Victorian Whitby through the Magic Lantern

At the end of the 19th century, Whitby was one of the most photographed towns in England because of the remarkable pictures taken by local photographer Frank Sutcliffe. Although photography was sixty years old by then and portrait studios were commonplace in our towns and cities, only a handful of British, professional photographers were taking pictures of ordinary people going about their everyday lives. Those of the highest calibre took technically accomplished and beautifully composed photos that enable us to step back in time and experience fragmentary moments in the lives of our Victorian ancestors. One of these photographers was Graystone Bird. This 37 page booklet reproduces Whitby-related text from a Victorian travel guide and fifty photographs taken by Graystone Bird. Graystone won many awards for his photographs but is now virtually unknown because of the ‘forgotten’ format in which his images were published .…. glass ‘magic lantern’ projection slides. These remarkable photographs have not been published before and I hope you enjoy these 'new' images of Victorian Whitby.