Picture Gallery, Historic

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One picture in ten thousand, perhaps, ought to live in the applause of mankind, from generation to generation until the colours fade and blacken out of sight or the canvas rot entirely away.{c}

Enjoy a selection of historic pictures from St Helena

SEE ALSO: For more recent images see our page Picture Gallery or Slide Show.

The Pictures

Click on any image to see it full size. Click on any link below an image to go to a related page or site.

Don’t just look at the pictures - better come and see for yourself!

Please note: we have (arbitrarily) defined a ‘historic’ image as one produced before 2000, or related to a subject that is no longer current. We also have a page Picture Gallery with more recent images/subjects.

Woodcuts of St Helena?

These pieces of inlaid wood marquetry, apparently from the early 19th century, state that they show St Helena. They certainly look a little like St Helena, but are far from exact. We think they are Pastiches, probably done from memory. What do you think?

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Article: Photographers of St Helena since 1910

By Barbara George, published in the St Helena Herald 1st September 2006{1}

This information on the photographers comes mainly from Trevor Hearl, to whom St Helena owes a lot for his unstinting help and support in trying to help St Helena children have the best information to study the history of their island.

LILLEY, John Isaac, 1861-1863: Lilley published in ‘Jamestown a Descriptive List of Photographic Views of the Island of St Helena’, which he claimed were the first photos taken in St Helena on large 11inch x 9inch glass plates. His work shows buildings before the white ants destroyed them and the defences of the island, before modernisation of the 1870s. He was a soldier who worked as the Assistant Superintendent Storekeeper and Barrackmaster on St Helena. These are the only photos of St Helena in the 1860s in existence. There is a set in an album at the museum, sent out years ago by Trevor Hearl, who owns the glass slides which were photographed and the enlargements made by the Audio-Visual Aids Department at St. Paul’s College.

BROADWAY, W.O. - 1880s: Studio at Seales’ Corner near The Run.

INNES, A.L. - late 1800s early 1900s: Major postcard publisher. Had a Boer PoW assistant who looked after his studio when he was away. Innes had a shop next to Jackson in 1902, which later became ‘Warrens’, later again Francis’, then C&M’s, and recently returned to its name from early last century.

JACKSON, Tom - late 1800s early 1900s: Tom Jackson was a chemist who lived on St Helena from the 1890s till the 1930s. His shop used to be where Solomons DIY is now. He mixed and sold medicines here and also produced soft drinks. He was an enthusiastic photographer and took many photographs, some made into postcards. Many of these are in albums in the museum. His second wife, Emily (who was ‘Pop’ Warren’s sister), wrote the popular history book ‘St Helena’ in 1903. Trevor Hearl produced a printed list of the photos in this book for schools.

REV. AITKEN - late 1800s early 1900s: Baptist Minister, whose albums were donated to the Museum by his family, but many photographs in them are Jackson and Innes, so difficult to distinguish who took which, although Aitken was also an amateur photographer.

BATHURST, Lady Lilias - 1900-1902: Wife of the Commanding Officer of the Gloucester Regiment which was in charge of the Boer PoWs at Deadwood Camp. Lady Bathurst used the latest Kodak technology. Basil George owns some of these photographs as some were of his family members who lived at Prosperous Bay Signal House at the time.

GOSSE - 1937: Taken from Gosse’s lantern slides for his lectures. Philip Gosse came here is 1937, and wrote the classic history book ‘St Helena 1502 - 1938’, reprinted by Trevor Hearl. A set of photocopies and a complete set of over 100 photographs was donated to PAS Library by Trevor Hearl in 1980s for school use. The glass slides were photographed and the enlargements made by the Audio-Visual Aids Department at St. Paul’s College.

BLAKESTON, Oswell - book 1957: Lots of interesting photos in here, including one of The Standard.

JOHNSTON, Bob - 1961/62: Bob came here with Charles Frater to make the 1961-2 video of the island. These photographs show how much the island has changed in 40 years. I understand that Charles Frater, who made the film with Bob, may be doing a book of the photographs.

CRALLAN, Hugh - 1974. The architect who wrote the first Report on Listed Buildings took many photographs of them at the time, and his Report says he left them with the Government. However these have unfortunately not been found so far.