The story behind this article started a few months ago when my wonderful colleague Rebecca drew my attention to a stereo daguerreotype by Antoine Claudet for sale on eBay. Ever since I started getting interested in the history of stereoscopy, over forty-five years ago, I have always wanted to own a Claudet stereo daguerreotype, and nearly bought one a while back at one of the yearly Bièvres photo fairs. But then like now its price was way out of my league. What made the eBay one different was that the price was really low for such an image and that it was not an item to be auctioned but a “buy it now”, which is a fairly rare occurrence when it comes to stereo photographs on metal. There was a problem though. The daguerreotype was in four pieces: the two halves of the stereo pair, the backing cardboard bearing the name and address of the photographer, and the case, a rather unusual red leather one with a golden coat of arms on it. There was no protective glass which meant the pictures were not only scratched but also fairly oxidised. Nobody seemed to be interested in such a poor piece but what made me go for it nonetheless was that the sitter was identified. I had no idea then where this purchase would lead me, nor the amount of money and time I would spend gathering more pictures of the sitter and as much information about him as I could. The image arrived from the States in due time and all the pieces were immediately scanned at high resolution. Here they are, as I received them:

Illustration 1 – The four pieces that made up the Claudet daguerreotype I bought on eBay. Author’s collection.

My first job after this was to digitally clean the images as best as I could, without destroying the look of the original, and virtually put the daguerreotype together. You can see the final result below. Nothing to marvel at but better than it was, I think.

Illustration 2 – The Claudet daguerreotype virtually put back together. Author’s collection.

Now that you have seen the full image as it should have been, it is high time to introduce the sitter, Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman. As a rule I am not particular fond of photos of soldiers or of members of the clergy but I made an exception for this, my first and so far only Claudet daguerreotype.

Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman was born on 3 August 1802 in Seville, Spain, the younger son of James and Xaviera Strange Wiseman, from Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Nicholas’s parents had come to Spain for business and when his father died, only three years after his birth, his mother brought him and his siblings back to Waterford where he was educated before attending in turn the Catholic College of St. Cuthbert’s at Ushaw, County Durham, England, and the Venerable English College in Rome, Italy – a seminar for the training of priests from England and Wales – where he arrived in 1818. After six years he graduated with a doctorate of theology and in March 1825 was ordained to the priesthood. A hard worker and a good scholar, Wiseman rose rapidly in the Catholic hierarchy and after being successively rector of the English college, curator of the Arabic manuscripts in the Vatican, professor of oriental languages in the Roman University, preacher to the English residents of Rome, lecturer in Italy and England, and initiator of the periodical Dublin Review (1836), he was consecrated a bishop in 1840 and was sent to England as coadjutor to Bishop Thomas Walsh (1777-1849). That same year he was also appointed president of Oscott College – actually St. Mary’s College, Oscott, near Birmingham – which had recently been rebuilt by Walsh.

Wiseman reached the apex of his ecclesiastical career when Pope Pius IX, in his brief  Universalis Ecclesiae, restored a diocesan hierarchy in England and appointed him archbishop of Westminster on 29 September 1850 before elevating him to Cardinal the following day. The Pope’s brief and Wiseman’s nomination were received with indignation in England as they were a bold move forward and revived fears of the spread of popery. After the Reformation Catholics had been imposed harsh civil and legal restrictions. They could not purchase land, hold military or civil offices, run for Parliament, inherit property or even practice their religion freely. Pressure was gradually released and Catholic emancipation grew in the eighteenth and nineteenth century to culminate in the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 which allowed Catholics to sit in Parliament and have access to most public offices. However, it took the Tests Act of 1871, which opened universities to Roman Catholic students, for Catholic Emancipation to be nearly complete. Pius IX’s 1850 actions were therefore considered too much too soon and when Wiseman arrived in London on 11 November, everyone was still so much up in arms against what was termed a “papal aggression” that some people feared for the newly appointed Cardinal’s life. Wiseman’s first task was therefore one of appeasement. He wrote a thirty-page pamphlet titled Appeal to the English, gave a series of lectures, and the storm abated slightly. This is when the first portraits of the Cardinal also appeared in the press.

It started with a woodcut of the Cardinal in the 2 November 1850 issue of The Illustrated London News. Although it is not specified the portrait was drawn from a photograph it is not unreasonable to think it was. Unfortunately, we do not know the identity of the photographer. The very same woodcut was used less than two weeks later, on 16 November, on the front page of The Penny Illustrated News magazine.

Illustration 3 – Portrait of Cardinal Wiseman. Woodcut published on the front page of The Illustrated London News on 2 November 1850 (left) and on the front page of The Penny Illustrated News on 16 November 1859. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy (left) and author’s collection (right).

