Crowborough - Sims / Stickells
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Professional Photographers in Crowborough
Ambrose Henry Stickells (1864-1940): Photographer in Crowborough from 1896 to 1938
Ambrose Henry Bensley Stickells
was born in Hythe, Kent on 11th April 1864, the son of
Frances Shaw Bensley and David Stickells, a professional
photographer. David Stickells (c1828-1902), Ambrose Stickell's
father, was an itinerant photographer who travelled around Kent, Sussex and
Surrey in a "photographic saloon", a horse-drawn portable studio on wheels.
Mrs Frances Stickells gave birth to Ambrose in Hythe, Kent, and although
David Stickells was often on the road, visiting various towns and villages
in his "photographic saloon", the Stickells family were based in Ashford,
Kent. Carte-de-visite portraits produced by David A. Stickells during
the mid 1860s and early 1870s were "photographed by D. A. Stickells at
his East Kent Portrait Saloon", but his "permanent residence" is
given as Ashford, Kent. David A. Stickells had been born in Rustinge, Kent, around 1828, the son of William Stickells, a publican. By the late 1850s David Stickells was working as an itinerant photographer. When David Stickells married Frances Shaw Bensley (born 1834, Gorleston, Suffolk) in Canterbury on 14th April 1857, the bridegroom was already working as a photographer. Ambrose Henry Stickells was one of five surviving children born to David and Frances Stickells. Ambrose's siblings were Laura Rosetta Stickells (born 1857, Ashford), Flora Agnes Stickells (born 1862, Ashford), Arthur Edward Stickells (born 1869, Ashford), and Ada Eliza Stickells (born 1872, Ashford). When Ambrose Henry Stickells was in his teens, he accompanied his father on his travels, assisting Mr Stickells in his portable photographic studio. David Stickells instructed Ambrose in the art and science of photography and, while his wife remained at home looking after the children, David Stickells and his eldest son travelled around Kent and Sussex in their horse-drawn studio, dubbed the "East Kent Portrait Saloon". Photographs produced by David Stickells during the early 1870s confirm that the family's "permanent residence" was in Ashford, Kent. The 1871 census records David Stickells and his family at an address in Ashford. In the late 1870s, David Stickell's photographs carry a business address of 36 Queen Street, Ashford. Around 1880, David Stickells and his family moved from Ashford in Kent to the Sussex seaside resort of Hastings. By 1881, Mrs Frances Stickells, the photographer's wife, had taken over the running of a lodging house at 124 St Andrews Road, Hastings, a boarding establishment previously managed by two middle-aged spinsters, Miss Mary Elizabeth Fairburn and her younger sister Eliza. When the 1881 census was taken, Mrs Frances Stickells, described as a forty-seven year old "Lodging House Keeper", was recorded at 124 St Andrews Road, Hastings, with three of her children - Laura, aged 23, Arthur, aged 12, and Ada, aged 9. Meanwhile, in Marden, a village nine miles south of Maidstone in Kent, sixteen year old Ambrose Stickells was recorded with his father David Stickells in their mobile studio parked in Fowle's Yard, an open area off the High Street belonging to Thomas Fowle, a local builder and carpenter. David Stickells is described as a "Photographer (Master)", aged 53, while the teenage Ambrose is simply referred to as "Son of the Above". After Ambrose Stickells had served his apprenticeship with his father, the veteran photographer brought his eldest son into the business as a partner and during the early 1880s, the carte-de-visite portraits produced by David Stickells are marked "Stickells & Son". By this time, David Stickells and his family had moved to Cranbrook in Kent and a permanent photographic portrait studio had been established in this market town's High Street. Kelly's Directory of Kent, published in 1882, lists Stickells & Son as "portrait and landscape photographers" in High Street, Cranbrook. In 1884, when Ambrose Stickells was twenty years of age, David Stickells agreed it was time for his eldest son to branch out on his own as a professional photographer. David Stickells, who now worked as a portrait photographer in his own permanent studio in Cranbrook's High Street, gave his son a sum of money as working capital and equipped him with a horse-drawn photographer's van with which to tour the towns and villages of Kent and Sussex. With his eldest son, Ambrose, on the road as a travelling photographer, David Stickells