Tag: W W Winter
Posted on June 7, 2021 by wwwinterheritagetrust
Joanna has been spending some of her lockdown time delving into the history of the business. She has written two blogs:
Medal – Winter's Fine Art Exhibitions
W.W. Winter was descended from a family of East Anglian artists. As a young man he worked alongside his artist father (also a photographer) as a painter of animals (1861 Census). It is evident from many newspaper reports that after he came to Derby and set up the Midland Road studio that the buying and selling of fine art was a major part of his business alongside photography. He also sold artists materials. Also, he had begun to exhibit his photographs and to style himself as an 'artist in photography'.
The first exhibition aimed at encouraging art work in all of its various forms was held in 1984 and was open to amateur and professional artists. There were six exhibitions in total the last being in 1890. We have copies of the catalogues for the 1st, 2nd and 6th exhibitions and have a photocopy of the prospectus for the 3rd exhibition. The catalogues list entries in the various classes, names of judges and patrons, and names of those who donated prizes and medals. Entries could be deposited at various places around the UK for despatch to Derby. The exhibitions ran for approximately 4 weeks. Medals were silver or bronze.
The medal presented to Mrs Harold Nadin in 1886 was given at the 3rd exhibition November 2 – December 13 1886. This was opened by Lord Denman and his wife presented the prizes. The design is based on the 'buck in the park' which is part of the Derby coat of arms. The Danes named the town Derby which translated means 'field of deer'. From the catalogue for the 2nd exhibition held December 2 1885 – January 26 1886 we see Mrs Nadin won a prize for painting on china. In the catalogue for the 6th exhibition May 8 – 31 1890, Mr and Mrs Harold Nadin are listed as patrons and Mr Nadin donated a silver medal.
In 1891 surplus works of art, art materials and bric-a-brac were sold off. Following building work/alterations  Mr Walter Winter announced the opening of new showrooms displaying examples of Art Photographic Portraiture.
W.W. Winter – receipts and bills of sale.
The 2x bills of sale dated 1883 and 1884 were issued at the time when the sale of art materials and fine art were a major part of the Winter's business and at the time when Winter was planning his first fine art exhibition at the studio. Interestingly they are both signed by Henry Mosley, Winter's chief cashier at the time, who was dismissed in 1886 for irregularities in the accounts. Mosley brought a case against Mr Winter for wrongful dismissal which was reported in the Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal 13 August 1886. Mosley lost the case.
The Henry Wilmot portrait was bought by George Sutherland, a local schoolteacher and later headmaster of St Andrew's School near the studio. The availability of these cabinet photographs was advertised in the Derby Daily Telegraph 4 June 1884 as a 'reduced sized copy of the portrait of Sir Henry Wilmot being prepared by Mr Winter from a large one in the Derby Conservative Club'. Sir Henry Wilmot was awarded a Victoria Cross for bravery at an action in Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny. He was a local politician, alderman and honorary colonel of the local Volunteers of which Walter Winter was also a member. He also opened the 2nd Fine Art exhibition at the studio in December 1885 and donated prize medals at that and subsequent exhibitions.
Posted in Blog, Volunteer BlogTagged Artist, Blog, Bronze, Census, Derby, derbyshire, East Anglia, Exhibition, Fine Art, Medal, Receipt, Silver, W W Winter
Posted on April 7, 2021 June 7, 2021 by wwwinterheritagetrust
Another Blog from Joanna as we return to the studio, post lockdown.
With lockdown easing some of the volunteers are back at Winter's on a rota basis, keeping our distance in the members' room and carrying on with the accessioning and scanning. I think I can say for all of us 'it is good to be back'.
I for one found picking up where we left off a bit daunting as we left very suddenly. We were in the middle of a box of glass plate negatives – mayors of Derby and a series of other unrelated glass negatives of various dates. However, we soon got into it and it was great to find a negative which may explain a print we found last year. The print was of a medal presented to Ada Parnham of the Deaf and Dumb Institute (now known today as the Royal School for the Deaf) by W .W. Winter for a painting on opal at a Spring Exhibition in 1882.  The medal is shown in a frame. Up until now no information about this exhibition had been found. The negative shows a craft exhibition at the Institute, and I wonder if this was an annual event at the time. Ada was 8 years old at the time that she won the medal. News reports of the AGMs of the institute show that Ada won other prizes during her time, for scripture, sewing, freehand drawing and writing. She went on to marry and to have two daughters. She and her husband Frank Bradley lived in the Alfreton area.