Just under a month after this, on December 14th, two more woodcuts showing Cardinal Wiseman appeared in The Illustrated London News. The top one, shown below, featured the Cardinal preaching from a pulpit, the bottom one his “enthronization”, which took place at the church of St. George’s, Southwark, on Friday 6 December 1850, “with a rather uncommon solemnity” [1].

Illustration 4 – Cardinal Wiseman preaching. One of the two woodcuts published in The Illustrated London News on 14 December 1850. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy.

The first mention of a photographic portrait of Nicholas Wiseman appeared on 16 August 1851 in the Weekly Register and Catholic Standard, and was reproduced from the Jersey Times:

“A most admirable Portrait has been taken in photograph of Cardinal Wiseman by Mr. Mullins, during the short stay of His Eminence in Jersey.” Daguerreotype Copies of the above, coloured, and mounted in small gold lockets, may be had by post on forwarding an order for 21s., payable to Henry Mullins, Royal Saloon, Jersey. Local Agent to the Art-Union of London. [2]

I have not yet been able to trace a copy of this portrait but we know that Henry Mullins (1818-1880) started his photographic career in Regent Street, London, before moving to Jersey in July 1848. Soon after his arrival he married Ann Jane Piton, the daughter of a retired sea captain. Mullins and his wife were living with the latter’s father and younger sister at St. Brelade at the time of the 1851 census but the photographic studio was at nearby St. Helier. Mullins operated from there for just over a quarter of a century and died in 1880. His son Gustavus Henry William (1854-1881) was himself a renowned photographer who took portraits of Queen Victoria and of the Royal Family after he moved to the Isle of Wight.

The second mention of a photographic portrait of Cardinal Wiseman appears in an article copied from the Sun and published in the Suffolk Chronicle in December 1855. This piece, by an anonymous journalist is actually about a portrait of civil engineer and M.P. Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), taken for the Calotype by photographic artist John Watkins (1823-1874). It however mentions Cardinal Wiseman as one of Watkins’s famous sitters.

THE WESTMINSTER PHOTOGRAPHIC GALLERY […] Among those who have honoured Mr. Watkins with sittings, and whose “effigies” are on view at his establishment, are the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Wiseman, the Duke of Leeds; Lords Brougham, Monteagle, and Malmesbury; Sir S. M. Peto, and a host of artists, including Gibson, Macdowell, Foley, Weekes, Dyce, Ross, Frith, Ward, Knight, and Goodall. Many others of world-wide reputation have “given their countenance” to this interesting collection, and all who desires to see the faces of those who have “made the age come to their own,” will find it not only agreeable to spend an hour in looking  round “The Westminster Photographic Gallery,” but personally advantageous to follow the precedent established by such acknowledges authorities. – (Sun) [3]

John, the son of John Watkins and Margaret Herbert, was born in Ragland, Monmouthshire, on 4 February 1823. The 1851 census lists him as a “clerk to carriers” and it is not clear how, in the space of a few years, he became a portrait photographer, and a renowned one at that, as were two of his brothers, George Herbert (1828-1916) and Octavius Charles (1835-1882). The 1861 census describes John as “Photographer to the Queen”. He was still a photographic artist by the time of the 1871 census and when he passed away on 26 December 1874. John Watkins never married. It is a shame I cannot show you the portrait he took of Cardinal Wiseman in the mid-1850s as I have not yet been able to locate a copy of it. However, we will have a chance to mention the Watkins family later on.

By the time John Watkins’s photo was made, Wiseman had become a published novelist. His book Fabiola, or the Church of the Catacombs, was written in 1853 and released in 1854, probably as an answer to Charles Kingsley’s anti-Catholic Hypathia. Wiseman’s novel was an immediate success and was translated into numerous languages. The action is set in Rome at the time of the persecutions against the first Christians under Emperor Diocletian (4^th century AD). The novel was later adapted for the screen on three occasions (1918, 1949 and 1960).    

Illustration 5 – Cover and one inside page from 28 September 1949 issue of the French Cinema Magazine Mon Film devoted to the 1949 movie Fabiola, starring Michèle Morgan in the title role. Author’s collection.

In August 1857, another portrait of Cardinal Wiseman, by Maull and Polyblank, was published as number fifteen in their “Photographic Gallery of Living Celebrities” and was mentioned in the press:

We have been favoured by Messrs. Maull and Polyblank with the fifteenth number of their “Photographic Gallery of Living Celebrities,” containing a portrait of his Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, with a biographical notice by E. Walford, M.A. The marked success with which Messrs. Maull and Polyblank have availed themselves of the greatly advanced state of the photographic art in encountering the difficulties inherent to the method, is well known. Those who desire to possess the very likeness of our great Cardinal will possess themselves of this portrait. Photography cannot give what the artist’s soul alone can render, but it alone can give what the artist’s hand can never perfectly achieve. [4]

