St. Ives Through the Victorian Magic Lantern

At the end of the 19th century, there was a yearning for times past, when England’s towns and cities were unpolluted by belching factory chimneys and the pace of life was slower. Some of the best Victorian photographers took and sold photographs which reflected this pre-industrial, perceived ‘golden age’ and the visual charm of St. Ives provided suitable locations and subjects. Over one hundred years later, these photographs enable us to step back in time and experience fragmentary moments in the lives of our Victorian ancestors.This 42 page booklet reproduces twenty two photographs from the Keasbury-Gordon Photograph Archive. Most of them were taken by Graystone Bird who won many awards for his photography but is now virtually unknown because of the ‘forgotten’ format in which his images were published .…. glass ‘magic lantern’ projection slides. The photos of Pilchard fishermen were taken by an amateur photographer in south west Cornwall but the precise location is unknown. The text is from a travel guide published in 1898. It is in two parts, a history and general description of Cornwall and a detailed exploration of the area around St. Ives. The map is from the same book.The photographs and the text complement each other and enable us to travel back in time to visit this delightful corner of Victorian England.