My recent talk on W. & D. Downey for the Royal Photographic Society Historical Group prompted responses both to the ‘live’ event and to the recording via social media (see blogpost, 16th March 2023).

The company’s successful activities over several decades are reflected in the extensive photo collections held by museums and galleries around the world.

Thanks to digitisation, these portraits are now viewable online, often with supporting text and information.

So it has been pleasing to be able to share my research findings about Downey’s early years with the National Portrait Gallery in London (due to re-open in June 2023), which has nearly 1,000 portraits credited to the company.

My thanks to Clare Freestone, Curator of Photography, and her NPG colleagues for amending the online company entry for W. & D. Downey.

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp06902/w–d-downey