Marshall, Keith, Keith Marshall collection of photographs,, circa 1880-circa 1920
- Title(s):
- Keith Marshall collection of photographs, circa 1880-circa 1920.
- Physical Description:
- 2 linear feet (1 box, 1 oversize box)
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsMSS 12Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Mildred B. and Keith C. Marshall, Yale BA 1968[Request]
- Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/9880695
- Related Content:
- View a description and listing of collection contents in the finding aid
- Classification:
- Archives & Manuscripts
- Notes:
- The collection is open without restriction.
A significant part of the collection consists of photographs of interiors and exteriors of an affluent British or British-style home around the turn of the century, offering representative glimpses of interior decoration and domestic architecture of the period.
Also present are a number of photos--most of them commercially produced, by Alex Rambert--of the island of Mauritius. These depict both landscapes and architectural scenes in and around the town of Reduit, in the 1880s or 1890s.
The collection comprises 147 photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with representative images of Great Britain, South Africa, New Zealand, Madeira, East Asia, and other locations (many unidentified). The various components of the collection were acquired by Keith Marshall during the course of his collecting of material on John Ruskin. The photographs were not, thus, assembled as an intentional (thematic) collection; they nonetheless provide an interesting selection of commercial, travel, and personal images of the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods.
The collection contains many images of various locations in South Africa, documenting the landscape and architecture of this area around the turn of the twentieth century. Locations represented include Cape Town and Durban. Among the oversize material are a set of album pages containing photos of Mariannhill, a Benedictine monastery that was founded in the 1880s, in Durban, South Africa. It was unusual for having its own photography and printing studio, and some of the images in this set seem to have come from this studio. The photos document the monks' daily lives and work, as well as missionary education in South Africa.
The collection includes a large set of commercially produced souvenir photographs of Venice (Italy), printed by the German company, Neue Photographische Gesellschaft (NPG). The NPG, an early example of a large-scale commercial photography business, established efficient and cost-effective printing processes and were an important part of European commercial photography in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The collection includes a set of cabinet cards of the young actress, Maude Douglas, who performed, among other places, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in the 1890s. She was likely a dancer or other minor performer in burlesque theater. According to a partial inscription on one cabinet card, she appeared in an 1892 production of "Faust up to date," a popular spoof of the legendary opera. These cards document theatrical costume and makeup of the fin de siècle, and evidence a young woman's perhaps fleeting career in show business. There is one letter and a calling card from Douglas as well. These items show that she also went by the name "Maude Francis" and married a Mr. Elliott.
The names of photographers are recorded on a number of the photographs. They include E.E. Caney, George Henry Hana, Arthur Nicholls, Alex Rambert, Thomas Daniel Ravenscroft, Scott Wilkinson, S.A.C. Williams, Brown Barnes & Bell, Martin and Sallnow, Pulman and Son Photographers, Sallo Epstein & Co., and the Territorial Studio (Umtata, South Africa).
There are a handful of large-scale portraits of Maori people, including Maori leaders. Identical images and negatives, matching some of the items in the present collection, are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand.
The collection is arranged into three series: I. People; II. Places; III. Oversize. - Subject Terms:
- Architecture, Domestic -- Great Britain.Country homes -- Great Britain.Douglas, Maude.Funchal (Madeira Islands) -- Pictorial works.Interior decoration -- Great Britain.Madeira Islands -- Pictorial works.Maori (New Zealand people) -- Portraits.Mariannhill (Monastery)Mariannhill Missionaries.Mauritius -- Pictorial works.Missions -- South Africa.South Africa -- Pictorial works.Swartberg Pass (South Africa) -- Pictorial works.Theater -- Great Britain -- 19th century.Venice (Italy) -- Pictorial works.
- Form/Genre:
- Albumen prints.
Cabinet photographs.
Interiors.
Landscape photographs.
Photographs.
Portrait photographs.
Travel photography. - Export:
- XML