Lot 625
William James Topley (1845-1930)
Lot 625 Details
William James Topley (1845-1930), Canadian
SIR WILFRID LAURIER, 1906
gelatin silver print; with Topley Ottawa photographer’s studio stamp to the grey mount lower left, the photograph inscribed: “Copyrighted Entered according to act of the Parliament of Canada in the year 1906, by W J Topley at the Department of Agriculture” in pen and ink on the photograph along the bottom lower left edge, autographed “Wilfrid Laurier” in pen and ink to the mount bottom centre
Sheet/Mounted 15.4" x 12.2" — 39 x 31 cm.; 19.75" x 15.75" — 50.2 x 40 cm.
Estimate $300-$500
Additional Images
Provenance:
Inscribed “Propriete du Sheri Lemieux” in old pen and ink frame verso
Literature:
Tristin Hopper, “Forgotten Canada: One of history’s first photo bombs, and turn-of-the-century typos (hey, ‘Raoul’ Amundsen)”, National Post, 7 Feb 2014, illustrated
Gawain Weaver, “Capital Portraits: Conservation of the Topley Studio Index”, New York University, 2005;
Note:
Topley was a celebrated photographer known for his portraits of Canadian politicians. In 1872 Topley would take over his business partner William Notman’s Ottawa studio. Weaver comments, “He catered to the well-to-do as he himself said ‘If I can see beauty in the human face, and reproduce it, I can command three times the reward for my work than he who simply shoots a plate at his patron. True, in a small city, such a course limits trade, but one half of the business with three times the prices is much better for mind and body and pocketbook’”.
Hopper notes, “Sir Wilfrid Laurier was reportedly quite a pleasant man known for his ‘warm smile.’ [He] always adopted a bone-chilling stare when it came time to sit for a portrait. And if this 1906 photo can be believed, he also had massive hands.”