Sir James Norval FRPS (1862–1936) was a 19th/20th century British businessman who created Norval Photography one of the earliest and largest photographic companies, involved both in studio work and the processing of privately created photographs, which allowed widespread use of cameras without access to a darkroom He served as Provost of Dunfermline 1918 to 1924.

Life

He was born in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

on 17 August 1862. He was apprenticed as a photographer to Handu, Hardie and Federwitz on North Station Road in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

around 1876. In 1879 he took over his previous employer's premises and in 1885 he renamed it as Norval Photography. The company expanded in 1894 and moved to 123 New Row. Around this time they began to offer processing services to other photographers, the first step to bringing photography to all people, not just professionals. In 1895 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

. He joined Dunfermline Town Council in 1902 and became involved in the Planning function, befriending

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Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He was knighted by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

in 1936 a few months before he died. He died at

Skibo Castle Skibo Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Sgìobail'') is located to the west of Dornoch in the Highland (council area), Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although largely of the 19th century and early 20th ce ...

on 13 August 1936 whilst visiting his close friend

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, and is buried in Dunfermline Cemetery. The grave lies on the east side of the eastmost roundel. Norval Photography ceased to trade as a company in 2003, 118 years after its foundation. Its demise was primarily brought about by the advent of digital photography and severe drop in photo processing.

Family

He was married to Marion Fotheringham Whyte (later known as Lady Norval) (1878-1969).Grave of James Norval, Dunfermline Cemetery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norval, James 1862 births 1936 deaths British photographers People from Dunfermline British businesspeople