Henry Maull (1829-1914) and George Henry Polyblank (1831-c. 1870) became partners in 1854 and operated from a studio located at 55, Gracechurch Street, in the City of London. In May 1856 they started their “Photographic Gallery of Living Celebrities”, which was pursued on a monthly basis until August 1859. In October of that same year the whole series was published in book form. The success of the operation enabled Maull and Polyblank to open a second studio at 187a Piccadilly in 1857 and a third one at 252 Fulham Road, Chelsea, seven years later. Their patnership was dissolved on 8 March 1865, and the business continued under the name Maull & Co. Polyblank filed for bankrupcy in November 1867 and we lose track of him after 1869. Some say he emigrated to the United States but there is nothing to corroborate that rumour. I do not have a copy of the Maull and Polyblank image but you can see it on the National Portrait Gallery website if you the following link: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw166956/Nicholas-Patrick-Stephen-Wiseman?LinkID=mp04895&role=sit&rNo=5

In 1858 Cardinal Wiseman was in Ireland and while in Dublin sat for Messrs. Simonton and Millard on 16 September. The two artists advertised at once their good fortune:

HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL WISEMAN. MESSRS. SIMONTON and MILLARD beg to announce that, having been honoured yesterday by his Eminence Cardinal Wiseman with a sitting for a large-sized Photographic Portrait, in his richest robes, pronounced by his Eminence to be the finest and most faithful Portrait ever taken, impressions are now ready THIS DAY, price 5s. each. A copy of his Autograph accompanies each. Subscribers will please send their names early, as the demand for copies is very great. Impressions, highly finished in Oil and Water Colours, by artists of first-rate ability, will be ready in a few days. Smaller portraits taken for the stereoscope at the same time, standing out in life-like reality, price 2s. 6d. each. Messrs. S. and M. also have large-sized Photographs of his Secretary, the Hon. and Rev. Monsignor Clifford, of the Most Rev. Dr. MacHale, the late Dr. Carew, Archbishop of Calcutta, and other  Dignitaries of the Catholic Church. Messrs. SIMONTON and MILLARD, Photographers, Artists, Manufactures, and Importers, Dublin Photographic Institution, 39, LOWER SACKVILLE STREET, (Near the Post-Office,) Adjoining Jury’s Prince of Wales Hotel. [5]

The most interesting part of the advertisement, at least for me, is that stereoscopic portraits were taken of the Cardinal during the same sitting. I wish I had been in a position to show you at least one but I am still looking for copies of them. Were they popular or not ? I have no idea, but it is a fact I have never seen any samples. I am afraid I haven’t found either any print of the large photograph taken by Simonton and Millard but I was fortunate to buy a steel engraving with stipple made after it by British artist Daniel John Pound (1820-1894). It is so stunning that from a distance it does look like the actual photograph, at least when you look at the original.

Illustration 6 – Daniel John Pound. Steel engraving with stipple after the photograph of Cardinal Wiseman by Simonton and Millard.

Cardinal Wiseman’s photographic portrait was reviewed a few days days after his release in the Dublin Weekly Nation:

CARDINAL WISEMAN. The photographic portrait of his Eminence Cardinal Wiseman, recently taken by Messrs. Simonton and Millard, of Lower Sackville street, has been very beautifully worked in colours, and makes a very brilliant little picture. The rich red cloak of the Cardinal, contrasting finely with the white lace, as the little skull-cap does with the grey locks beneath it, gives a highly artistic appearance to the picture; and, harmonised as the fore and back grounds are to the figure, the effect is very pleasing. The most remarkable point, however, is the excellence of the likeness, which, though very good in the untouched photograph, has been much improved by the painting. [6]

I am not so sure about the last part of the review as I personally think colour spoils the photograph rather than adding to it but it is certain that hand-painted photographs were very popular in the late 1850s. It takes all kinds … The coloured image was actually so much enjoyed by Cardinal Wiseman, as were his stereoscopic portraits, that he sent a letter of thanks to the artists:

DUBLIN PHOTOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION, 39, LOWER SACKVILLE-STREET. – Messrs. Simonton and Millard, the eminent and talented photographic artists, 39, Lower Sackville-street, Dublin, have executed a striking and exact likeness of his Eminence Cardinal Wiseman. It is finished in the most superior style of art, and has elicited from several journals deserved praise. His Eminence has addressed the following letter to Messrs. Simonton & Millard, and we feel much pleasure in publishing it as it does full justice to the ability of the artists: – “Cardinal Wiseman begs to thank sincerely Messrs. Simonton & Millard for the beautifully finished and splendidly-coloured photographs they have been good enough to forward him, as also for the stereoscopic and Mr. Clifford’s Portrait. – London, Nov. 11, 1858.” [7]

