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Beecham Folios

Vivienne14

Vivienne14

Kentish Brummie Moderator
Staff member
(Thomas ?) Beecham produced folios (albums) of many places with each folio being dedicated to a specific place. He produced a group of images of Birmingham c1900. All very familiar views, but somewhere someone must have the full album. I assume, but not certain, that these folios were sold as a sort of tourist souvenir. Viv.

53BF7FB2-A444-4114-A992-803A2A23EA5B.jpeg077158DF-3768-482D-9D97-EC261AF6001A.jpegFBD0A3FC-A356-4C63-8CF9-907B1F15C80E.jpeg16DC0610-D19E-4A6A-AEED-F93F3D02A9BE.jpeg17F48183-E151-4E1B-B41E-5BB176452FE5.jpeg
 
Vivienne14 said:
(Thomas ?) Beecham produced folios (albums) of many places with each folio being dedicated to a specific place. He produced a group of images of Birmingham c1900. All very familiar views, but somewhere someone must have the full album. I assume, but not certain, that these folios were sold as a sort of tourist souvenir. Viv.
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There is something about those images that puts me right there, where the photographer is standing, in a way that I can't explain, and is slightly un-nerving. I love to see old photos like that, but usually they are just interesting images for me. These go just that bit further. 1900 is just a bit too early for even me, and I have no known connection to them.
Andrew.
 
A few for sale on the net but can’t find one for Birmingham.
Thomas Beecham, St. Helens, Lancashire.
Series of folios, 24 views for a penny (1900-1909?)
Advertising Beecham's pills.
 
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Thanks Pedro. Thought there must have been a connection. It isn’t easy to find information about ‘Beecham’ as a photographer. So now wondering if they were photographed by a member of the Beecham family or just produced by some other photographer to promote Beecham’s pills etc. Viv.
 
If there were 24 views per folio, there must be another 13 views in this collection. Of course they may or may not have been all of Birmingham as the folio may have covered another place such as Coventry or the Black Country for example. Viv.
 
THe Birmingham folio covered only Birmingham so there are another 13 (to add to the 11 images above) as part of the Birmingham group. This publication reached substantial output. I’ve counted at least 60 titles with some having multiple volumes. Beecham's must surely have commissioned a photographer/photographers to produce these. Below is an example of a photo portfolio (not Birmingham) - effectively a little book. Great advertising tool and customers happily paid for them judging by the numbers produced and bought. Viv.

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And here's some info about Beacham, some records appear to be held at St Helens archive, not sure if that includes copies of the folios...

BEECHAMS PILLS CO. LTD | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
 
MWS said:
And here's some info about Beacham, some records appear to be held at St Helens archive, not sure if that includes copies of the folios...

BEECHAMS PILLS CO. LTD | The National Archives

The official archive of the UK government. Our vision is to lead and transform information management, guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow and bring history to life for everyone.
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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A booksellers comment that I have read says that they were printed in Holland and were probably promotional material for Beechams. Some have A D Jones and co. on them.
 
Very picturesque, this bridge appears on many photos, postcards etc. Don't know if it's still there Lyn. I'm ashamed to say I've never been to the Park !! Viv.
 
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