Natal Photographers listed 1899: Lloyd

The Natal Almanac gives a list of photographers operating in Durban in 1899 - which means 1898 at least due to date of publication of Almanac. Ebenezer Edmund Caney is at 2  Winder Street but other Caneys are not shown - Benjamin William had died in 1895, others were working elsewhere. 

James Lloyd of 435 Smith Street had been running a successful studio since the late 1850s. The Natal Star of 8 December 1860 had advertised for sale a valuable camera, chemicals etc and 'a variety of photographs of Natal scenery, inhabitants and customs', all the property of James Lloyd. Presumably he was on the move. He was working in Durban again in 1871.

The 'Ross Type Miniatures' referred to above were traditional painted portraits by Sir William Charles Ross RA (3 June 1794 – 20 Jan 1860) an English portrait and portrait miniature painter of Scottish descent. With the introduction of the photographic art, the skill and time required to paint a portrait miniature fell away, and Lloyd was quick to capitalise on the new method.  However, it's doubtful whether the photographic miniatures could approach the artistic and beautiful examples painted by Ross.

Portrait miniature of Ross's sister Magdalena Dalton
c. 1835–40, Watercolour on ivory)

An exhibition of Lloyd's Anglo-Zulu War photographs was mounted at the centennial reappraisal conference held at the University of Natal, Durban, in 1979.

Souvenir Saturday: Durban Bay from the Maritzburg Road ca 1856

Early Natal Photographers

The earliest documented photographer working in Natal was William Henry Burgess, a ‘dispensing chemist’ by profession, who had arrived on the Rydal in 1856 and advertised in October 1857 as follows in the Durban press:

Photographic Likenesses

Taken by the Collodian Process* …

West Street, Durban, every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

until further notice.

Hours from half past 10 a.m. till 3 o’clock p.m.

Terms Cash.

By early 1858 Burgess had moved to Verulam on the Natal North Coast where he continued as a chemist, though not, as far as we know, as a photographer.

Other early Natal photographers included J S Brock, Bowman, Fry & Co., James Pulleyn (listed as a watchmaker of West Street in the 1856-57 Durban electoral roll) and James Lloyd.

*George Russell notes in his History of Old Durban, ‘alas! the collodian process … has yielded to our climate, for few of their works survive them. They are now, with rare exceptions, faded ghost shadows of the persons and scenes which they took’.

Wet collodian negatives – glass plates – could be used to make prints on albumen paper: however, these printed images tended to turn yellow and fade, as Russell points out above. 

Brock and Bowman in partnership, 1864

Photographers and costume: Natal 1880s

This portrait was taken by James Lloyd, a Durban photographer from the end of the 1850s to 1899, at his 'West End Studio'.

The carte de visite dates to the early to mid-1880s: the high-buttoned front of the jacket is a clue, as are the narrow lapels and the cut-away jacket corners. This young man’s trousers are without a front crease or turn-up and cut fairly wide in the leg, another indication of the date. He wears a hat, possibly of straw, with upturned brim and a band of patterned fabric. 

It is unusual to find formal studio portraits of African subjects - as distinct from tourist views which were popular e.g. of women in beaded costume or Zulu warriors in full rig plus shield and assegai. Most photographers took some of those and judging from advertisements there was a demand for such pictures.

 In this instance, the subject is seen as a person, an individual in his own right. He was employed by a family who lived in Durban for some years, later returning to England. They wanted a photograph of him for sentimental reasons:  a record of someone they were attached to, who had been part of their household and had looked after their young son. 

Photographers in Natal: James Lloyd

Photography was in its infancy in Natal during the 1850s and remained an experimental art for some years. Outdoor photographs were a late development and it is the carte de visite showing the subject posed in the photographer’s studio, which most family historians will find among their collections of memorabilia.

The corners of the cartes can give an immediate indication of date: square corners were typical of the 1860s and early 1870s, but from about 1875 rounded corners were in vogue.  So when taking a digital copy of a carte de visite it’s advisable not to crop off those vital corners.

The striking couple featured below were photographed ca 1880 by James Lloyd, who describes himself as ‘Artist’. One of Durban’s earliest photographers, Lloyd’s studio was in operation in Durban in 1860 and after a brief hiatus continued working from the beginning of the 1870s. In 1896, and up to at least 1910, he was listed in the Natal Almanac at 425 Smith Street, Durban. He is perhaps best-remembered for his photographs taken during the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879.

The costume details all point to the early 1880s:  the gentleman’s jacket has a high opening with minimal lapels. Virtually nothing of his shirt can be seen other than the collar and plainly-knotted tie; no shirt-cuffs show at the end of the jacket sleeves. The lower buttons of the jacket are left unbuttoned and the edges are cut and rounded to curve away at the sides, revealing a hint of matching waistcoast with the ubiquitous watch chain. It’s difficult to tell if he has a side-parting but his hair is cut fairly short at the back, a trend which developed by the end of the 1870s and would continue for many decades; he wears side-whiskers and a neat moustache.

The three-quarter length portrait, a trend at that time, prevents us seeing the lower half of this couple’s costume.  The lady’s hair is centre-parted and smooth, worn in a plait coiled at the nape of her neck.  She is demurely dressed in what may be a cuirass bodice with a high neckline, neat tucked detail and straight, fairly tight sleeves, decorated cuffs at the wrist. With her touches of lace and simple jewellery pieces, while perhaps not aiming at the height of fashion, she conveys a pleasing, calm, ladylike aura.

Lloyd's West End Studio advertisement from the Natal Almanac 1876.
'Ross Type Miniatures' refers to the attempt by photographers to reproduce miniature
portraits in the style of Queen Victoria's miniaturist painter, Sir William Ross. Few could afford
the services of Ross himself, so photographers were quick to supply the need to a greater public.