Thomas Millard was born on 27 December 1811 at Frimley, Surrey. He started his working life as cabinet maker at Cheltenham before moving to Ireland in 1838. He then became a builder and was already one when, in 1841, he married wood-engraver Caroline Clayton, herself the daughter of a wood-engraver named Benjamin Clayton. Millard was mechanically inclined and interested in anything scientific, which led him to follow the development of photography. About 1856 he got into partnership with James Simonton (1837-1898) and the two men opened a photographic studio at 39, Lower Sackville Street, Dublin. On his death in February 1882 he had gone back to being a builder. His wife Caroline survived him by twelve years and passed away on 26 April 1894. Not much is known about James Simonton who did not remain a photographer for a very long time and was, by 1872, listed in the directory as a mathematical instrument maker and optician, with a shop at 70, Grafton Street. 

Stereoscopic photographs of Cardinals, Bishops, and other members of the clergy must have been popular, at least in Catholic circles, as a Catholic Stereographic and Photographic Gallery was set up and published by Messrs. Burns and Lambert at their Ecclesiastical Dépôt, 17, Portman-street, London:

PHOTOGRAPHS AND STEREOGRAPHS Now ready, IN THE CATHOLIC STEREOGRAPHIC AND PHOTOGRAPHIC GALLERY SERIES. His Eminence Cardinal Wiseman. The Most Rev. the Archbishop Errington. The Righ Rev. the Bishops Grant, Briggs, Turner, Goss, Roskell, Hiynes, and Persico. The Righ Rev. Monsignore Newsham. The Very Rev. Provost Manning. The Very Rev. Monsignore Virtue. The Very Rev. Canons O’Neal, Long, and Cornthwaite. The above may be had either plain or coloured. Others will be announced when ready. Lately published, The Reception and Profession of a Sister of Mercy; Confirmation, and Marriage. Also on sale, A choice variety of well-selected Views, Ecclesiastical and other Buildings, Statuary, Ruins, Rustic Scenes, &c. With Stereoscopes of all kinds, from 3s. 6d. each upwards. AT MESSRS. BURNS AND LAMBERTS ECCLESIASTICAL DEPOT, 17, PORTMAN-STREET, LONDON, W. [8]

Readers who are into vintage stereo cards will have noticed that Messrs. Burns and Lamberts also sold religious staged scenes by James Elliott (The Reception and Profession of a Sister of Mercy, Confirmation, and Marriage are all by him).  

The next artist to photograph Cardinal Wiseman seems to have been George Herbert Watkins (1828-1916), one of the brothers of the John Watkins whose name was mentioned earlier. He was born in Worcester, Worstershire on 12 July 1828 and by the mid-1850s he already had a studio at 179 Regent Street, before moving to number 215 of same street in 1858. His portraits were first shown at the 1856 Exhibition of the Photographic Society, London, and at the 1857 exhibition he displayed a portrait of Charles Dickens writing at his desk, which is actually a stereo photograph. One year later he photographed Dickens again, this time at St. Martin’s Hall, just before he started a public reading of Dombey and Son. It is not known exactly when Wiseman sat for him but the press mentions his portrait as hanging on the walls of the Exhibition of the Photographic Society in January 1860:

FINE ARTS. PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. The seventh annual exhibition of photographs and daguerreotypes by this society was opened to private view, on Thursday, at the gallery of the Old Water-colour Society, in Pall-mall East. […] Herbert Watkins has several frames containing effigies of Lord Brougham, Charles Dickens, George Cruikshank, Cardinal Wiseman, the Bishop of Oxford, Mr. Macready, and other celebrities. […] [9]

Illustration 7 – Herbert Watkins. Portrait of Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman. Carte-de-visite format. Authors’ collection.

It is interesting to note that, for the public, bishops and cardinals were considered celebrities, and, as such, deserved a mention in the press when they were photographed. Considering there were no movie, pop or rock stars then, it must be supposed that a good preacher who doubled as a successful novelist was the Victoran equivalent and consequently worth his weight in photographic gold, which probably explained why so many photographers took Cardinal Wiseman’s portraits but also why his name was used to advertise various products, as in the example below. Later in 1864, one W. H. Vanheems introduced himself as “robe-maker to his Eminence Cardinal Wiseman”

HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL WISEMAN, In a letter addressed to FRANCIS TUCKER & CO., on the subject of WAX CANDLES with PLATTED WICKS, says: “I have found them fully equal to the recommendation which you give them, and can sincerely, in my turn, recommend them to the clergy for the use of the altar.” Finest quality, with Platted Wicks, patented       2s. 2d. per lb. Ordinary quality            2s. 0d. per lb. VEGETABLES CANDLES, with a mixture of Wax: Best quality              1s. 5d. per lb. Second quality              1s. 3d. per lb. Third quality              1s. 1d. per lb. THESE CANDLES ARE GUARANTEED not to contain a Particle of Animal Matter. FRANCIS TUCKER AND CO. 18, South Molton-street, Grosvenor-square; Manufactory – Kensington. (Established 1730.) The only Catholic Establishment in England for the Manufacture of Wax Candles for the use of the Altar. [10]

It would be difficult indeed to find a more religion-related address than Messrs. Mason & Co, which includes the words “Amen” and “Paternoster” ! It is a pity, though, that they do not specify which one of the numerous portraits of Cardinal Wiseman they had printed in carte-de-visite format.

