Photographers in Natal: William Laws Caney

From the Natal Almanac 1889.


William Laws Caney operated a studio in Durban from 1883-1893 before moving to Pietermaritzburg, where he remained for several years. In 1909 he was at 208 Church Street, Pietermaritzburg. Prior to his Durban phase, he ran a studio in Kimberley; then (1872) still known as New Rush, the town was renamed Kimberley in June 1873.

The Caneys are an example of a family of photographers who continued working through a couple of generations as well as in various centres in South Africa: something to bear in mind when dating photographs.

Cabinet photograph of lady holding her small-crowned hat, the brim swept up at one side,
fashionable in 1892-3. The photographer has gone over the top with his
rustic decor.