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Problems in
Dating an Old Group Photograph of Members of the Brighton Swimming Club
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[ABOVE
] A group photograph of nineteen members of the Brighton Swimming Club,
believed to have been taken by the photographer Benjamin Botham
in 1863. During the 1860s, most professional photographers used
albumenized paper for photographic printing. Albumenized paper employed
albumen from egg whites to bind photographic chemicals to the printing
paper. Unfortunately, fresh egg whites contain glucose and the resulting
"protein-sugar"
reaction in the albumen causes the photographic print to turn yellow over
time. Research has shown that albumen prints from the 1860s and 1870s show
more yellowing than those printed later in the century.
PHOTO: Courtesy of
the Brighton Swimming Club and the East Sussex Record Office |
An Old Group Photograph of
Members of the Brighton Swimming Club
| In September 2011, the
Brighton Swimming Club, which was founded in May 1860, displayed some of
its archives to the public, including committee minute books, posters, films
and photographs. Amongst the photographs was an intriguing outdoor group of
19 members of the Brighton Swimming Club wearing bathing drawers and
incongruous top hats. There is circumstantial documentary evidence in the
form of an entry in the Committee Minute Books of the Brighton Swimming
Club which suggests the photograph was taken in 1863. At the Committee
Meeting of the Brighton Swimming Club held on 2nd June 1863 it was noted
that the photographer Benjamin Botham would be admitted to the swimming club
"on condition of his taking "a photographic sketch of the members of the
Club". Some of those who have viewed the photograph have assumed on the
basis of the skimpy bathing costumes worn by the top-hat wearing swimmers,
that the photograph was taken early in the twentieth century.
It is true that most of the Victorian images we
have of male swimmers show them them wearing the "neck to knee" bathing
costumes, the use of which were encouraged by local authorities who wished
to uphold the idea of propriety and decency on public beaches. However,
there is plenty of evidence to show that men who took swimming seriously
preferred to swim in the sea naked. During the 1860s, because of the offence
caused by the sight of naked male swimmers, local authorities introduced
by-laws and regulations that insisted that men who wanted to swim from the
main beach of the seaside resort during the hours between 8 o'clock in the
morning and 9 o'clock in the evening had to wear a bathing costume which
preserved public decency. It is likely that members of The Brighton Swimming
Club would have preferred to swim naked, but in the 1860s rules were brought
in to ensure that at public swimming competitions, male swimmers at least
wore short bathing drawers (called "calecons" in France). [See
section on Men's Swimming Costume above] |
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[ABOVE
] Detail from the group photograph of members of the Brighton Swimming Club,
showing the range of top hats sported by the brazen swimmers. Because
details of costume are key to establishing dates of old photographs,
the style of top hat worn by these near naked figures is a
particularly significant factor. (The straight-sided top hat worn by
the young swimmer on the far left of the picture above is associated with
the late 1850s. Other top hats featured in the photograph date from the
1860s). The distinctive swimwear - brief
bathing drawers tied with a draw-string or ribbon - also provides a
clue to the possible date of the photograph. Other features to
consider include hairstyles, beards, moustaches and other styles
of facial hair and details such as the pince-nez spectacles
worn by one of the swimmers.
[PHOTO: Courtesy of
the Brighton Swimming Club and the East Sussex Record Office] |
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When dating old photographs from the Victorian
or Edwardian period, a range of features have to be considered -
a)
The Type of Photograph - the format, the photographic process used,
technical aspects of the photograph etc. b) Details of Costume -
changing styles in fashion, c) Knowledge of the Photographer - the
years that a photographer was active in a particular location, studio
address, the interests of the photographer, negative numbers etc.
d) Known details of the subject or sitters - the apparent age of the
sitter in relation to known dates of birth, marriage, death etc, written
inscriptions on the back of the photograph, e) Circumstantial and
documentary evidence relating to the photograph - references to sittings
in letters, diaries, a photographer's business records etc. and
f)
Stylistic, Cultural and Historical Aspects of the Photographic Image.
There are other features to consider when dating a photograph (e.g. style
and colour of the card mounts, design of the trade plate, studio props and
settings, studio furniture and painted backdrops) but these aspects are not
really relevant when considering the old group photograph of the members of
the
Brighton Swimming Club which was an informal photograph taken away from
the studio on Brighton's beach. |
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[ABOVE
] A second detail from the group photograph of members of the Brighton Swimming Club,
showing the men's faces and range of top hats worn.. If any of the swimmers
can be identified by name, the apparent age of the subject in relation to
biographical details could suggest a possible date.
