Cecil Shadbolt
Cecil Shadbolt | |
|---|---|
_and_%27Captain%27_William_Dale_(right)_posed_in_the_basket_of_a_gas_balloon._Shadbolt%27s_camera_can_be_seen,_attached_to_the_side_of_the_basket.jpg) Cecil Shadbolt (left) and 'Captain' William Dale (right) posed in the basket of a gas balloon. Shadbolt's camera can be seen, attached to the side of the basket. | |
| Born | 1859  |
| Died | 8 July 1892 (aged 33) |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Parent(s) | |
Cecil Victor Shadbolt (1859 – 8 July 1892) was a British photographer, who pioneered aerial photography from flying balloons.
Life
[edit]Shadbolt was born in 1859, the son of the mahogany dealer and photographer George Shadbolt.[1][2]
He showed photographs of Welsh landscapes at the 1877 Photographic Society exhibition.[2]
His first balloon ascent was in May 1882, at Alexandra Palace.[1] He made his own device for attaching a camera to the basket below a balloon, allowing him to take pictures looking directly downwards.[1] One of his images, taken from 2,000 feet (610 m) over Stamford Hill, is the earliest extant aerial photograph taken in the British Isles.[1] A print of the same image, An Instantaneous Map Photograph taken from the Car of a Balloon, 2,000 feet high, was shown at the 1882 Photographic Society exhibition.[2]
Shadbolt gave public lectures, using magic lantern slides, with the title Balloons and Ballooning, Upward and Onwards.[3]
He was secretary of the West Kent Sunday School Union from 1886.[2]
Death
[edit]On 29 June 1892, he took a flight in a gas balloon owned by (or which he co-owned with; sources vary) his friend 'Captain' William D. Dale, at Crystal Palace.[1] The balloon ripped during the initial ascent, at around 600 feet (180 m),[2] and though those aboard dropped ballast, the basket crashed to the ground, immediately killing Dale.[1] Shadbolt and the other passengers were taken to Norwood Cottage Hospital,[2] but Shadbolt died on 8 July,[3] aged 33.[1] He was buried, alongside members of his family, in grave 1,932, square 113, at West Norwood Cemetery.[2] His father was later buried in the adjacent plot.[2]
An inquest at the hospital, on 12 July 1892, under coroner, Mr Jackson, returned verdicts of accidental death.[2]
Shadbolt Collection
[edit]The Shadbolt Collection of 76 glass lantern slides taken between 1882 and 1892 is held by Historic England,[1] The slides were found at a car boot sale and subsequently purchased at auction by Historic England in 2015.[1][4]
Publications
[edit]- Harper, Henry Andrew (1888). Walks in Palestine. Religious Tract Society. – includes 24 photogravures by Shadbolt[2][5]
- An 1894 edition was subtitled "With a Portrait and Brief Memoir of the Late Cecil V. Shadbolt".
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Shadbolt Collection". Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Colin, Fenn (2016). "George & Cecil Shadbolt – Pioneer Photographers" (PDF). Friends of West Norwood. Newsletter (86): 6–8.
- ^ a b "Cecil Shadbolt (left) and 'Captain' William Dale (right)..." Historic England. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "'Earliest' aerial photos auctioned". BBC News. BBC News. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Henry Andrew Harper (1835–1900) – Walks in Palestine". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
Further reading
[edit]- report, Illustrated London News, 9 July 1892
- report, Blackheath Gazette, 15 July 1892
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