Hay Wrightson, sitter books

Scope and Content

This collection contains the following volumes:

- Sitter book 1 - Contains names of sitters arranged according to first letter of surname, also contains the negative number of the sitting and in some cases the date of sitting and comments e.g. court or never use for press, plus occasional notes of name changes. It's unclear the exact dates of the volume but it's believed to cover the 1920s as dates from 1925, 1926 and 1927 are captured. Negative numbers captured in this volume span 1002 to c. 11614.

- Sitter book 2 - Contains names of sitters arranged according to first letter of surname, also contains the negative number of the sitting and in some cases the date of sitting and comments e.g. court or never use for press, plus occasional notes of name changes. Many of the entries are marked with various letters, believed to be abbreviations or code, in red ink, it's unclear what these letters stand for. It's unclear the exact dates of the volume but it's believed to cover the late 1920s and early 1930s as dates from 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 1931 are captured. Negative numbers captured in this volume span 9039 to 16531.

- Sitter book 3 - The inside cover is marked, 'The property of Hay Wrightson Studio, 41 New Bond Street, London, W1.' Contains names of sitters arranged according to first letter of surname, also contains the negative number of the sitting and in some cases the date of sitting. Many of the entries have comments next to them indicating the occasion the photograph was taken, e.g Marr (presumably marriage), Soc (presumably society) and comp (presumably complimentary). Many of the entries are marked with various letters, believed to be abbreviations or code, in red ink, it's unclear what these letters stand for. It's unclear the exact dates of the volume but it's believed to cover the early to mid 1930s as dates from 1934 and 1935 are captured. Negative numbers captured in this volume span 16530 to 23717.

- Sitter book 4 - Contains names of sitters arranged according to first letter of surname, also contains the negative number of the sitting and in some cases the date of sitting. Many of the entries have comments next to them indicating the occasion the photograph was taken, e.g Marr (presumably marriage), Soc (presumably society) and comp (presumably complimentary). Many of the entries are marked with various letters, believed to be abbreviations or code, in red ink, it's unclear what these letters stand for. It's unclear the exact dates of the volume but it's believed to cover the late 1930s as dates from 1937, 1938 and 1939 are captured. It's not clear if the volume records sittings in the 1940s, though it was annotated during that period with Killed in Action appearing next to some sitters. Negative numbers captured in this volume span 23719 to 31707.

- Sitter book 5 - Contains names of sitters arranged according to first letter of surname, also contains the negative number of the sitting. No dates are captured in the volume, it is thought to be from the 1940s-1950s from the dates of the volumes on either side. Negative numbers captured in this volume span 31700 to 38388.

- Sitter book 6 - The inside cover is marked 'Commenced 1st July 1959'. Contains names of sitters arranged according to first letter of surname, also contains the negative number of the sitting. Apart from the date on the inside cover no other dates are recorded, it's likely that the volume covers 1959 and the early 1960s. Negative numbers captured in this volume span 38389 to 42745.

Administrative / Biographical History

Hay Wrightson (1874-1949) was a photographer and owner of the photography firm Hay Wrightson Ltd, the firm continued after the death of Wrightson - it's unknown by whom or when the firm disbanded.

Access Information

Available to view by appointment in the Heinz Archive and Library Public Study Room, to make an appointment contact Archive Reception . Although records are generally available for public consultation, some information in them, such as personal data or information supplied to the Gallery in confidence, may be restricted.

Some volumes may not be made available for conservation reasons, apply to staff for further details.

Conditions Governing Use

Personal photography is permitted for research purposes only. Photocopying is not permitted.