History has a habit of pairing people by their surnames when they have shared the public spotlight.

Confronted by the name ‘Gladstone,’ mid-Victorians would automatically add ‘Disraeli.’

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) was Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Great Britain in four governments.

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), Conservative Party leader and twice Prime Minister, was his political opponent.

My collection of cartes de visite by W. & D. Downey has long featured a fine portrait of Gladstone.

It was taken during a visit to Newcastle on Tyne in October 1862 when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Prior to a lavish banquet in the city’s Town Hall, Mr. Gladstone together with his wife toured several Newcastle locations.

These included the Literary & Philosophical Society, St. Nicholas Church (now the Anglican cathedral), the Castle and Old Norman Keep, and Central Exchange reading room.

According to the Newcastle Courant (10th October 1862): “The next move was to the studio of Mr. Downey, photographer, Eldon Square, where [Gladstone] sat for a portrait, which, our readers will, no doubt, by and by have an opportunity of inspecting.”

The verso of the resulting carte, with its seller’s stamp (bottom left) for ‘A. Mansell,’ a photograph and bookseller in Gloucester, illustrates the subsequent nationwide appeal of this one shilling photograph.

A copyright form for Downey’s carte of Gladstone was lodged several months later in July 1863.

This gap between the sitting and publication perhaps indicated a delay in securing the politician’s agreement to the photograph being put on general sale.

Indeed, Gladstone was a popular carte subject.

During the period 1862-1870, he was second only to members of the Royal Family with more than 50 registered copyrights for his photographic portrait.

It was only when Disraeli succeeded Lord Derby as  Prime Minister in 1868 that Downey secured a sitting with Gladstone’s political adversary.

On 3rd October 1868, the Newcastle Journal reported: “Our townsmen, Messrs. Downey, have had the honour of photographing the Right Hon. B. Disraeli during their sojourn at Balmoral.”

Queen Victoria’s diary records that he stayed at her Scottish home for 10 days during the second half of September.

As Downey busied themselves with the latest round of royal portraits, they also took the opportunity to photograph the Queen’s new Prime Minister.

The collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London features a number of photographs taken at the same sitting including this one.

It well illustrates how Downey set up the shot, allowing for a variety of  framings that were used to produce different sized versions.

Later ennobled by Queen Victoria as Lord Beaconsfield, his death in 1881 allowed firms like Downey to re-issue its archive of Disraeli portraits to new customers

The carte that recently joined my collection with the company’s later ‘London & Newcastle’ branding falls into that category.

The prominent seller’s stamp for ‘Pawson & Brailsford,’ publishers and stationers in Sheffield, shows that the wider photographic trade was also keen to exploit such commercial opportunities.