The next year, 1861, cartomania was already in full swing and photographers as well as publishers competed to add more celebrities to their catalogue. Regent Street photographer and publisher Henry Hering (1814-1893), who would become one of the biggest providers of carte-de-visite portraits with A. Marion and Co., was one of them:

Just published and photographed by H. Hering, price 1s. 6d. and forwarded free on receipt of postage stamps. CARTE DE VISITE PORTRAITS OF THE RIGHT REV. WM. MORRIS, BISHOP OF TROY THE RIGHT REV. W. VAUGHAN, BISHOP OF PLYMOUTH THE RIGHT REV. W. CLIFFORD, BISHOP OF CLIFTON THE RIGHT REV. H. E. MANNING, PROVOST OF WESTMINSTER THE VERY REV. F. W. FABER, PROVOST OF ORATORY, BROMPTON To be had also portraits of HIS HOLINESS the POPE, CARDINAL WISEMAN, CARDINAL ANTONELLI, the BISHOP of SOUTHWARK, DR. TALBOT, and Rev. Mr. LOCKHART, &c, &c. HENRY HERING, Photographer, 137, Regent-street, London. Where may be had free on application, a list of card portraits of the Royal Family. English and Foreign Celebrities. [12]

Hering being a publisher as well as a photographer, it is not clear whether he actually took a photograph of Wiseman or only published a portrait taken by someone else, as he did for many of the cartes-de-visite he was selling.

I recently purchased a carte-de-visite portrait of Cardinal Wiseman bearing on the back the name of Jules Géruzet and a Brussels address. A similar image, seen on the internet and obviously taken during the same photo shoot by the same photographer has the date 1863 pencilled on the back. When put side by side, the two images can be seen in exaggerated 3-D, the Cardinal having slightly turned his whole body, and his head a little more, between the two shots.

Although born on 31 March 1817 at Braine, Aisne, France, Jules Géruzet spent most of his life in Brussels, Belgium, where he started as a print seller and publisher before turning to photography around 1856 and establishing a studio at 27bis, rue de l’Écuyer. After 1866, his two sons Albert (1842-1890) and Alfred (1845-1903) took over the business. Jules Géruzet himself died in 1874.

Illustration 8 – Jules Géruzet. Carte-de-visite portrait of Cardinal Wiseman. 1863. Author’s collection.

The last photographic portraits of Cardinal Wiseman appear to have been taken by Moira & Haigh and one of them, probably chosen by the sitter as the best likeness, was advertised in the press as early as July 1864 and was available in different formats:

Published this day. MESSRS MOIRA AND HAIGH have the honour to announce the publication of a new photograph of HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL WISEMAN. Copies may be had of Messrs. Marion and Sons, Soho-square, or at the Studio of Messrs. Moira and Haigh, 1, Lower Seymour-street, Portman-square. Large sixe, 7s. 6d.; C.V., 1s. 6d.; a carte-de-visite mounted on India tinted boards, 10 by 7 ½ inches, sent by post for 2s. 6d. MOIRA AND HAIGH, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND MINIATURE PAINTERS, 1, Lower Seymour-street, Portman-square.                 £  s.   d. 20 Cartes-de-visite            1  1  0 8 Cartes-de-visite            0          10  6 8 Vignette Portraits            1  1  0 Specialty for “Vignette Gems of Portraiture.” [13]

Four of the portraits taken on the same day by Edward Lobo de Moira (c. 1818-1887) and Edward Makinson Haigh (1826-1897) can be seen on the website of the National Portrait Gallery, London [14]. It was not until the sitter’s death, however, that a review of one of the Moira & Haigh portraits appeared in The Photographic News:

PORTRAITS OF CARDINAL WISEMAN. – We have received from Messrs. Moira & Haigh a portrait of his eminence the late Cardinal Wiseman, for which he sat some months before his death. It is a capital portrait of the frank open genial face, so unlike the ideal type of Romish ecclesiastic or ascetic priest. The Cardinal is in what, we presume, may be called full dress; sitting in his archi-episcopal chair, which was taken to the studio for the purpose, with his own crucifix by his side; in the background is seen a view of his own church in Rome [15], painted for the purpose. Thus great completeness and keeping of sentiment are obtained in the picture. As a photograph, it is exceedingly soft, delicate, and brilliant; and as a picture, it is one of the most perfect we have seen produced by the camera. The disposition of light and shade, and the composition generally, are very fine indeed. The large picture, 10 by 8, is mounted on India tint, and has the Cardinal signature; the other is a card picture, and both are excellent. [16]

Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman passed away on 15 February 1865 after being in a critical condition for over a month. His last words were reported to have been “Here I am at last, going home for the holidays” [17] He was buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Kensal Green and, in September 1871, a white marble monument, from designs by Edward Pugin (1834-1875), was erected over his grave. On 30 January 1907, the cardinal’s body was removed from Kensal Green and buried in the crypt of the new Westminster Cathedral.

