 Abraham Booth was living at 221 Highway
road,
Nottingham St Mary, and Gertrude was at Alfreton road/Palin street;
both were still
describing themselves as photographers. The various census
entries suggest that Abraham Booth had two children by his wife Augusta
Fletcher, two by his sister-in-law Gertrude Fletcher, as well as a son
by
a third partner Edith, with whom he was living in 1901. A
carte-de-visite by Gertrude Fletcher (see below) has been tentatively
dated at c. 1897. Kelly's trade directory for 1904 shows "Fletcher Miss Gtde.
(photgrphr)" at
298 Alfreton road, but two later directories (1910-11 &
1913-14)
list "Miss/Mrs Gertrude Fletcher" at 112 Exchange road, Nottingham,
without any mention of her as a photographer. |
| Portfolio |
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Unidentified
older woman by A. Booth of King Street, Belper & Cromford Road, Ripley Undated, but probably early 1880s Format: Carte-de-visite Mount: Marion Imp. Paris Image © & courtesy of John Bradley Nothing further is known about this photo. |
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Unidentified
young woman by A. Booth of King Street, Belper & Cromford Road, Ripley Undated, but probably copied in the early 1880s from a photograph taken perhaps a decade earlier, in the 1870s Format: Carte-de-visite Card Mount published by Marion Imp. Paris Image © & courtesy of Prue McKay and The Rootschat Collection of Victorian & Edwardian Photography Notes: |
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Unidentified
boy
in a suit by A. Booth of Oxford St., Ripley Undated but probably mid- to late 1880s Format: Carte-de-visite Mount: Spicer Bros. London Image © & courtesy of John Bradley Nothing further is known about this photo. |
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Unidentified
couple by G. Fletcher of Palin St & 298 Alfreton Road, Nottingham Undated but probably mid- to late 1880s Format: Cabinet card Size: Mount 104 x 165.5 mm Photo 97.5 x 138 mm Image © & collection of Brett Payne Nothing further is known about this photo. |
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Unidentified
child by G. Fletcher of 2 Palin st, Nottingham Undated but probably taken c. 1897 Format: Carte-de-visite Image © & courtesy of Nick McFarlane-Watts Nothing further is known about this photo. |
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Sarah
Miller (b. 1890) and Bernard Miller (b. 1892) by G. Fletcher of 2 Palin st, Nottingham Undated but probably taken c. 1896-1898 Format: Carte-de-visite Image © & courtesy of Carol Standish Nothing further is known about this photo. |
| References Images kindly provided by Prue McKay, Brett Payne, Carol Standish, Nick McFarlane-Watts and John Bradley. 1841-1901 UK Census - online from Ancestry.com. FreeBMD International Genealogical Index - online from the LDS church. 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 (1894-95) Wright's Directory of Nottingham. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories. Anon (1898-98) Wright's Directory of Nottingham. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories. Anon (1904) Kelly's Directory of Nottinghamshire. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories. Anon (1910-11) Wright's Directory of Nottingham. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories. Anon (1913-14) Wright's Directory of Nottingham. University of Leicester's Digital Library of Historical Directories. Heathcote, Bernard & Heathcote, Pauline (n.d.) Pioneers of Photography in Nottinghamshire, 1841-1910, Nottinghamshire County Council. Heathcote, Bernard V. & Heathcote, Pauline F. (July 1979) Nottingham Photographic Studios in Victorian Times, The Royal Photographic Society Historical group. Adamson, Keith I.P. (1997) Professional Photographers in Derbyshire 1843-1914, Supplement to The PhotoHistorian, No. 118, September 1997, ISSN 0957-0209. Extract 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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