Life Through the Lens

Alfred Rowden was a keen amateur photographer and natural historian in Exeter. This photograph shows members of the Exeter Camera Club on a field trip to Stoke Woods, on the outskirts of Exeter.

The freezing of the River Exe was a memorable occasion in the city, and perhaps provided some small distraction from the horrors of the First World War.

This photographic slide shows a Band of Hope group gathering outside Exeter Cathedral. The Band of Hope were an organisation which promoted abstinence from alcohol, and specifically targeted children in the hope they would shape their futures without alcohol.

The title and topic of this slide suggests Baker was interested in preservation of historic objects, and this photograph is an early example of the topic of object conservation.

Images like this remind us that photography as an art form has not evolved in isolation. The setting and composition of this image is similar to many Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings which were produced in the same era as this photograph.

This photograph is from a series recording a family holiday to Lynton and Lynmouth. It shows part of the narrow gauge railway between Lynton and Barnstaple, which operated between 1898-1935.

This image shows a woman sitting on grass in what appears to be a garden. The subject is probably Nancie Madge Platten (1898-1971) of Leicester, England, who was the niece of the photographer's wife Lilly.

This image by William Weaver Baker shows a group of people sat at a table with a tea pot. It is likely the man at the back of the group may be Weaver Baker himself and the woman sitting to his left is probably his wife Lilly Burgess Baker.

Alfred Rowden was a keen amateur photographer and natural historian in Exeter. He often gave talks at local field clubs, illustrated with magic lantern slides. He recorded scenery and wildlife specimens around Devon, but occasionally photographed local people and culture too.

The sign attached to the dog reads ‘Vote for Crawley’. The lack of information recorded on the slide makes the date and location of this scene unknown. It possibly relates to Baron Frederick Crawley who was MP for Prestwich from the late nineteenth century until 1918.

This image is a reminder of the person behind the camera – their interests and sense of humour. It is part of a set entitled ‘Cat study’. Further series by the same photographer include ‘Kitten study’ and ‘Dog study’.

This is one of three images from a series bearing the same title, and possibly captured in the same evening.

The destination board states she is heading for Weston-Super-Mare and Newport (Wales). It is one of the earliest photographic images in RAMM’s collection and was taken at a time when leisure time and travel were becoming more common for the working classes.

F.R. Rowley was a Curator at RAMM and a keen amateur photographer. Here he records a dolphin washed up on a beach in Devon. He subsequently brought the dolphin to the museum and its skeleton was taken into the Natural History collection.

The outside of the museum is recorded here during a time of rapid social change, typified with a motor car on the left of the picture and a horse and cart at the right. The ‘ghost’ figures are a result of the technology which required long exposure times to capture the image.