John J. E. Mayall - Photographer in Pennsylvania, London & Brighton
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John Jabez Edwin Mayall - Photographer in London & Brighton
John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
Origins
John Jabez Edwin
Mayall was born in 1813, near Oldham in Lancashire,
England. John J. E. Mayall is often referred to as an American
photographer, but this is an error. Some modern reference works on early
photography state that he had his origins in America and that he was a
native of Pennsylvania. This is perhaps not surprising, as many of
Mayall's contemporaries, including Queen Victoria, mistook him for an
American and he initially made his name as a daguerreotypist in
Philadelphia.
Early Career in West
Yorkshire ( 1833-1842 )
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Mayall's London Studio Mayall was never one to make modest claims about his contribution to the art and science of photography. Under the heading 'NEW DISCOVERIES IN DAGUERREOTYPE' the notice in 'The Times' reads "In consequence of the new discoveries which he has made . . . he is enabled to take daguerreotype portraits by an entirely new process, of a degree of delicacy, depth of tone, and lifelike reality, never previously attained by himself of any other photographic artists." The advertisement of May 1847 went on to add that the gallery of the Institution, contained "the finest collection of daguerreotype pictures ever exhibited." Many of Mayall's pictures exhibited in the Institution's gallery were daguerreotypes he had made in America, including "panoramas of the Falls of Niagara" and "fine art illustrations of the Lord's Prayer", which had been made four years earlier in Pennsylvania.
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In 1852, Mayall advertised a second establishment in London, situated at 224 Regent Street on the corner of Argyll Place, which Mayall claimed had "the finest situation for light in London." In an advertisement published in the 'Hastings & St Leonards' News' on 21st May, 1852, visitors to London were invited to inspect "Mr Mayall's extensive collection of Portraits of Eminent Men" at both of Mayall's Daguerreotype Institutions.
1873 Edwin Mayall, eldest son of JE Mayall, the well-known photographer of London and Brighton. The deceased was only 37 years of age, but had had great experience in photography, having worked it from the earliest days of daguerreotype and