FT262

On the bitterly cold afternoon of 16 December 1890, a Mr JT Thompson entered the premises of the eminent Newcastle-upon-Tyne photographer James Dickinson. Dickinson ran his business from a shop located at 43 Grainger Street, and was well known in the area for his skilled use of the camera.

Thompson asked Dickinson if he would take a photograph of him: “You know… sitting on a chair, that sort of thing.” Dickinson agreed and suggested that if Thompson was agreeable he could take the picture there and then. The customer was duly led to the studio on the first floor, where Dickinson suggested a canvas backdrop of an attractive-looking stained glass window.