The name of John Mawson (1815-1867) is one that has featured in earlier posts on this blog, notably ‘The Hartley Catastrophe’ (16th January 2023).

As a chemist and druggist in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the 1850s, Mawson was well placed to supply the needs of those taking up photography in the North East of England.

They included the fledgling company of W. & D. Downey of South Shields, Newcastle and later London whose activities I continue to research.

In 1854, Mawson was able to announce in the press that he held the sole license from William Fox Talbot for “the practice of photographic portraiture in Newcastle and neighbourhood.”

Mawson & Swan, the company formed with his brother-in-law Joseph (later Sir Joseph) Swan, went on to establish itself as a leading supplier of the collodion products that revolutionised wet-plate photography.

Their address at 13 Mosley Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne became known around the world and a plaque on the building marks some of their achievements.

Locating actual photographs featuring such pioneering figures in the medium’s evolution often proves surprisingly difficult.

During my ongoing Downey research, I have previously come across only one photograph of John Mawson.

Taken on 26th June 1862 by the London-based portraitist Camille Silvy (1834-1910), it features in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Recently though, I located and obtained a portrait of John Mawson through a well-known auction site in the form of this carte-de-visite.  

At some point in its history, “Mr. John Mawson” has been written in pencil along the bottom of the card.

In the process, the credit, “W. & D. Downey. Phot.,” together with the word “copyright” have been partially obscured.

Aside from it being evidence of another photographic collaboration between Messrs. Mawson and Downey, the card’s verso contained the additional notation “Sheriff of Newcastle,” apparently in the same hand.

According to the Newcastle Daily Chronicle (7th October 1867), John Mawson was elected to the post of Sheriff after serving as a member of Newcastle Council for nine years.

Soon afterwards though, his life came to a tragic end.

As described by Roger Taylor in Impressed By Light (2007, p. 347): “Mawson, in his role as sheriff, was called in to dispose of barrels of nitroglycerin found in the basement of pub in the heart of Newcastle.

“Tragically, he and seven others were killed in the process.”

Whether this carte-de-visite was issued by Downey to mark Mawson’s  appointment as Sheriff or following his death, it is a fine portrait with a natural quality lacking in the more formal posed version by Silvy.

The informality of this carte-de-visite may have reflected the long-standing relationship between the Downey brothers, William and Daniel, their studio and its staff and John Mawson.

Finally, another aspect of the card’s verso picks up a question first raised in my blogpost “If photographs could speak” (7th December 2023).

What is the explanation for the appearance of 4 Eldon Square as Downey’s Newcastle studio address rather than number 9 where the company’s best-known location in the city opened in March 1862?

Since writing my original post, I have seen several other Downey examples featuring the 4 Eldon Square verso together with the same list of “illustrious and eminent persons.”

That list, with its inclusion of “H.M. the Queen ” and “H.R.H the Prince and Princess of Wales,” who were first photographed by Downey in the Autumn of 1866, points to 4 Eldon Square cards being issued after that point.

Despite extensive searching, I have yet to come across a newspaper advert placed by Downey in the late 1860s or an article about the company from that period that features number 4 in any context. 

Of the theories put forward in the earlier post, that suggesting human error, involving a mis-reading of “4” as “9” in the order for a batch of cards produced by a third-party printer, is fast gaining momentum.

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