Photos of Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman continued to be published after his death and some were turned into woodcuts shortly after his demise to illustrate articles and obituaries. There is one, in particular, which I have not mentioned so far, as I don’t know when it was made, which was taken by French photographer François Louis Alexandre Gobinet de Villecholle (1816-1906), better known under his much shorter pseudonym of Franck. This photograph was turned into a woodcut which appeared in the French magazines L’Illustration and Le Monde Illustré, on 25 February 1865.

Illustration 9 – François Louis Alexandre Gobinet de Villecholle, better known as Franck. Carte-de-visite portrait of Cardinal Wiseman (left) and woodcut after that very same photograph which appeared in L’Illustration on 25 February 1865 (right). Author’s collection.

On the same day, in Britain, a woodcut after one of the photographs by Moira & Haigh featured on the front page of The Illustrated London News.

Illustration 10 – After a photograph by Moira & Haigh. Woodcut of Cardinal Wiseman published on the front page of The Illustrated London News on 25 February 1865. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy.

Even in death Nicholas Wiseman continued to be a source of income not only for photographers and printesellers, but also for publishers, who released his sermons and memoirs about him, for sculptors who sold Parian copies of his bust, or for one particular engraver who offered for sale “Cardinal Wiseman’s Coffin Plates” [18] !

I started this article with the story behind the Claudet daguerreotype of Cardinal Wiseman I bought on eBay but I have not really said much about the picture itself. From what I now know of the sitter and of his other portraits, it appears that Claudet’s stereo portrait must have been made in the mid-1850s. Although there are lots of mentions in the British press of various celebrities having their portrait taken by Antoine Claudet, I could not find any mention of Cardinal Wiseman sitting for him. Claudet’s photographs are usually easily indentifiable thanks to the props and furniture that appear in them. In this case however, I would probably not have been able to attribute the image to him had not his name been on the backing cardboard. The fact is Cardinal Wiseman was known to bring his own props with him when he was photographed in “full dress”. If you remember the review of the Moira & Haigh portrait published after his death in The Photographic News, Wiseman is described as “sitting in his archi-episcopal chair, which was taken to the studio for the purpose, with his own crucifix by his side” [19] The same crucifix and chair were used in Claudet’s studio, as well as the Cardinal’s miter and his coat of arms. The latter also features on the red leather case in which the Claudet daguerreotype was originally kept. Only his motto, “Omnia pro Christ”, is missing.

Illustration 11- Close up of the red leather case that came with the Claudet daguerreotype, showing Cardinal Wiseman’s coat of arms.

Claudet’s daguerreotypes were usually delivered in a brown leather case bearing the photographer’s name and address. Does it mean this particular specimen, and probably others if Wiseman had similar stereo daguerreotype portraits taken, were made especially for him, at his personal or his entourage’s request, or that copies were made and sold to the public with this customized case ? In whichever instance, it must have added substantially to the cost of the daguerreotypes which already sold for about three guineas apiece.

Apparently Claudet made more than one portrait of the Cardinal during that undated sitting. I found a carte-de-visite portrait of Nicholas Wiseman sitting in the same episcopal chair, with his miter and his crucifix next to him, although on the other side, and his coat of arms hanging in the same position. The photograph bears on its back Claudet’s blind stamp, almost totally concealed by a small handwritten label which reads “S.E. Cardinal Wisemann” [sic], “S.E.” being short for “Son Eminence” (His Eminence). The label is, however, thin enough to have allowed me to read the name of the photographer through the paper, something I could not do in the photograph that accompanied the eBay listing for this photograph.

Illustration 12 – Antoine Claudet. Carte-de-visite portrait of Cardinal Wiseman, probably from a daguerreotype, and back of said card. Author’s collection.

There remains one portrait – actually a couple of them – which I have not mentioned because they are a bit of a puzzle. Here they are:

Illustration 13 – Two nearly identical portraits of Cardinal Wiseman. The one on the left is in the collection of the Library of Congress, the one on the right in the author’s collection.

