A recent road trip to visit family and friends in the South of England offered an ideal opportunity to visit 78 Derngate, Northampton.
Regular readers will recognise the address as the home of WJ Bassett-Lowke (1877-1953), an entrepreneurial model engineer and amateur photographer and film-maker.
A selection of his 3D stereocards bought during an eBay auction featured in a series of Pressphotoman posts during January and February.
WJ Bassett-Lowke blogpost series
78 Derngate, a wedding present from WJ’s father, was remodelled in 1916 by the celebrated architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928).
Indeed, it was his last major architectural commission, so as a photohistorian and lover of all things Mackintosh, my visit to 78 Derngate held a number of attractions.
I wasn’t disappointed.
The original Georgian house sits on a terraced street though it was once on the edge of Northampton rather than close to the town’s busy hospital as it is today.
As you approach, number 78’s black front door, featuring Mackintosh’s signature style, immediately marks it out as does the rear elevation complete with balconies.
My arrival coincided with a guided tour of the property that lasted more than an hour, but which flew by in a whirl of information to accompany the visual and design delights of each room.
The guest bedroom (above) was once occupied by the playwright George Bernard Shaw, a keen photographer himself, whilst the sitting room (below) is almost too dazzling to spend a lot of time in.
There is so much to take in on one visit, but my attention was caught by a display case featuring cameras that WJ wielded at various points.
The serendipity of adding a dozen of his stereocards to my collection, taken between 1900 and 1904 when he was launching the model train business that bore his name, has continued.
In a subsequent eBay transaction with the same seller, I was fortunate enough to secure a further five Bassett-Lowke cards.
In addition, I bought an Underwood & Underwood stereo titled ‘The Children’s Paradise – A German Toy exhibit in the Industrial Arts Building’ taken at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
It was during his visit to Paris that WJ saw the model railway engines built by German companies from Nuremberg that inspired the future direction of Bassett-Lowke Ltd.
My favourite of the latest cards is a stereo of the famous Frauenkirche on the edge of the city’s market square.
It is taken from ‘A Tour of Germany’ that he and his business partner Harry Franklin undertook in April 1900 and is numbered on the verso as ‘35.’
The clock tower shows the time as ten past one and a market stall holder in the foreground appears to be on her way to lunch.
Pressphotoman 
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