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VALENTINE, JAMES AND SONS
Valenta studied and published on the Lippmann pro-
cess (1894–1912). Many of his Lippmann plates were
held in the collection at the “Graphische.” Those were
mostly in the nature of lab trials, and most were failures
with poor or no color. These plates, along with 60,000
others in the Graphische’s collections, were donated
to the Albertina in Vienna where they are in process of
being cataloged.
William R. Alschuler
VALENTINE, GEORGE D. (1852–1890)
Scottish photographer
George D. Valentine (1852–1890) was a son of the
famous Scottish photographer James Valentine. He
came to New Zealand in 1884 with the hope that the
climate would improve his health. It seems that in the
remaining years of his life, he was unable to suppress
his sheer enthusiasm for photography and despite his
fragile condition he committed himself to compiling an
extensive series of landscape photographs. Beginning
with views of Nelson where he initially settled, he then
turned his attention to views of the Pink and White Ter-
races and Lake Rotomahana, both pre and post erup-
tion 1886–1887. Moving to Auckland he broadened his
coverage by making a series based on a summer cruise
in the Pacifi c Islands, photographing Tahiti, Tonga and
the Cook Islands. In 1889 he was one of the fi rst pho-
tographers to descend into the Waitomo Caves at Otoro-
hanga, an exploit which would have tested the physical
endurance of a very fi t person. Surprisingly none of his
12 × 10 inch views seem to have found their way back
Scotland for his father1s fi rm to distribute. Two years
after he died in Auckland, Valentine & Sons dispatched
a photographer to New Zealand where he made a series
which were used for tourist souvenirs and postcards.
These were marked with the initials of J.V. as distinct
from George Valentine1s photos who signed his prints
with the initials of G.V.
William Main
VALENTINE, JAMES AND SONS
Company
James Valentine and Sons of Dundee, Scotland, were a
successful photo-publishing fi rm who derived the bulk
of their income from the sale of topographical views and
postcards. The fi rm had its origins in the activities of
John Valentine, a one-time weaver who commenced the
production of wood-blocks for the linen industry around
- In 1832 John’s son James, who had been trained in
the art of portrait painting in Edinburgh, was summoned
to assist in the running of his father’s printing fi rm. For
a time father and son worked together, however, local
directories show that they had parted company by 1840.
Before James expanded into photography he produced
bill-heads, engraved notices, prints of local scenes and
illustrated propaganda envelopes for the American social
campaigner, Elihu Burritt. James also became interested
in the daguerreotype and travelled to France to study
photography under M. Bulot. He was listed in the 1851
trade directories as a professional photographic artist.
From the mid 1850s he supplemented his income from
photographic portraiture by selling stereographs and
carte-de-visites created by other photographers.
The public appetite for scenic views was evident in
the growing sales of topographical lithographs after- This audience was augmented by souvenir -hun-
gry tourists whose holidays were made increasingly
possible through the expansion of the railways. In the
early 1860s, another member of the family, James’s
son William Dobson Valentine, entered the fi rm. He
had just graduated in chemistry from University Col-
lege, London, and had also trained with the renowned
professional travel photographer Francis Frith at his
Reigate Studios. It is thought that William encouraged
his father to produce photographic views similar to
those with which the fi rm’s Aberdeen rival, George
Washington Wilson, was having great success. In 1867
James Valentine was commissioned to produce a series
of forty Scottish highland views for Queen Victoria
and was subsequently appointed as Photographer to
the Queen. William’s brother George Dobson Valentine
also entered the business where he concentrated mainly
on portraiture. William was a thorough photographer
and his topographical views show careful attention to
composition. Two negatives were made of each scene
and by 1878 the company’s numerous views necessitated
the introduction of a number dating system thereby
attaching a unique number to each image within the
collection.
By the 1870s Valentine’s views covered the whole of
Britain and were being sold singly in several sizes or in
fi nely bound albums. The pricing of these exquisitely
bound volumes demonstrated that they were intended
for the middle and upper-classes. The company also
sold more moderately priced individual views and inex-
pensive stereographs which were cheap to produce and
in wide demand. The company changed its name from
James Valentine to James Valentine and Sons in 1878.
Following the death of James Valentine in 1879 his two
sons became sole partners in the fi rm. This arrange-
ment lasted until 1884 when, due to ill health, George
emigrated to New Zealand where he was to become one
of the earliest landscape photographers in the country.
William was also keenly interested in technological
advances in photography and contributed articles to
periodicals such as Art Journal and the Photographic
News. During the 1880s he was to write on a variety