If anyone has any information about Ada, the medal or the exhibition, please get in touch with the studio, we would be pleased to add to this story
Posted in Blog, Volunteer BlogTagged Derby, heritage, Lockdown, Negatives, photography, Royal School For The Deaf, W W Winter
Volunteer blog – 'Work Outing'
Posted on May 21, 2020 June 17, 2020 by wwwinterheritagetrust
This is one of my favourite Winter's stories. Imagine everyone in their Victorian clothes trecking around Dovedale!
A trip to Dovedale.
I thought readers would be interested in this time of lockdown and limited travel to read about Winter's annual employees' outing to Dovedale. I have found two references to these in local newspapers, 1884 and 1885, the years after the fire that I wrote about last week. The outings both took place on Whit Monday which falls in the second half of May, and traditionally was a day for outings. As well as a description of the day the reports name three of the employees and we learn that there was a manager, senior artist and a manager of the fine art department.
The day began early, the staff and a few friends leaving Midland Road soon after 7 o'clock in three brakes provided by Mr Freeman cab proprietor of Curzon Street. Brakes were wagonettes drawn by 4 horses in this case, the passengers sitting facing each other. The party numbered over 30. The party stopped at Ashbourne to visit the church, and arrived at their destination just before midday. It is known that Mr Winter regularly visited Ashbourne before the studio was built. An advertisement dated 1864 shows that he visited the town weekly on Tuesdays and on Saturdays by appointment. He rented a room in St John Street for the purpose of the photography. Prints and plates in the collection show that he photographed scenes in Ashbourne and Dovedale.
On arrival at the Peveril Hotel in Thorpe, the party sat down to lunch. The newspaper article reports 'a capital repast' provided by Mr Poyser the owner. Mr Poyser was the local vet in Ashbourne in the years when Mr Winter was working regularly in the town. After the meal there were speeches and thanks from Mr Jarvis, Mr Wills and Mr Bowland. It was mentioned that Mr Winter had paid all costs of the 1885 trip in thanks to the staff for their commitment and hard work. Mr Winter replied that he was indebted to them and spoke of the medals they had won for the firm in the past year and hoping for further success in the future.
After the meal some of the party visited Dovedale and Ilam Hall. After a 'meat tea' games including football were played before the return journey was made. The party arrived back in Derby between 9 and 10 pm 'having spent a very enjoyable day'.
It is not known for how many years the annual outings continued at Winter's. To date only these two accounts have been found.
Posted in Blog, Volunteer BlogTagged Ashbourne, Dovedale, photo history, Thorpe, W W Winter, Whit Monday, Work outing
Hubert Weston King 1931 – 2018
Posted on January 18, 2019 by wwwinterheritagetrust
Hubert Weston King was born on 23rd January, 1931 in Normanton, Derby, the eldest son of Howard and Jesse King. Educated at the Diocesan School in Friargate, Derby, Hubert left school at the age of 14 to join the family firm of W W Winter Ltd, photographers, of Midland Road, Derby as an apprentice under the direction of his uncle, Austin King, and his grandfather W H King, the then managing director.
In his youth, Hubert always thought that he would like to become an engineer. Unfortunately, he suffered from severe asthma and his grandfather said that taking on engineering job would 'finish him' and it was agreed that Hubert should join the family firm. Hubert said quite recently that his asthma had disappeared quickly after he started work at Winter's, mainly, he thought, because the environment at the firm was so cold in the winters.
Hubert was fortunate to be taught by his grand­father W H King who passed on to Hubert much of the knowledge and experience he had accumulated since the 1890s. This tuition took place over many years as Hubert's grandfather didn't retire until 1947.
One of Hubert's first jobs was to wash developed photographic prints to remove all traces of chemicals. This was done with bare hands in cold running water. In those days, making prints was carried out in daylight in all weathers in an open area at the very top of the building. Hubert said that frequently a lot of ice had to be broken before any work could be done.
Hubert's early years at Winter's coincided with a successful time for Derby County Football Club. The company had been the official photographers for many years and when the Rams won the FA Cup in 1946, they asked Winter's to photograph the team with the trophy. It must have been a tremendous honour for the fifteen year old Hubert to be given the task of carrying the Cup on to the pitch to be photographed.