The one on the left is a daguerreotype, one of at least two copies in the collections of the Library of Congress, the one on the right a copy of a daguerreotype in carte-de-visite format. The puzzle lies in the fact that the daguerreotype is attributed to American photographer Matthew Brady, and the carte-de-visite reads on its back “Photographed by Kilburn, 222 Regent Street.” The Kilburn mentioned here is William Edward Kilburn (1818-1891), an English portraitist, famous not only for his photographs of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, the Royal Family, and the Chartist rally at Kennington on 10 April 1848, but also for his beautifully hand-tinted stereoscopic daguerreotypes. I do not know how or why the couple of daguerreotypes at the Library of Congress (identical copies by the way, which, once again, clearly shows daguerreotypes are not always unique but were often copied) were attributed to Brady but chances are the portrait of Cardinal Wiseman is by Kilburn, not by Brady. There is no evidence Wiseman ever went to the States or that Brady ever came to Britain. We also know for a fact that Kilburn had some of his daguerreotypes reproduced and published as cartes-de-visite. One famous example is a photograph of “the Swedish Nightingale”, Jenny Lind, which is originally a daguerreotype but was released later on as a carte-de-visite.

You have most certainly noticed that the daguerreotype and the carte-de-visite are not identical but there is, however, no doubt they were taken on the same day by the same artist. In the carte-de-visite, Nicholas Wiseman is holding a book, which is not present in the daguerreotype. Another, rather puzzling, difference is that in the daguerreotype he is wearing his episcopal ring on what is, for us, his left hand while in the carte-de-visite he is wearing it on his right one. Bishops and Cardinals usually wear their ring on the right hand but it must be remembered that daguerreotypes being litteraly mirrors the image is laterally reversed. It may be that the artist realised at some stage in the  photo shoot that the ring would appear to be on the Cardinal’s left hand and made him change it to the other hand. Usually you can say if a portrait of a man is reversed by looking at the buttons of his jacket but the Cardinal’s pontifical vestments having no buttons there is not much to go by.

There may be other photographers who took portraits of Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman and whom I have not spotted yet. What matters however, is that at least twelve artists (I count the partners of a photographic establishment as one person) invited the Cardinal to sit for them, which is already a fairly high number. I have mentioned earlier the celebrity status of men of the cloth in a time when there were no movie, pop or rock stars, but what strikes me most is that it seems to show, on the part of the sitter, a trait which, to me, looks very much like vanity and which I find highly surprising in clergymen. Wiseman is only one example and there are lots of photos of other prelates. Take for instance the bishop of Oxford and of Winchester, Samuel Wilberforce (1805-1873), who is mostly remembered these days for his opposition to Darwin’s theory of evolution. A quick look at the National Portrait Gallery website shows he was photographed by at least fifteen different studios [20].

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1843-1892), an English Particular Baptist preacher known as the “Prince of Preachers”, is another good case in point. In 1855, at the age of twenty-two, he was already the most famous preacher in England and on 7 October 1857, he preached at the Crystal Palace before of a crowd of over 23,000 people ! “The hero worship of the Spurgeonites takes various forms”, writes a journalist from the Inverness Courier in 1858 while describing a bazaar held at the Music Hall of the Surrey Gardens, London. “Those […] who admire the rev. gentleman, can find his likeness in various sizes, and in various styles, on almost every stall. His bust or statuette, in marble or softer material, or his likeness photographed, lithographed, or printed, can be had without difficulty, and if that does not satisfy the visitor, he can have a look at him through one of the instruments of the Stereoscopic Company, on the right of the entrance.” [21]

The Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy houses no fewer than six different stereoscopic portraits of Spurgeon and there are several more. Another article, published in 1860 in the Hereford Journal and entitled “Spurgeonism”, gives an even better idea of “Spurgeonmania”:

[…] On a comparatively small stage – the word may not be out of place – he is as prominently before his immediate public as Lord Palmerston, Louis Napoleon, Garibaldi, or the Pope. He has been photographed as often as these notable personages, and his chubby countenance is as well known as Louis Napoleon’s spikey moustache, or Garibaldi’s chestnut beard. There he is, in every shop window — occasionally judiciously placed between Cardinal Wiseman and Dr. Cumming — photographically and stereoscopically taking tea with Mrs. S.— in an arbour. We have him too, in his public capacity, raising a warning finger and beating the drum ecclesiastic. Steel and copper conspire to turn him in cross-hatched broad cloth, as “yours very truly.” Madame Tussaud presents him in wax; the Royal Academy in marble; and in Exeter Hall every Sunday morning some four thousand people brave broken ribs to see him in the flesh. [22]

Below are two of the photos mentioned in the article above. The first one, by the London Stereoscopic Company, showing Spurgeon “raising a warning finger ”, the second one, by John Moffat (1819-1894) featuring him and his wife, British author Susannah Thomson (1832-1903) “in an arbour”. This second image bears the title “Spurgeon at home” on its back.

