Jerome Limited

Dates

Jerome usually stamped the date of each portrait on the back of their photos. This can be very helpful. Most old photos that have survived from other studios from the 19th century and early 20th century are undated.

Please click on any thumbnail image on this page to enlarge it.

Locations

Jerome appear to have had many studios throughout Britain. I have been sent this photo of a Jerome studio. The sender believes it to be of Jerome's first studio in England.

Unfortunately, Jerome did not usually say, on the back of their postcards, which of their studios the photograph was taken in.

Portraits

Please click here to see some portrait postcards from Jerome's studios.

Almost all the Jerome photos that I have seen have been studio portraits, produced as postcards though rarely sent through the post.

Most of these postcards are are now loose, but they are occasionally found in their original folders, as in the example below.

Thank you to Nigel Price of Oxford for sending me this portrait of his mother, Nancye Freeman, taken at a Jerome studio, probably from around 1915-20. Nancye was step-daughter of Col. Bertram Gale, one of the Directors and possibly Chairman of Jerome in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Views

In addition to the many Jerome portraits, I have seen a small number have been outdoor scenes. e.g. un-named houses, Portobello beach, and the example below.

Thank you to Walter J Kramarski, Mount Prospect, Illinois, USA for sending me this image of a Jerome postcard from his collection. Please click on the image below to enlarge it.

This is a view of Pitcairn Island, taken from a passing steamer on the New Zealand - England run via the Panama Canal.

Costumes

Jerome postcards would make an interesting subject for followers of fashion.

The prices charged by Jerome for a studio sitting were inexpensive, and an annual visit to Jerome, perhaps on a birthday or at the end of the school term was common, so many 'everyday clothes' can be seen in the portraits.

Photography Sessions

It would have been necessary to keep photographic sessions short. This is apparent from some of the results, though the customers may well have been pleased with their likenesses.

The postcards can now appear rather flat, so I have brightened some of them and increased the contrast using Photoshop.

Most of the Jerome portraits appear to have been full length portraits set against a studio backdrop, with perhaps a chair or 'marble' pillar.

Occasionally, the photographer moved in closer.

Thank you to Altie Bacon who wrote:

Paper-based Roll Film

"I am fairly sure that Jeromes had Branches all over the UK until sometime in the 1950's. In the late 1940's I personally went into their outlets in Manchester, Derby and Southend-on-Sea in order to try to purchase the paper based roll film that they sold in those days.

I believe however that the Portrait Studios were their main line of business. Regards-Altie Bacon."

Altie Bacon: September 11, 2006

Thank you to Patsy Beech who wrote

Retouching

"My grandmother, Mabel Hunter, worked for Jerome in High Street, Sunderland. It was her job to retouch and colour the photographs. She used to work upstairs, in a tiny dark curtained-off corner doing her work.

In the 1950’s I used to be taken to the studio to have my pictures taken in my dancing costumes, and afterwards I used to go upstairs to see her at work.

The colour was applied with a very small paint brush. She used a book of ‘Velox’ transparent water colour stamps, made by Kodak Limited, London. I still have her paintbrush and book of colour stamps.

She worked for Jerome for a very long time, and often used to tell me how, during WWII, the men came in uniform to have their picture taken before going to the front. No doubt many never returned!

She retired in 1960. I think she may have worked there ever since she became a widow in 1935. I hope this helps with some information about how the photographs were coloured – or at least, how they were done on the premises in Sunderland."