Hubert was taught all aspects of photography by his grandfather, his uncle and the other staff at the firm, who were consummate portraitists and commercial photographers and who had built up the business to encompass a wide range of industrial and commercial clients. Having mastered the art of daylight printing, Hubert was then taught the skills of print retouching (in the comparative warmth of the retouching room).
In 1949 Hubert started a four-year City and Guilds evening course at Nottingham College of Arts and Crafts. Unlike the other students, Hubert already had a wide knowledge of the practical side of photography and this gave him a special rapport with the tutor, a Mr. Harry Beaumont, who taught him the theory and understanding of more advanced photographic applications. Towards the end of the course, Hubert had to prepare a portfolio which included some studio photography.
Following his qualification, Hubert joined the team at Winter's full-time and practised his craft there right up until a few years ago. He worked extensively with Mr Charles (Charlie) Barson, for whom he had an enormous regard and with whom he developed a close and lifelong friendship. Hubert had many stories about their working together on locations including what today would be considered very dangerous commissions. At one time, the pair climbed up the cooling towers at one of the newly built Trent valley power stations—Health and Safety was a lot more lax then. With another colleague, Hubert took a trip in a cable car very high above the ground and took shots by hanging on at the open door of the cable car in order to produce the required shots.
Hubert was a member of the British Institute of Professional Photography from 1968 until his death. He was treasurer and president of the East Midlands Region of the Institute and had received awards in full recognition of his service.
Following his uncle Austin King's retirement in 1975, Hubert became Winter's managing director.
Hubert's tenure at Winter's saw huge changes in photography. When he started, the equipment was bulky and heavy, there was no electric flash and negatives were large and made of glass. The technology at the time presented many limitations. As the years went by, film cameras were introduced and electric lighting allowed photography to take place out of daylight hours. Digital photography was the next revolution, giving skilled photographers like Hubert opportunities to acquire many new and different techniques. Hubert immediately embraced all aspects of digital working, realising that so many of the old time-consuming aspects of photography could now be superseded, with better results, by the use of computers. He always pointed out though that what counts most in all photography is the person behind the camera.
Hubert remained at Winter's for the whole of his working life, retiring only in 2016 due to failing health. He died on 25th December 2018 after a short illness.
He was a hugely practical man and there is so much in the building at Winter's studios in Midland Road today which exists as a testament to his ingenuity and skills. This involved much use of his circular saw in the cellar! He wouldn't hesitate to build a new photographic background, put in a stud wall, build a new work bench and so on. Problem-solving was his forte.
Hubert was always passionate about Winter's and the company's historic significance to Derby and the wider photographic world. It was important to him that Winter's should continue after his death and he was fully supportive of the Winter's Heritage Trust which was set up in 2017 to preserve, protect and archive the collection of photographic plates, artefacts and memorabilia at the studio. Hubert's family, colleagues and friends will ensure that his legacy continues, and that Winter's continues to thrive and retain its place in the history of photography.
Posted in Blog, W W Winter HistoryTagged Derby, Derby County FA Cup, history of photography, Hubert Weston King, obituary, photography, W W Winter
Dr Michael Pritchard – Derby, The Royal Photographic Society and the History of Photography
The Trust was delighted to host a highly information and equally enjoyable talk from Dr Michael Pritchard of The Royal Photographic Society. His talk covers the history of photography through the lens of Derby's involvement.
The talked was filmed by Dr Mark Hall (senior lecturer in commercial photography at Derby University). We are grateful to both Michael and Mark for allowing us to share the video on our blog.
If you like what you see, please consider becoming a member of The W W Winter Heritage Trust, or a heritage volunteer, to ensure the conservation of our archive continues. Contact us on friends@wwwinter.co.uk or phone W W Winter Photographers on +44 1332 345224.
Please note this talk is copyrighted to Dr Michael Pritchard – please contact us if you would like to host the talk on your own platform.
https://derby.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?tid=b8ed8f4b-7268-4358-8563-a9b401815351
Dr Michael Pritchard of The Royal Photographic Society gives a talk for The W W Winter Heritage Trust on Wednesday 12 December 2018 at Derby University. Image thanks to Dr Mark Hall.
Posted in Blog, Talks, UncategorizedTagged Derby, Dr Mark Hall, Dr Michael Pritchard, heritage, historically important, history, oldest photographers, photo archive, photography, The W W Winter Heritage Trust, W W Winter, wwwinter1852