The Golden Age of Sauchiehall Street: 1892 – “Glasgow is Famous for Photographers” – Messrs. Annan and Mr. Warneuke

There was a time when walking along Sauchiehall Street provided numerous opportunities to visit the

premises of some of the country’s famous photographers.

 

Two articles on page 617 of Photography: The Journal of The Amateur, The Profession & The Trade,

No. 203, Vol. IV, on Thursday the 29th of September, 1892, read:

 

“Messrs. Annan’s New Premises.—Messrs. Annan’s new premises, on the north side of Sauchiehall

Street, are (says the Bailie), fitted up with great taste. The portrait studio in its lighting and blinds,

etc., follows the lines of an artist’s studio, and is quite unencumbered with any of the ordinary

photograph properties. It is lofty and well proportioned. The scheme of decoration is admirable,

being light, graceful, and quite removed from the commonplace. It was designed by Mr. Boston,

and carried out by Messrs. Geo. Walton and Co. In addition to the high reputation the firm has, in

the course of long years, acquired for portraiture, they have earned fame for their photogravures.

Her Majesty is one of Messrs. Annan’s frequent patrons. The first photogravure they did for the

Queen was one, some four years ago, of the late Emperor Frederick, and the last is of the Princess

Louise, ordered only a week or two ago. Several very important volumes, illustrated by their process,

have been issued by Messrs. Annan—such as ‘Old Country Houses of the West,’ mansions, etc., in

different counties, and their magnificent book on ‘Glasgow University.’ The firm now consists of two

Messrs. Annan, and Mr McKendrick, son-in-law of the late Mr. Robert Annan.”

 

 

and

 

 

Mr. Warneuke’s New Studio.—Glasgow is famous for photographers, and Mr. Warneuke is one of

the most famous. His works are seen on the walls of every exhibition. He has just carried off a gold medal

for his display at the International Colonial Exhibition in Durban against fifty European competitors, and

he has taken first place also at the Royal Polytechnic Exhibition at Falmouth this autumn. Further, the

committee of the World’s Fair have honoured him by including his name in the select company of

photographers on this side of the Atlantic whom they have asked to contribute specimens to the great

exhibition at Chicago. Mr. Warneuke’s profession is inherited, for his father was one of the pioneers of

photography in Scotland, and his mother was equally skilled in the art. Four years ago he opened a studio

in Sauchiehall Street, and so numerous is his clientèle that he has found it necessary to transfer the scene of

his artistic operations to the building a few doors westward which Messrs. Annan formerly occupied. Since it

has come into Mr. Warneuke’s possession there has been a complete transformation. The front shop has given

place to an open fretted doorway lined with portraits of local celebrities, whose features are the centre of attraction

the livelong day. A carpeted staircase, bordered by greenhouse plants, leads to the floor above, where a spacious

reception room is furnished after the manner of a drawing room. The floor is richly carpeted, the walls are adorned

with photographs and oil paintings typical of the various styles of Mr. Warneuke’s art; while cabinets, Oriental ware,

mirrors, couches, and settees constitute the furnishing. A flood of light pours through the glazed roof, and a unique

system of wall decoration, devised by Mr. Warneuke, is substituted for paper. It consists of lace curtains glued to the

plaster and painted a greenish hue. On this floor are dressing-rooms for sitters, also the office, and, hidden from the

sight of visitors, the apartments where the photographs are printed and prepared. On the upper floor is the studio—a

large, bright chamber, olive painted, carpeted with billiard-table cloth, and furnished luxuriously. The side lights are

regulated by sliding panels. Throughout the interior of the building the general scheme of arrangement is Moorish. The

electric light has been installed, and the illumination will be supplied by the Corporation so soon as the connections are

made.”

 

 

 

Google Books.

 

 

 

George Fairfull-Smith, August 2024.