SHEEPSHANKS (John, 1834-1912, Bishop of Norwich 1893-1909 Author)

Postcard photo by Lafayette, signed “Joh Norvic” showing him head and shoulders in his bishop’s robes, 5½” x 3½”, no place, no date, circa

In 1859 Sheepshanks was asked by George Hills, the Bishop of Columbia to come to Canada as a missionary, working in British Columbia at the time of the Cariboo Gold Rush. He was made Rector of New Westminster. Since New Westminster was then little more than a forest clearing on the banks of the Fraser River, this was a rugged life. He was also chaplain to the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment. He returned to England in 1864, to raise funds, via San Francisco and Utah; his church had burned down by the time he reached New Westminster in 1866. His father then fell ill, and planning to visit him, Sheepshanks set off once more; the trip turned into an extended Pacific and Asian journey. Returning finally to England via Moscow in November 1867, Sheepshanks settled down to life as a parish priest. He held incumbencies in Bilton, Yorkshire and Anfield, Liverpool before his elevation to the episcopate as Bishop of Norwich in 1893, a post he held until 1909. He was a noted author.
The Lafayette studio was one of the earliest photographic businesses in the world. It was founded in Dublin in 1880 by James Stack Lauder, who used the professional name of James Lafayette. James was the eldest son of Edmund Lauder, a pioneering and successful photographer who had opened a daguerreotype studio in Dublin in 1853. In adopting the name 'Lafayette', James created a new image for the family business, seeking to prosper from the cachet of a French name: Paris was then the centre of the art world and of avant-garde photography in particular.

Item Date:  1900

Stock No:  42288      £75

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