brought his youngest son Arthur Edward Stickells (born 1869, Ashford) into the business and so his Cranbrook studio continued under the name of D. A. Stickells & Son. Between 1884 and 1895, Ambrose Henry Stickells travelled around the towns and villages of Kent and Sussex in his photographer's van, taking portraits of individuals and groups on location. Around 1888, Ambrose Stickells arrived in the Sussex village of Mayfield, where he met Mary Ann Lade (born 1864, Mayfield), the twenty-four year old daughter of Mary and Henry Lade, a local saddler and harness maker. Ambrose Henry Stickells married Mary Ann Lade in Mayfield's parish church on 20th February 1889. For the next six years or so, Ambrose Stickells' wife Mary accompanied her husband on his travels as he went from place to place in his photographer's van. Ambrose and Mary Ann Stickells' itinerant lifestyle is reflected in the birthplaces of their children. Mary Frances Stickells, the couple's first child, was born in the county of Kent at Leigh, a village 3 miles west of Tonbridge during the 3rd Quarter of 1889. When the census was taken on 5th April 1891, Ambrose Stikells, his wife Mary Ann, and their young daughter were recorded as lodgers at a house in Maidstone Road, Paddock Wood, a hamlet located about 10 miles south-west of Maidstone. When Ambrose Henry Stickells junior was born during the 4th Quarter of 1895, Ambrose Stickells' photographer's van had reached Robertsbridge, a small Sussex town some 13 miles north-west of Hastings. Although Ambrose Stickells was travelling far and wide in the counties of Kent and Sussex, he and his family appear to have had a permanent residence in Cranbrook, Kent. A cabinet group portrait dating from around 1895 is rubber-stamped "A. H. Stickells, Photographer, Cranbrook". Ambrose Henry Stickells arrives in Crowborough Around 1896, Ambrose Henry Stickells arrived in Crowborough, a Sussex town situated 12 miles south-east from East Grinstead. Crowborough at this time had a population of around 2,000, but perhaps more importantly to Ambrose Stickells, the town had no resident professional photographer, the nearest photographic portrait studio being situated some seven miles away in Tunbridge Wells. It was at Crowborough that Ambrose Stickells decided to settle down and work from a permanent studio, albeit one parked in a field behind a small cottage in Crowborough Cross. Ambrose Henry Stickells and his family were residing in the parish of Crowborough when their third child, Percy Rufus Stickells, was born during the 3rd Quarter of 1897. Significantly, Ambrose Henry Stickells was still working as a photographer in Crowborough, when his wife Mary gave birth to a daughter named Lilian Irene Stickells during the 3rd Quarter of 1904. By this time, Ambrose Stickells had opened a picture-framing shop and photographic studio in Croft Road, Crowborough.
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To read more about David Stickells and his Family of Photographers and to view examples of their photographic work, click on the link below: |
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Ambrose Henry Stickells - Travelling Photographer |
[ABOVE] A school group photograph taken on location by Ambrose Henry Stickells (c1895). The trade plate "A. H. Stickells, Photographer, Cranbrook" is rubber-stamped in purple ink on the reverse of this cabinet card. The location of the school is not identified and could be any village school encountered by Stickells on his journeys through Kent and Sussex. From 1884 until 1895, Ambrose Henry Stickells worked as an itinerant photographer, tavelling from village to village in his horse-drawn photographer's van. | [ABOVE] The mobile studio of travelling photographer Ambrose Henry Stickells, photographed while parked in a field around 1895. The photographer's name "A. H. Stickells" is painted on the board at the front of the vehicle. To the right of the wooden steps, can be seen the large windows that allowed light into Stickells' mobile studio. It is likely that this well-equipped photographer's van served as a photographic portrait studio and dark room until Stickells was able to find a suitable site for a more conventional photographer's studio. |
Ambrose Henry Stickells - Professional Photographer at Crowborough Cross (1897-1902) |
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[ABOVE]
A photographic view of Rotherfield by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough (c1896).
Rotherfield's Providence Chapel can be seen on the left between the trees.