Illustration 14 – London Stereoscopic Company. Staged scene showing Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon “preaching”. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy Collection.

Illustration 15 – John Moffat. “Spurgeon at home”. Reverend Spurgeon and his wife Susannah. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy Collection.

Although not a clergyman, British-born American temperance orator John Bartholomew Gough (1817-1886) is another interesting case of a public speaker becoming a huge celebrity. Born at Sandgate, Kent, England, Gough was sent to the United States at the age of twelve soon after his father died. He arrived in New York City in 1829 and his mother and sister joined him there in 1833. Ather the former passed away in 1835, John found himself in dissolute company and started drinking heavily. He made a precarious living as a ballad singer and story-teller, married in 1839, became a bookbinder but his drinking made him lose everything, including his wife and child. Attending a temperance meeting one day in October 1842, he signed a temperance pledge and, after several lapses, decided to spend the rest of his life lecturing on temperance. He became very good at it, speaking before larger and larger audiences. A natural orator, with no training and a very basic education, he managed to thrill crowds and was invited to lecture in Britain in 1853. He remained in his native country for two years and was back again in 1857, this time for three years. After lecturing for seventeen years on temperance Gough started talking about other topics and died following a fit of apoplexy while on stage. Gough was abundantly photographed and one of his stereoscopic portraits, also by John Moffat, was sold with his printed signature and the words “most truly yours” on the back. Some copies of this portrait for the stereoscope bear a printed dedication to one of his admirers which reads “To my Dear Young Friend Emily Ellis, from John B. Gough 8/1/1859”.

Illustration 16 – John Moffat. Stereoscopic Portrait of John Bartholomew Gough with two different printed messages on the back of the cards. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy Collection.

I would like to end this article with three photos which, when put next to each other, speak volumes about the hierarchy inside the church (which is very similar, in a way, to the one existing in the Forces). At the top of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church sits the Pope and the first stereoview shows a profile of His Holiness Pope Pio “in the most splendid pontifical habiliments. The description on the back of the card reads:

Illustration 17 – A. W. Bennett, publisher. Pope Pio IX. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy Collection.

Velvet, silver, gold, precious stones ! Are these absolutely necessary ? Do they make Pio IX. a better person, a better pope ? The following illustration shows the back of the card and reveals there are more similar stereos in the “series”, including the same Pio IX. as Bishop of Rome, His Eminence the Cardinal Sterckx, Archbishop of Mechlin and Primate of Belgium, etc.

Illustration 18 – A. W. Bennett. Back of the card featuring Pope Pio IX. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy Collection.

The second picture shows an unidentified bishop by an unidentified photographer. It is a good stereoscopic portrait and there is a little less gold, silver and probably fewer gems but the candlestick, the chalice and the gold embroidery on his mitre are most certainly worth a fortune. Again, is this necessary ?

Illustration 19 – Unidentified photographer. Stereoscopic portrait of an unidentified bishop. Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy Collection.

The last stereoview I would like to share is also by an unidentified photographer and shows a French Catholic priest from a small parish in France. The name of the priest is father Gourat but the name of his parish, although pencilled on the back, is unfortunately illegible. I could not find any information about father Gourat but this “soldier of God”, at the bottom of the hierarchy, is typical of legions of priests in nineteenth century Europe. Notice there is no gold, no adornment, nothing fancy or expensive around his person. I think the contrast between the Pope, the bishop and the priest – all doing the same work – speaks volumes and I will let the reader draw their own conclusions. The photographs of the Pope and of the Bishop were taken because they were celebrities and the publisher knew they would sell well. The image of the priest was probably made at the request of one or some of his parishioners because the man was loved and respected in the community where he lived. It was not widely advertised or mass produced and there can’t exist more than a few copies of it. It is therefore, in my opinion, far more precious than the other two.

Illustration 20 – Unidentified photographer. Portrait of Father Gourat. Author’s collection.

I started this article with a daguerreotype of Cardinal Wiseman by Claudet and showed how he had some serious “celebrity status” during his life and even for some time after his death. There isn’t anything new under the sun and hero-worship has been going on for as long as men have inhabited the earth. In this day and age of internet and social media it is even easier for fans to collect pictures of or take selfies with the person they follow or stalk. But one thing hasn’t changed. People love collecting autographs of celebrities ! Even though Cardinal’s Wiseman’s signature is not worth as much as some of his contemporaries’, like Charles Dickens or Florence Nightingale, it still has some monetary value and can be bought at specialist fairs or autograph auctions. Although I still wonder what Cardinal Wiseman thought of this “adulation” and why he let himself be photographed so often I will simply drop the curtain with an image of Nicholas Wiseman’s signature and a Latin saying which has never been truer :

Illustration 21 –  Cardinal Wiseman’s signature. Author’s collection.

Vanitas Vanitatum et Omnia Vanitas !

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