These photographs, and the family history that they illustrate, were kindly provided by Ronald Neatby, great-grandson of the artist/designer. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit Ronald Neatby and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. — Jacqueline Banerjee]
Photographs by W. Gothard, of Wakefield and Barnsley
Left: Portrait photograph of W.J. Neatby, about 1881. Right: Neatby and his bride, Emily, née Arnold, apparently on their wedding day, 28 May 1881. Neatby was still only 21.
Neatby's father, Samuel Mossforth Neatby, with Neatby's little son by this first marriage, William Douglas Neatby (born 16 April 1884), in about 1886. (This photograph has been cropped to remove an area of glare in the lower part.) Neatby was now working for Burmantofts. Sadly, Emily died in 1885 after giving birth to another child, a daughter called Gwendolen, who also died in infancy, in the following year — a common story for those times, but nonetheless tragic.
Studio details at the foot of Neatby's portrait.
All three photographs show the name of the photographic studio. It was a notable one: W. Gothard, of Wakefield and Barnsley. Warner Gothard (1835-1909) and his son Warner (1865-1940), were well-known in photographic circles, and became increasingly so: "Warner Gothard Jnr ... was responsible with the assistance of his brothers and sisters for the famous montage postcards depicting events and disasters from 1905-1916" ("History"). These included "Mine Disasters; Rail Disasters; Shipping Accidents and Wrecks" (Coysh 111).
Photographs by Other Studios
Photographs of (left) Neatby's second wife Isobel (Jane Isabella, née Dempster), in about 1887 and (right) with her step-son Douglas standing behind, and the two children of this second marriage, her son Edward Mossforth Neatby, and her daughter Magdalen, in about 1896. These photographs were taken by (left) Stuart of 47 & 49 Brompton Rd, SW./159 High Rd, Balham; and (right) Alec Binnie of 10, The Terrace, E. Putney, SW. The latter too has been cropped to remove an area of glare in the lower part.
Sadly, Neatby himself died in 1910, when he was only 49 years 11 months. However, his legacy continues in his work, and also through his family: his son Edward (1888-1949) became an accomplished artist, exhibiting his portraits and landscapes widely.
Bibliography
Anderson, Alastair Scott. William James Neatby: Artist and Designer, 1860-1910. Doctoral thesis for the University of De Montford. Download link for two volumes: https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/items/2d714b14-1608-4faf-a2b0-81b423fc2f27/full
Coysh, A. W. The Dictionary of Picture Postcard in Britain, 1894-1939. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 1984.
"History." Warner Gothard: Photographer and Postcard Publisher. https://www.warnergothard.com/warner-gothard-history.htm
Created 3 July 2024
Last modified 7 July 2024 (photographs added)