The original photograph was probably produced around 1896 when Ambrose
Stickells was an itinerant photographer and travelling around the North
Wealden area in his horse-drawn photographic van. The reverse of this
photograph carries the rubber-stamped trade mark "A. H. Stickells,
Photographer, Cranbrook", the trade plate used when Stickells was
working as an itinerant photographer. Around 1897, the original trade
mark was cancelled and replaced by a stamp that read
"A. H. Stickells,
Photographer, Stationer & Picture Frame Maker , Crowborough Cross". Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
[ABOVE] The two trade plates rubber-stamped on the reverse of A. H. Stickell's view of Rotherfield, pictured on the left. The original photograph must have been produced before Ambrose Stickells settled permanently in Crowborough around 1897. The trade mark used when he was an itinerant photographer has been cancelled and replaced by his Crowborough Cross stamp. |
[ABOVE] A photograph of The Cross, Crowborough as featured on a picture postcard issued by John Powell of Crowborough Cross (1907). Ambrose Stickells worked as a photographer from The Cross, Crowborough, in the late 1890s. Ambrose Stickells did not establish his shop in Croft Road, Crowborough until about 1902. John Powell, the distributor of this picture postcard was a watchmaker, jeweller, stationer and the proprietor of a Fancy Goods Repository at Crowborough Cross. This card was part of the Valentine's Series of picture postcards. |
[ABOVE] The trade plate of A. H. Stickells of The Cross, Crowborough, printed on the reverse of a carte-de-visite portrait (c1899). |
Ambrose Henry Stickells at the Croft Road Studio in Crowborough (1902-1938)
[ABOVE] The shop and photographer's studio in Croft Road, Crowborough, operated by Ambrose Henry Stickells (1864-1940) between 1902 and 1938. This photograph was probably taken around 1910 and the young woman standing in the doorway of A. H. Stickell's shop is probably the proprietor's eldest daughter Mary Frances Stickells (born 1889, Leigh, Kent). In addition to his photography, Stickells also made picture frames and sold stationery at his Croft Road premises. When the photographer Ambrose Henry Stickells arrived in Crowborough around 1896, he was working from a mobile photographer's van. When he decided to settle permanently in Crowborough, Ambrose Stickells rented a cottage in Crowborough Cross and parked his photographer's van in the field at the rear. Ambrose Stickells continued to use his well-equipped photographer's van as a portrait studio until he was able to find a suitable site for a more conventional photographer's studio. Photographs produced by Ambrose Stickells during this period are rubber-stamped "A. H. Stickells, Crowborough Cross, Photographer, Stationer, Picture Frame Maker".
At the time of the 1901 census, Ambrose Stickells, his wife Mary Ann and their three children were residing at Crowborough Cross in Crowborough. Ambrose H. Stickells is described on the census return as a "Photographer (own account)", aged 36. In 1901, Ambrose Stickells was about to establish a permanent, purpose-built studio in Crowborough. Ambrose Stickells had gathered enough funds to have a house and business premises built in Croft Road, Crowborough. The site of Stickells studio at 9 Croft Road, Crowborough is marked today by a stone tablet above the shop entrance which carries the initials of Ambrose Henry Bensley Stickells and the date the building was completed - "AHBS 1902". Ambrose Henry Stickells was based at his shop and studio at 9 Croft Road, Crowborough for the next 36 years. As soon as the photographer's eldest son Ambrose Henry Stickells junior left school, he joined his father in the family business. The 1911 census, which records the Stickells family at their home in Croft Road, Crowborough, notes that fifteen year old Ambrose Stickells junior was "assisting in the business". The Stickells household now consisted of six family members. Ambrose Henry Stickells senior, recorded on the census return as a forty-seven year old "Photographer", was residing with Mary Stickells, his wife of nearly twenty-three years, and their four children - Mary F. Stickells, a young single woman of twenty-three, fifteen year old photographer's assistant Ambrose H. Stickells and the two school-age children, thirteen year old Percy R. Stickells, and seven year old Lilian Irene Stickells. For a period of 40 years, Ambrose Henry Stickells was Crowborough's only resident photographer and consequently the town's pictorial history is dominated by Stickells' photographs. Ambrose Stickells took photographic portraits of the inhabitants of Crowborough and the neighbouring areas of Jarvis Brook, Rotherfield and Town Row. With his camera, Ambrose Stickells recorded the significant events in people's everyday lives - engagements, weddings, anniversary celebrations and every new addition to a family. (See the portrait of one year old Annie Barnes on the right). From around 1904, Ambrose Henry Stickells began to produce picture postcards. Stickells continued to produce photographic portraits in the traditional, established formats of cartes-de-visite and cabinet cards right up until the First World War, but from around 1910 many of his studio portraits were produced in the popular picture postcard format. A. H. Stickells also used the picture postcard format to publish photographic views of Crowborough and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Notable and special events were also recorded by Stickells' camera and then issued as "real photograph" picture postcards. Examples of Ambrose Stickells' postcards of special events can be viewed at Rendel Williams' Sussex Postcards.Info. website. Among the picture postcards featured in Rendel Williams' Gallery of A. H. Stickell postcards are carnival celebrations, children's processions and youngsters in "fancy dress" celebrating 'Peace Day' in Crowborough on 19th July 1919. According to Rendel