[PHOTO: Courtesy of
the Brighton Swimming Club and the East Sussex Record Office] |
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a) The Type of Photograph and its
Technical Quality |
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The group photograph of members of the Brighton Swimming Club
is an albumen print on paper. An albumen print was the most common
type of photograph produced in the 1860s. These photographic prints were
made on paper coated with egg-white, one of the purest forms of albumen. The
white of an egg provided an excellent coating for photographic paper, giving
a glossy, smooth surface, but unfortunately albumen prints tend to fade and
turn yellowish as they age. The naturally occurring glucose in egg-white
reacts to the amino acids in the egg protein causing the highlights of the
photographic image to turn yellow. In the 1880s and 1890s, professional
photographers took steps to reduce the yellowing effect of the
"protein-sugar" reaction, by methods such as "gold-toning" and the use of
"fermented" albumen. (The process of fermentation reduces the amount of
glucose in the egg-white). Scientific investigations have shown that
the yellowing of albumen
prints dating from the 1860s and early 1870s
was found to be more severe
than those encountered in photographic prints produced in the 1880s and
1890s and one report concluded that "the additional yellowing is more than the extra
age of the prints would allow for". The yellowish appearance of the Brighton
Swimming Group photograph suggests that the original photograph was taken
during the 1860s or the early 1870s, when the benefits of fermented albumen
had not been discovered and
"gold-toning" was not widely used. Photographers who took group
photographs from the 1880s onward would have been using cameras equipped
with the faster, photographic "dry plates" which could capture clear images
within a fraction of a second, creating "instantaneous photographs". With
the introduction of technically advanced cameras with mechanical shutters
and sensitive "dry plates", photographs of large groups became more common
in the 1880s. The picture quality of the group photograph of nineteen
members of the Brighton Swimming Club indicates that the photographer
was using an early camera with technical deficiencies. Only the front row of
bathers are in focus. The limited depth of field and lack of sharpness
suggests the photographer was using an early type of sliding-box camera,
which required longer exposure times. The photographer would have had to
make do with a very shallow plane of focus and expose the "wet plate" by the
crude method of uncapping the lens for a number of seconds. The
"wet plate" photographic
process required the photographer to coat the glass photographic plate
evenly with the sticky collodion solution immediately before use and all the
stages of the process - sensitizing, exposing and developing - had to be
done while the plate was still wet. "Wet plate" photography was
difficult enough in the studio and darkroom, but outdoor photography was
particularly troublesome.
In the collodion "wet plate" era of the 1860s, the photographer of the
Brighton Swimming Club group would have had to transport his equipment and
apparatus from his studio in the centre of town, all the way down to the
beach where the photograph was to be taken. For outdoor location work,
a photographer would have
to carry with him a large amount of heavy equipment, including glass plates,
a tripod, bottles of chemicals and some sort of portable darkroom, as well
as the bulky camera itself. |
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b) Details of Costume |
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One of the most reliable methods of dating
Victorian and Edwardian photographs is to study the fashion details in the
costume worn by the sitters (e.g. the bustle on a dress, the size of a
puffed-sleeve, the style and shape of a neck-tie, the seam on a pair of
trousers). The group photograph of members of the Brighton Swimming Club
presents a problem with dating on the basis of styles of costume and fashion
details because all nineteen men are naked, apart from their skimpy
bathing-drawers and the top hats that they wear on their heads. The men sport
top
hats in a variety of styles, but two or three are wearing the tall,
straight-sided top hats, colloquially known as "stove pipes". Stove-pipe top
hats were common in the late 1850s and early 1860s, but were completely out
of fashion by the mid-1860s, being replaced by the medium-high top hats with
a curly brim. The brief bathing-drawers worn by members of the Brighton Swimming Club
in this photograph had only been introduced as required swimming gear by
clubs and local authorities during the
early 1860s. Before 1860, most men swam naked, but if swimmers were to take
part in swimming competitions in front of the public, they were required to
wear bathing-drawers to avoid "public indecency". An article entitled "Public
Swimming at Brighton", which appeared in "The Spectator" on 6th
August 1864, gave an account of the "Fifth Annual Swimming Matches of the
Brighton Swimming Club", which started from the Bathing Station, to the west
of Brighton's famous Chain Pier, and which took place in front of thousands
