Today’s stereo by James Edward Ellam (1857-1920) takes us to Scotland for the first time and a beauty spot that has recently been in the news.
Bracklinn Falls is a spectacular location near Callander in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
When James visited during the 1890s, it boasted an iron bridge that had been built two decades before for a visit by Queen Victoria.
A replacement bridge was installed in 2010, but it too had to be replaced and a new structure opened earlier this year, giving visitors access to the stepped waterfall formed by the Keltie Water.
For his 1890s stereo, James made use of the figures standing on the bridge in the far distance to give a sense of scale.
And such is the 3D effect, you can almost hear the water tumbling down the falls.
For the first time, there is no mention of “Yarm” on the stereo’s verso, and “J.E. Ellam” is used vertically on a sticker within a two-lined border where the title is recorded alongside in James’s handwriting.
Perhaps, the omission of “Yarm” signified a change in how he perceived himself as a stereographer, operating on a national rather than local level.
In October 1894, James produced prints as “Ellam of Yarm” taken from his stereos of the aftermath of the “Scotch Express” rail crash near Northallerton.
A few weeks later, he copyrighted images including “The Second Engine and Tender” reflecting his success in placing it with the Illustrated London News and other papers.
As we will see in future posts, the type of “J.E Ellam” sticker featured on “Bracklinn Falls, Callander” appears on the verso of a number of his stereos.
These can dated to the years either side of 1896 when he left Yarm to pursue a new career in London’s Fleet Street.
Tomorrow: “The Cloisters, Durham Cathedral.”
Pressphotoman 
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