David Butcher

The Photographs of William Rayson Smith Volume II David Butcher

We might also be familiar with the photography of professionals in the 1880s through postcards or collections, but it is rare to come across the work of an amateur photographer whose plate photography captured both everyday and family life in the period. It might be for this reason alone that William Rayson Smith's albums are unique, however, his photographs, nearly all of which have never been seen before, provide us with a special glimpse into the past. William Rayson Smith hardly left East Anglia being baptised in Dickleburgh Church in 1841 and dying only five miles away in Harleston in October 1932. Apart from a decade in Belleville, Canada, where he acquired a taste for the new technology of photography. Purchasing a camera he was to spend much of the late 1880s photographing what he saw around him. The result is a special collection of distinctive photographs covering Norfolk and beyond. This second volume provides around 60 photographs taken while visiting his retired father in Lowestoft. David Butcher brings methodical research into these photographs to bring this unique collection to life.