of spectators. The reporter purchased for one penny a race card on which was
printed "the few and simple rules, such as all competitors were to wear
bathing drawers". The short bathing-drawers, known as "calecons" in
France, had been introduced from the continent, where mixed bathing was more
accepted. The brief bathing-drawers were held up by a tied cord or
draw-string and in the sea had a tendency to loosen and fall down. During
the 1870s, a one-piece bathing costume was introduced to prevent
embarrassing accidents and preserve the modesty of the swimmer. Because the
swimmers are wearing short bathing drawers, not dissimilar to the brief
bathing trunks worn in the 20th century, a number of the people who have
seen the photograph have presumed that the photograph was taken many years
after the foundation of the Brighton Swimming Club in 1860, some
suggesting a date of 1910, which would have marked the 50th anniversary of
the swimming club. However, documentary and pictorial evidence indicates
that it was customary in the 1860s for male swimmers to wear short
bathing drawers when swimming in public. |
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[LEFT]
Detail from a Brighton Swimming Club poster of 1862 which informs the
reader that the Club's swimming drawers were manufactured locally and
could be supplied at 3 shillings per pair. |
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c) Knowledge of the Photographer
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The group photograph of members of the Brighton Swimming Club
has been attributed to the photographer Benjamin William Botham
(1824-1877), who was active as a professional photographer in Brighton
between 1861 and 1868. By 1862, Benjamin Botham was operating
from a photographic portrait studio located at 43 Western Road, Brighton.
According to the Minutes of the Brighton Swimming Club, dated 2nd
June 1863, Benjamin Botham
was admitted to the swimming club "on condition of his taking a
photographic sketch of the members of the Club". |
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To read an account
of Benjamin Botham's life and photographic career click on the
link below: |
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Benjamin William Botham |
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d) Known details of the subject or sitters
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The group photograph shows nineteen members of
the Brighton Swimming Club posing on Brighton beach. The swimmers
wear top hats, but are dressed only in short bathing drawers. There are a
few men in the assembled group who appear to be in their early forties, but
over half of the swimmers depicted appear to be young men in their late
teens or in their twenties. In 1860, the year the swimming club was formed,
there were a total of thirteen members. By 1863, the membership of the
Brighton Swimming Club had risen to 59. George Worsley (c1835-1911),
a founder member of the Brighton Swimming Club, was about 25 years of
age when the club held its inaugural meeting on 4th May 1860. Charles
Hindley (c1820-1893), the Secretary to the Brighton Swimming Club
was a 40 year old bookseller when he attended the swimming club's first
meeting in May 1860. The well-known swimmer Frederick Cavill
(1839-1927) joined the Brighton Swimming Club in May 1862, a couple
of months before his 23rd birthday. Leonard Reuben
Styer (1843-1932), who was President of the
Brighton Swimming Club from 1880 until 1931 arrived in Brighton during
the 1860s. A Northampton-born dentist, Leonard R. Styer had
established a dental practice at 15 Cranbourn Street, Brighton by
1865. If the yellowing group photograph of nineteen members of the Brighton Swimming Club
was taken in 1910 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the club, would there
not be more senior members of the club present? An official group photograph
of members of the Brighton Swimming Club which was taken in
1891 features some of the founding members of the club who, some
twenty years after the establishment of the swimming club, were then
middle-aged or elderly. |
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Identifying Members
of the Brighton Swimming Club from Photographs
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Two unidentified members of the Brighton Swimming Club (1863?) |
Leonard R.
Styer Photographed in 1881 |
Leonard R.
Styer (1843-1932) |
George Brown
Photographed in 1881 |
Unidentified member of the swimming club. |
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[ABOVE] A detail
from an 1891 group photograph of the Brighton Swimming Club,
showing the more senior members of the club. |
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e) Circumstantial and documentary
evidence relating to the photograph |
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Minutes of the Brighton Swimming Club,
recording a Committee meeting held on 2nd June 1863, notes that Benjamin Botham,
a professional photographer with a studio at 43 Western Road, Brighton,
was admitted to the swimming club "on condition of his taking a
photographic sketch of the members of the Club".
(See extract below). Periodically,
the Brighton Swimming Club commissioned professional photographers to
take group photographs featuring members of the club.
