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Thomas Wallace

Cabinet Print

Photograph of Thomas Wallace (sea captain)

by his grandson

Thomas Wallace (photographer)

A handwritten note on the back of this cabinet print says that it is a photograph of of Thomas Wallace the sea captain, the grandfather of the photographer Thomas Wallace of Dalkeith.

By estimating the possible age of the subject when the photograph was taken, it seems likely that the photograph might have been taken around the mid 1800s  -  too early to have been taken by Thomas Wallace [Jun] whose name appears on the back of the cabinet print.

Thomas Wallace [Jun] had a photographic business at several studios in Dalkeith, about seven miles to the south-east of Edinburgh,  from 1887 until 1914 or later.

Thomas Wallace Jun.
Photographer

   ©

He may well have had a photographic business earlier, or perhaps he worked for another photographer before setting up his own studio.  The 1881 census records him as being a photographer. business then.

However, Thomas Wallace [Jun] was not born until 5 Aug 1855, so would not have been the person who photographed Thomas Wallace [Sen] in the mid 1800s.  Might the explanation be that the print we see above was in fact printed by Thomas Wallace [Jun] from an earlier negative?

I would welcome any views on this subject.

The Back of the Cabinet Print

The description on the back of the cabinet print is:

'T Wallace, Successor to J Dryburgh, Dalkeith'

J Dryburgh has a studio at Eskbank Road 1882-86

T Wallace was based at:

-  1887:             10 Muirpark, Dalkeith
-  1890:              31 Muirpark, Dalkeith
-  1894-1911:   Eskbank Road, Dalkeith

So the exact date of the cabinet print above is not clear, but it seems likely that it would have been produced around the 1890s.

Sources:

1. Dalkeith studio dates and Census:  Photographers in Edinburgh & The Lothians to 1914 [D Richard Torrance]

2. The cabinet print, and information on Thomas Wallace the Sea Captain:  Stephen Murray

3.  Views on the likely date of the photograph and when the cabinet print was produced:  Ken Johnston.

Charles Wallace        1881 Census         Cabinet Print       Wallace Family