Williams, the best known of Stickells' real photographic cards showed Crowborough's War Memorial shortly after its dedication. Although he now owned a permanent, purpose-built photographic studio near the centre of Crowborough, Ambrose Stickells still ventured out with his camera to record gatherings and photograph groups of people on location. (See the picture postcards below which are believed to show the staff and patients of Crowborough Cottage Hospital and Nursing Association at Preston Lodge). Ambrose Henry Stickells' Croft Road Studio in Crowborough was still in business when Kelly's 1938 Directory of Sussex was compiled. Ambrose Henry Stickells was now in his early seventies and it is possible that during this period the studio and shop was managed by one of his children. (Ambrose Henry Stickells junior, Stickells' eldest son, ran his own photographic portrait studio in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Ambrose Stickells' youngest son Percy Rufus Stickells worked as a professional photographer in the Sussex seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea during the 1920s and 1930s). Mrs Mary Ann Stickells, Ambrose's wife, died in Crowborough in 1935 at the age of 71. Ambrose Henry Bensley Stickells, "the premier photographer of Crowborough", died in his home town during the 3rd Quarter of 1940, aged 76. |
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Carte-de-visite Portraits produced by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough |
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[ABOVE] A portrait of a young child, a carte-de-visite photograph by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough (c1903). | [ABOVE] A vignette portrait of an unknown woman, a carte-de-visite photograph by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough (c1903). | [ABOVE] A full-length portrait of an unknown woman, a carte-de-visite photograph by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough (c1905). |
To view examples of A. H. Stickells' picture postcards on Rendel Williams' Sussex Postcards.Info. website, click on the link below: |
The Mitchell Family Album : A Selection of Photographs taken by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough |
Photographs : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
[ABOVE] The trade plate of A. H. Stickells, Photographer, Stationer & Picture Frame Maker of Crowborough Cross, stamped on the reverse of the small portrait of Sarah Grace Paine (picture far left). Even after Stickells moved to his Croft Road Studio in 1902, he continued to use this rubber stamp to trade mark his plain mounts.
[ABOVE] A portrait of Owen James Mitchell (born 1909, Rotherfield) photographed by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough in 1909. Owen James Mitchell (1909-1986) was the second child from the union of Luther James Mitchell and Sarah Grace Paine. Owen's father, Luther James Mitchell (1885-1956) was a farmer in Rotherfield. Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
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[ABOVE] A small portrait of
Sarah Grace Paine on an embossed white card, produced by A. H. Stickells of
Crowborough Cross. (c1905). This tiny portrait, one of a pair, was probably
made to mark Sarah Grace Paine's engagement and marriage to
Luther James Mitchell
(see picture on the right). The mounts measure 2
1/2
x 3
1/4
inches. Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
[ABOVE] A small portrait of Luther James Mitchell
on an embossed white card, produced by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough Cross.
(c1905).
This tiny portrait, one of a pair, was probably made to mark
Luther James Mitchell's
engagement and marriage to
Sarah Grace Paine (see picture on the left).
The mounts measure 2
1/2
x 3
1/4
inches. Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
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[ABOVE] A portrait of Sarah Grace Paine (1882-1957), taken from the small photograph by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough Cross, illustrated above (c1905). Sarah Grace Paine married Luther James Mitchell in Rotherfield on 24th November 1905. (see wedding photograph below) | [ABOVE] A portrait of Luther James Mitchell (1885-1956), taken from the small photograph by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough Cross, illustrated above (c1905). Luther James Mitchell married Sarah Grace Paine in Rotherfield on 24th November 1905. (see wedding photograph below) | |
Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
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[ABOVE] A studio portrait of John Mitchell of Millbrooke, Jarvis Brook photographed by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough around 1935. John Mitchell (1864-1942) was a farmer in Rotherfield and Jarvis Brook and was the father of Luther James Mitchell (1885-1956) - pictured top left - and John Richard Daniel Mitchell (born 1891) - pictured left. Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
A wedding group photograph by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough |
[ABOVE] A wedding group photograph by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough, recording the wedding of Luther James Mitchell to Sarah Grace Paine on 24th November 1905. Photograph : Courtesy of Trevor Cornford |
To view more examples of the photographic work of Crowborough photographer Ambrose Henry Stickells (1864-1940), click on the following link : |
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Picture Postcards by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough |
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(Tentatively identified as group portraits of patients and staff at the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital, Preston Lodge, South View Road, Crowborough) |
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Photographs : Courtesy of Maddy Cook |
