Harold Baker (1860–1942) was a British photographer who was based in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, England.
Life and career
Baker was born in Birmingham in 1860, the son of
Samuel Henry Baker, an artist and member of the
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square, Birmingham, St Pa ...
.
His brother
Oliver (1856–1939) was also an artist and a designer.
He went to
King Edward School in
New Street, Birmingham, and then apprenticed to a wood-carver of church furniture and designer of stained glass windows.
Baker was a keen amateur photographer and in 1886 opened his first photographic studio at 17 Cannon Street, Birmingham, and the following year moved to premises in New Street. He was appointed official photographer to the Birmingham Archaeological Society, succeeding Robert W. Thrupp.
In about 1897 he became closely associated with the ''Birmingham Magazine of Arts and Industries'', and became the magazine's official photographer.
He was a regular contributor to photographic magazines including ''Practical Photographer''.
In 1902, Baker was invited to assist
J. Benjamin Stone the official photographer for the
coronation of King Edward VII, and is credited with having taken the only photograph of the proclamation of the King at
St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...
.
In 1921 he judged the first annual photographic exhibition organised by the Soho Hill Men's Movement Camera Club.
A collection of his work including over 200
albumen
Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens, it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms aro ...
prints mainly of architectural and archaeological studies of buildings and sites in and around Birmingham c1870-1880 and 500 half-plate glass negatives of architectural and historical subjects is held in the
Library of Birmingham
The Library of Birmingham is a public library in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square, beside the Birmingham Rep (to which it connects, and with which it shares some facilities) and Baske ...
.
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Harold
1860 births
1942 deaths
Photographers from Birmingham, West Midlands
Archaeological photographers
19th-century English photographers