Early Photographs of George and Emma Beaumont

In my parents' house near Chichester was a corner cupboard inside which amongst other things were two coloured Victorian images, a gentleman and lady, set in identical display mounts marked "photographic miniatures by Mr Sutton 204 Regent St." 

After the house was cleared prior to sale in 2012, the mounts were discarded as in poor condition. 

Also in the cupboard, loose, was a note in my mother's hand identifying Emma. It appears that my father thought these to be pictures of his grandparents George and Emma (both died before he was born). 

I found a website saying that Edwin Sutton was a photographer at 204 Regent Street (London) from 1856-1873. I am inclined to think that these images do indeed show George and Emma, not long after they had married, which was at Pytchley, Northamptonshire, on 17 July 1861. 

Emma Beaumont (nee Heycock) 1839-1907

George Beaumont 1825-1899 of East Bridgford

Whether the images (now Box 1-189 in this archive) were taken by some photographic process is not really clear, but I think so. However these are larger than normal cartes de visite. The glass and mounts measure 5.5 ins by 6.5 ins and the image inside (the openings in the mount, to the top of the curve at the top) are 4 ins by 5.25 ins.

I thought these images may well be, like one we have of George's mother, some form of ambrotype, or  “collodion positive” which has been painted. They would then be of a type of photographic image that was going out early in the 1860s as the new and more affordable carte de visite format came in.

However, on another examination it seemed to me that the images are actually on (quite thick) paper, behind the glass. The glass is detaching itself from the paper over time, and there are signs of various patching-up jobs, the edges of one of them being stuck with perforated-edge paper that looks to me to have come from a sheet of postage stamps.

One theory is that the images were hand-coloured by Emma herself.

Box 1/022 in this Archive is a receipt issued, presumably to George Beaumont, dated 3 April 1869, at 2 Royal Exchange Buildings [London]. But I expect he went to London quite often.

There are several later photos of Emma and George including these taken some years later at studios in Nottingham.

I would much appreciate any comments both as to the images themselves and also as to whether others agree the identifications, based on the later photos.

EMB 2 February 2021