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[ABOVE] A 'real photograph' picture postcard by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough (c1920). The location and identity of the group has not been established, but there is a strong possibility that this group portrait shows patients and staff of the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital in the grounds of Preston Lodge, South View Road, Crowborough. In 1904, The North Sussex Nursing Home, originally sited in Downsview to provide accommodation for medical staff and a nursing home for resident patients was relocated to larger premises at Preston Lodge and became the Crowborough Nursing Home and Cottage Hospital.. In 1920, the freehold of Preston Lodge was purchased and the building was renamed The Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital. | [ABOVE] A detail of the picture postcard by A. H. Stickells pictured on the left, believed to show patients and staff of the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital. The lady sitting on the left in the middle row, wearing a patterned blouse with a flower in her buttonhole is Mrs Fanny Taylor (formerly Miss Fanny Pride), a domestic servant who previously worked in Hampstead, North London. It has not been established whether Fanny Taylor was a patient or member of staff. | |
[ABOVE] A 'real photograph' picture postcard by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough believed to show patients and staff of the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital photographed in the grounds of Preston Lodge, South View Road, Crowborough around 1920. The photographs might have been taken to mark the establishment of the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital in 1920. Previously known as the Crowborough Nursing Home and Cottage Hospital, the building was renamed the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital when half the funds raised to erect the Crowborough War Memorial was used to purchase the freehold of Preston Lodge |
[ABOVE] A detail of the picture postcard by A. H. Stickells pictured on the left, believed to show patients and staff of the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital. The lady standing on the left in the back row, wearing a patterned blouse is Mrs Fanny Taylor (formerly Miss Fanny Pride), a former domestic servant who was either a patient or member of staff at the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital when this photograph was taken. | |
[ABOVE] The back of the picture postcard by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough illustrated at the top of this section [ABOVE] The photographer's credit on the reverse of the picture postcard illustrated at the top of this section. Ambrose Henry Stickells, Crowborough's leading photographer, is known to have photographed the Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital after the First World War.
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[ABOVE] Mrs Fanny Taylor (formerly Miss Fanny Pride), photographed by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough [c1920]. |
To view the photographic work of Crowborough photographer Ambrose Henry Stickells (1864-1940), click on the following link : |
[ABOVE] Mill Pond, Crowborough, a picture postcard by Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough (1905) |
Picture Postcard Views by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough Ambrose Henry Stickells began to produce picture postcards around 1904. A. H. Stickells used the picture postcard format to publish photographic views of Crowborough and surrounding villages and hamlets. Examples of Stickells' postcard views can be studied at Rendel Williams' Sussex Postcards.Info. website.
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The Photographer Sons of Ambrose Henry Stickells of Crowborough: Ambrose Henry Stickells junior and Percy Rufus Stickells |
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Acknowledgements |
PRIMARY
SOURCES : Census returns
: 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911; Kent
and Sussex Trade Directories : 1878 ,1882, 1887,
1890, 1891, 1899, 1905, 1907, 1911, 1913, 1914 (Kelly). Cartes-de-visite,
cabinet cards, picture postcards and other photographs produced by
Ambrose
Henry Stickells and other members of the Stickells family of photographers. SECONDARY SOURCES : Ambrose Henry Stickells, Premier Photographer of Crowborough by John Hackworth (The Crowborough and District Historical Society, 2000). Ambrose Henry Bensley Stickells, an article by Rendel Williams on his Sussex Postcards.Info. website. Bygone Crowborough by Malcolm Payne & Luther Batchelor (Phillimore,1987). Crowborough War Memorial Cottage Hospital by John Hackworth, articles published on the Your Crowborough and All Saints Church, Chapel Green, Crowborough websites. Websites : Births, Marriages & Deaths Records on FreeBMD ; 1881 Census & International Genealogical Index on LDS Family Search. Census returns were also explored on the UK Census Collection featured on the ancestry.co.uk website, 1901 Census Online and the 1911 Census website. A special thank you to Trevor Cornford for providing copies of the Mitchell Family photographs taken by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough. Trevor Cornford is the grandson of Luther James Mitchell and Sarah Grace Mitchell. Thanks also to Maddy Cook for supplying images of the picture postcards by A. H. Stickells of Crowborough, which feature her paternal grandmother Mrs Fanny Taylor ( Fanny Pride). I am grateful to Norman John Hunt for supplying the portrait of his half sister Mildred Hunt, who was photographed at Ambrose Stickells junior's studio in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. |
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To read more about David Stickells and his Family of Photographers and to view examples of their photographic work, click on the link below: |
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