The Brighton Royal Pavilion and Museum
has
in its Photographic
Collection a group photograph by A. D. Norman & Co. of at least sixteen members of the Brighton
Swimming Club posing outside their club-house in the King's Road Arches.
The printed inscription on the card mount indicate that the
photograph was taken at 8.00 am on a March morning in 1891.
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f)
Stylistic, Cultural and Historical Aspects of the Photographic Image. |
The old, yellowing photograph of nineteen members of the Brighton Swimming Club
is unusual in several respects. What is striking is the relative informality
of the photograph, especially when it is compared to the more rigidly
structured and orthodox group photograph of the Brighton Swimming Club
produced in March 1881. Interestingly, the Minutes of the Brighton
Swimming Club recorded on 2nd June 1863 specifically mentions that
Benjamin Botham was to take a "photographic sketch of the members of the
Club". Formal group photographs of sports teams and clubs were
uncommon during the 1850s and 1860s. (An early example of a team photograph
was taken by Thomas Henry Hennah of the Brighton firm of Hennah &
Kent in 1859. Thomas Hennah's camera captured the English cricket team
on the deck of the Nova Scotian in early September 1859, just before
the ship sailed from Liverpool to Quebec for the start of the team's
cricketing tour of Canada and the United States). The conventions of "group
photography" had not been firmly established in the early 1860s and the
photographer clearly had difficulty in deciding how to arrange this large
group of men, particularly because they insisted in wearing their tall top
hats. It is unlikely that this photograph would have been commissioned as an
official group photograph of the Brighton Swimming Club. In the first place,
the members of the Brighton Swimming Club are shown in a state of undress
which would make a public display of the photograph unsuitable. The
photograph is more of an informal pictorial record of some of the members of
the swimming club. It would produce some amusement and interest if displayed
on the wall of the swimmer's club-house, but would cause a bit of a stir at
home if it was exhibited alongside family photographs at home. Formal group
photographs either resulted from a subscription raised by the sitters or
were paid for by the supply of copies to individuals who featured in the
photograph. The swimmers in the back row of the group photograph would
probably be unhappy if they were required to make a contribution to the cost
of the photograph by purchasing a copy for themselves. The description
"photographic sketch" is quite apt. Although the swimmers appear awkward and
uneasy in their posed positions and wear serious or blank expressions on
their faces (only a few manage a half-smile), they probably regarded the
whole exercise as a "bit of fun". This is emphasised by the odd pose adopted
by the bearded figure, wearing the light-coloured top hat, who stands on one
leg, slightly in front of the main group. (Is this an unspoken tribute to John Henry
Camp, the one-legged swimmer and Steward of the Brighton Swimming Club
?). The bearded man wearing the light-coloured top hat seems to be holding
his hands in a position which suggests his thumbs are locked into the lapels
or pockets of an invisible jacket or waistcoat.
It has been suggested that the photograph was
taken early in the 20th century as a type of pictorial "spoof"; parodying
the formality and fashion sense of the founding members, who established the
Brighton Swimming Club some 50 years earlier in Victorian times. It is true
that the incongruous top hats worn with the skimpy bathing-drawers provides
a humorous effect, highlighted by the swimmer who poses on one leg, yet this
theory rings untrue and is not supported by the visual evidence. The
technical quality, style and general appearance of the yellowish group
photograph suggests it was taken in the 1860s or 1870s. If the members of
the Brighton Swimming Club had set out in 1910 to "dress up" in the
style of the club's founders, it is unlikely that they would have been able
to assemble such convincing and authentic costumes.
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[LEFT]
A group
photograph of 18 members of the Brighton Swimming Club,
probably taken during the first two decades of the 20th century.
If the yellowing group photograph of the nineteen swimmers
wearing top hats and bathing drawers was taken in the early
years of the twentieth century, wouldn't some of the club
members pictured in the photograph on the left appear in the
"yellow photograph" too?
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Changing Styles in Top Hats
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[ABOVE
] Top hats in 1857. The famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
(centre-right) and his associates photographed wearing high
straight-sided top
hats (nicknamed "stove pipes") at the attempted launching of The
Leviathan (Great Eastern) in November 1857. |
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[ABOVE
] Top hats in 1861. A group of foremen photographed by the firm of Cundall
& Downes at the site of the International Exhibition held in London in 1861.
