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Thomas Annan
Family |
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The parents of Thomas Annan were:
- Father:
John Annan - flax spinner
- Mother:
Agnes Annan (nee Bell)
[John Annan's Death
Certificate]
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Thomas
Annan lived most of his life in Glasgow, but moved to
Edinburgh, living with his brother,
John,
at Rock House, Calton Hill, Edinburgh from 1869.
Rock House had previously been the home of
DO
Hill.
Rock House
©
John Adam was a professional photographer in Edinburgh from 1869 to 1890.
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The second son of
Thomas Annan was the photographer James
Craig Annan
(1864-1946), the pictorial and
portrait photographer who, together with Alfred Steiglitz, became a member of
the “Linked Ring.
James Craig
Annan renewed interest in the Hill & Adamson calotypes by making gravure
prints from their work.
[MIT]
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Thomas Annan
Background
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Early Life
Thomas Annan was born between Cupar and St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. He
was initially apprenticed to a lithographer in Cupar.
Studios
He
established studios in Glasgow from 1849, then in Hamilton and in
Edinburgh. In Glasgow, he founded the
company T & R Annan. [Who was R Annan?]
Home
In 1864 he lived next door to the explorer, David Livingston, whom he
photographed. Thomas Annan sold cartes de visite of Livingston for a
shilling each. Annan named his house 'Talbot Cottage'.
[Bill Buchanan, APIS 2004]
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Thomas Annan
Photography |
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Photographic Processes
Thomas Annan worked first
with the calotype and later with the collodion process.
[MIT]
In 1866, he bought the rights to Swan's
carbon process in Scotland. He also used the gravure process. He
was attracted to both of these processes as they produced images that would not fade.
[Bill Buchanan, APIS 2004]
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Copying
works of Art
Thomas Annan made copies of many works of art,
persuading publishers to use these rather than engravings to illustrate the
works of art in their publications.
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The Disruption Painting
Thomas Annan also produced engravings from D O Hill's painting of The
Disruption. These were sold in three sizes, the largest being 4 ft wide.
D O Hill added Thomas Annan into his painting, amongst the figures near the
door at the top-right on the painting.
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Photographic Projects
The City of Glasgow web site lists other photographic projects by
Thomas Annan. These include:
- Old
Closes and Streets of Glasgow. These photos recording the
housing conditions in Glasgow in the late 1860s were produced for the
Glasgow City Improvement Trust
- the building of Loch Katrine Waterworks, 1859-77
- portraits of David Livingstone, Horatio McCulloch, Joseph Noel
Paton and Daniel MacNee. [At one time, Thomas Annan
lived in Talbot Cottage with David Livingstone his next door neighbour.]
- Munich painted windows in Glasgow Cathedral, 1867
- Old Country Houses of the Glasgow Gentry, 1870. |
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T & R Annan & Sons Ltd |
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The company, T &
R Annan & Sons Ltd, was established in 1855.
They were official photographers at the Glasgow Exhibitions of 1888, 1901
and 1911, and received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1889.
Today, under Douglas Annan, they are Fine Art Dealers. From their
gallery at 164 Woodlands Road, they sell copies of Thomas Annan's photographs.
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Thomas Annan
Lectures given to Edinburgh Photographic Society |
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May 1884
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Art in Photo Landscapes |
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Further Reading
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To find a wide range of references to the work of
Thomas Annan and James Craig Annan, please see Scottish Photography - A
Bibliography 1839-1989 compiled by Sara Stevenson & AD Morrison-Low
[ISBN 0- 9512533-4-4] |
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