Basic Site Details Name: | Photographic Studio for James Lafayette (James Stack Lauder) | City or county: | Manchester | Country: | England | Parish: | | Status: | | Grid ref: | | Notes: | James Stack Lauder, who used the professional name of James Lafayette, established his first studio in Dublin in 1880 and rapidly gained a reputation as a portrait photographer of some distinction, numbering among his sitters Queen Victoria and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Within a few years, studios were established at 15-21 Gordon Street, Glasgow (1890), 96 Deansgate, Manchester (1892), and with a surge of business in Jubilee year (1897) a branch was opened on London's Bond Street. Subsequently another studio was established in Belfast (1900).
In Glasgow atmospheric pollution had caused particular difficulties. Electric lighting had been installed to supplement the natural light while an early form of electrically operated air filtration system was also introduced to remove the fog. The Manchester studio was an alteration and adaptation of part of an existing mixed-use office building at the corner of Deansgate and St Mary’s Street.
The illustration in Manchester Faces and Places is not altogether clear but may have involved the creation of a studio on the roof of the building. Somewhat bizarrely, given the nature of the business, this is one of only a handful of line drawings published in this magazine - the remainder were all the new half-tone photo-lithographs. The assumed roof-top studio has now been removed and an additional storey added to the building
| Building Type ClassificationThe building is classified under the following categories: | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Studio | | |
Street AddressesThe following street addresses are associated with this building: | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | 96, Deansgate | | |
EventsThe following date-based events are associated with this building: | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 1892 | | Build/construction | |
PeopleDesign and ConstructionThe following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column. | | Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | | John H Hamilton | | A | 1892 | | |
ClientsThe following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design: | | Name | Notes | | Lafayette, James (James Stack Lauder) | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this building: | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Manchester Faces and Places | | Manchester Faces and Places | | | v3, p144 and illustration |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this building: | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | RIBA Journal | 9 November 1935 | v43 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | Obituary of John Hamilton, p38 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this building: | | Source | Archive name | Source catalogue no. | Notes | | Courtesy of Neil Darlington | Information sent via DSA website | | Sent October 2009 |
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