I wondered if anyone has any information about the photographer Ida Gwynne of Lipton Chambers, Gloucester.

I believe she was born about 1886 in Birmingham to David Gwynne and Emma Louise Gwynne nee Moore. David was a photographer in Warwickshire but by 1911 census he had died and Ida was living with her mother in Tredington, Gloucestershire.

does anyone know how she came to be a photographer? or even when she took over premises in Gloucester?

thanks in advance

The BNA gives a couple of glimpses of this family and shows they were in Tewkesbury when David died.

Gloucester Citizen - Saturday 31 May 1902

On Saturday morning, about five o'clock, a well-known Tewkesbury tradesman, Mr. David Gwynne, photographer, of the Abbey Studio, died at his residence in Church-street from bronchitis and asthma. Deceased had not been in good health for many years, and about month ago was taken worse. Deceased was 42 of age, and leaves a widow and several children.

However, the business was evidently carried on in his name by Emma, and perhaps Ida, as evidenced by advertisements in 1903.

By 1905 something had happened to bring thing to a close in Tewkesbury.

The Tewkesbury Register, and Agricultural Gazette. - Saturday 28 January 1905

Under an Execution from the County Court.
TEWKESBURY.
George Hone
Has received instructions to SELL BY AUCTION, in his CATTLE MARKET, THIS DAY (SATURDAY), JANUARY 28th, 1905, at 2 o'clock precisely,
THE HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE, and EFFECTS, the property of Mrs Emma Louisa Gwynn, photographer, and removed from 59, Church Street, Tewkesbury, for convenience of sale. No Catalogues.

Hi,
I'm guessing you've already seen this (or similar) examples of her work.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Edwardian-1920s-era-Postcard-Attractive-young-lady-called-Ci...

This website claims to have info about her, but as to how much detail, and for what expense, I have no idea.
https://www.cartedevisite.co.uk/photographers-category/photographers/f-to-j/photographe...

---

You ask why she'd become a photographer.

I suggest that was simply because she'd have learnt the skills of the trade from her father, she'd inherited his valuable equipment, and she knew she could make a reasonable living doing it.
As a child in the late 1940s early 50s my half-sister lived with her grandparents in Longhope, her Grandad was Harry Beard "the village photographer". He was in his fifties by then but still took photos to supplement his day-job earnings, and was still using an old-fashioned heavy box camera on a tripod. Despite being very young my half-sister was encouraged to help him with his work, going out and about the village carrying equipment and suchlike, and also back home developing & printing the photos themselves. He used to take photos for all sorts of local occasions eg sports & family events, weddings etc, and also take views of local scenes which were made into postcards and sold at my Aunt's shop in the village. This is of course much later than Ida's time, and after people started buying their own Kodak Box Browmie cameras etc, yet even in these 1950s there was still a demand for his skills and equipment to obtain larger format photos rather than just snaps. So it seems completely logical that if Ida had gained these same skills and equipment some years earlier, well before cameras were available to the masses, then she'd want and be able to make an income from it.

During Harry Beard's earlier career I think he took this photo, in the background is Pound House Longhope, and attached at right is the Beard family home Pound Cottage.
https://forest-of-dean.net/gallery/longhope/mediafiles/l1.jpg

This picture was "taken" by Harry on his own wedding day in 1914.
https://forest-of-dean.net/gallery/longhope/mediafiles/l8.jpg

thank you Mike.... most interesting

thank you Jefff….. lovely photos and interesting about your half-sister and her photographer grandfather

crikey that was quick, before I'd even finished editing my notes !(despite my madness on another thread t'other day I'm a stickler for trying to get things right if I can !).

I'm afraid your post is poorly-timed, insofar as only yesterday I spent an hour or so downloading images off the 1906 Kellys Trade Directory for Gloucestershire - it would have been interesting to see if the Gywnnes were listed, and under what name. Sadly yesterday was the last day of my month's free trial on that particular website, so I cannot look now.

I cannot find any mention of Gwynne photographers in Gloucester in the 1897 or 1914 Directories.
http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/search/searchterm/Glo...

thank you Jefff

sorry for the late replay but I've been away for a few days.

I've found Ida's photographer father David in the 1906 Kelly's Directory, at 59 Church Street, Tewksbury. (although he was long dead by then.... as in Mike Pichin's reply to me regarding The Gloucester Citizen in 1902..... and in the same reply Mike found that all the household furniture and effects were removed from 59 Church Street, Tewksbury in January 1905)

Clement, one of her younger brothers, is to be found in 1916 and 1922 in Cambridgeshire at two different addresses as a photographer.

and David, another younger brother a photographer in 1923 in Dorsetshire.

but no sign of Ida who was clearly at Lipton Chambers in Gloucester after the 1911 census (our clear old family postcard photograph has been professionally dated to being 1914 to 1919 which has her address on the back).

it seems that, for now, Ida will remain a mystery.

I have to say that she isn't family at all.... she just took a photograph in my partner Mike's parent's effects..... and it is a mystery as to who the young men are. perhaps we will never know.... as the professional dating of the photo meant that they weren't the people who I'd thought they were.

thanks again

??

There is a Marriage April/May/Jun Qtr - Aston, Warwickshire

between

Ida GWYNNE

Sidney R OWENS (Middle name appears later Ralph, who was born in 1888)

There is a child on Freebmd

John T OWENS, mother's maiden name: GWYNNE - Dec Qtr 1916, Aston (who appears to have died)

Midlands, Electoral Road, Mosley 1930 (on other Electoral Rolls)

Roderick Rd

OWENS, Sidney Ralph
OWENS, Ida
GWYNNE, James Francis

thank you for this info

I had found a marriage to a Sidney R Owens but as Ida definitely used her maiden name in the electoral registers of 1918 and 1920 I wondered if this was the Ida I was looking for.

I have a photo by a photographer Ida Gwynne from around 1923/1924 taken in Sydney, Australia. Perhaps the same Ida?

Ida Gwynne was my great aunt. Her brother, Clement Woolley Gwynne, was my grandfather and hence, Ida's father, David Gwynne of Tewkesbury, was my great grandfather. I have assembled quite a lot of the family history and would be happy to share what's known further.
Rob Gwynne