This is a detail from the original photograph which featured ten men, six of
whom are wearing high-crowned top hats.
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[ABOVE
] Top hats in 1872.
A cabinet portrait of two men linking arms, possibly brothers or close
friends, photographed in 1872 or 1873 at the "Merrick" photographic
studio at 33 Western Road, Brighton, which was owned by Brighton
entrepreneur Joseph Langridge (1812-1895).
The
two men are wearing fashionable versions of the traditional top hat which,
compared to the high straight-sided "stove pipe hats" of an earlier period,
have a lower crown and a more graceful "incurving" line. The brims of the
top hats in this picture are noticeably more curly than the top hats from
the early 1860s. [PHOTO: Brighton
Museum Photograph Collection] |
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[ABOVE
] Top hats in 1876.
Detail from a "collodion positive" photograph of a group of
holidaymakers about to set off in a horse-drawn carriage. The majority
of the men in the photograph wear fashionable top hats which have a
lower crown and a curlier brim compared to the higher, straight-sided
top hats of the previous decade. |
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[ABOVE
] Top hat in 1877.
Detail from a cabinet portrait of a man wearing a top hat ,
photographed at a studio in the United States around 1877. The man's
top hat is medium-tall and has a fashionable curly brim. By this
date, it was usual for photographs to be made with fermented albumen, which
greatly reduced the yellowing of the photographic image. |
[ABOVE
] Top hat in 1885.
Detail from a cabinet portrait of a man wearing a top hat , photographed at
a studio in the United States around 1877
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[ABOVE
] Top hat in 1895.
A detail from a studio portrait of the boxing champion James J.
Corbett, taken in 1895. |
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[ABOVE
] Top hats in 1911.
Two illustrations from a 1911 fashion plate. Top hats produced in the
early 20th century had lower crowns and flatter brims. |
Changing Styles in
Men's Swimming Costumes
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[ABOVE]
A male swimmer wearing short bathing drawers (called "calecons" in
France) in a detail from an 1869 painting by the French artist Frederic Bazille (1841-1870).
During the 1860s, men either swam naked or wore short bathing
drawers when not in the company of women. In Victorian England, men and
women usually swam separately from bathing machines or segregated
beaches. Away from the opposite sex, Englishmen could swim naked if they
wished. At public swimming
contests held in England in the 1860s, men were required to wear bathing
drawers. |
[ABOVE]
A male swimmer wearing a full-length bathing
costume, leaving only his arms and lower
legs exposed.. In France during the 1870s, if male bathers wanted to
swim alongside women on public beaches they were expected to wear
bathing costumes that covered the body from their neck to their knees.
In the 19th century, Englishmen who preferred to swim naked often
criticised the French practice of mixed bathing and regulated swimming
costumes. At public swimming competitions held in the 1860s, men were
required to wear bathing drawers. In the 1870s, modest bathing suits
which covered the chest and upper thighs were generally worn by male
swimmers. |
Identifying Members
of the Brighton Swimming Club
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| Fred Cavill
(1839-1927) |
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Frederick Cavill |
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[ABOVE]
Frederick Cavill (1839-1927) was one of the most accomplished
swimmers in the Brighton Swimming Club. Born in Kensington, London on
10th July 1839, Frederick Cavill , a Brighton swimming instructor,
joined the Brighton Swimming Club on 2nd May 1862 at the age of
twenty-two. In 1878, Cavill decided to emigrate to Australia. Frederick Cavill
and his family arrived in Melbourne on board the "Somersetshire"
in February 1879. An experienced long distance swimmer, Frederick Cavill
established a swimming school in Sydney Harbour under the title of
"Professor Cavill". It is possible that a young Fred Cavill posed with other
members of the Brighton Swimming Club when Benjamin Botham made his
"photographic sketch" in 1863. Unfortunately, the only pictures I have found
of Frederick Cavill show him heavily bearded, in middle-age (an 1882
engraving of "Professor Cavill" ) or towards the end of his life ( a
photograph of Frederick Cavill published with an obituary). The yellowing
picture in the centre shows an unidentified member of the Brighton Swimming
Club in a detail from a group photograph believed to have been taken in the
1860s |
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[ABOVE]
John Henry
Camp (1826-1875), a founder member of the Brighton Swimming Club, was a
celebrated one-legged swimmer, having had his left leg amputated some
years before. |
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