Christina Broom
Encyclopedia
Christina Broom was a British photographer, credited as "the UK's first female press photographer".
, Chelsea, London, the then-Christina Livingston married Albert Edward Broom (1864–1912) in 1889. In 1903, following the failure of the family ironmongery business and other business ventures, Broom borrowed a box camera
and taught herself the rudiments of photography. She set up a stall in the Royal Mews
at Buckingham Palace
, selling postcards of photographs that she had taken. She maintained this stall from 1904 until 1930.
When the family moved to Burnfoot Avenue, Broom used the coal cellar as her dark room. She was assisted by her daughter Winifred, who had left school to assist her mother; Albert wrote the captions for the postcards in his neat script. The postcards sold well: in one night-time session Broom printed 1000.
Broom was appointed official photographer to the Household Division
from 1904-1939 and had a darkroom in the Chelsea Barracks
; she also took many photographs of local scenes, including those at the Palace, as well as The Boat Race
and Suffragette
marches.
Albert died in 1912 and Broom and Winifred moved to Munster Road, Fulham. Broom took the professional name of Mrs Albert Broom. In the 1920s and 1930s her work was featured in publications such as the Illustrated London News
, The Tatler, The Sphere
, and Country Life
.
Broom died on 5 June 1939 and was buried in Fulham old cemetery.
Collections of Broom's photographs are held at the Museum of London
, the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum
, London, the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, the Royal Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the Guards Museum, London; the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Local Studies Library; the Hammersmith and Fulham Archive and the National Army Museum; Maidstone Art Gallery, Kent; and the Harry Ransom Center and the Gernsheim Collection, University of Texas, both at Austin, Texas, United States.
On 17 December 2009 a collection of some 2,000 of Broom's photographs, mainly of military subjects, was to be offered for sale by auction at Sotheby's
in London. The collection was expected to make up to £35,000.
History
Born at 8 King's RoadKing's Road
King's Road is a street in Chelsea, London, England.King's Road or Kings Road may also refer to:* King's Road * King's Road * King's Road * King's Road...
, Chelsea, London, the then-Christina Livingston married Albert Edward Broom (1864–1912) in 1889. In 1903, following the failure of the family ironmongery business and other business ventures, Broom borrowed a box camera
Box camera
The box camera is, with the exception of the pin hole camera, a camera in its simplest form. The form of the classic box camera is no more than a cardboard or plastic box with a lens in one end and film at the other. A simple box camera has only a single element meniscus fixed focus lens and...
and taught herself the rudiments of photography. She set up a stall in the Royal Mews
Royal Mews
A Royal Mews is a mews of the British Royal Family. In London the Royal Mews has occupied two main sites, formerly at Charing Cross, and since the 1820s at Buckingham Palace....
at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, selling postcards of photographs that she had taken. She maintained this stall from 1904 until 1930.
When the family moved to Burnfoot Avenue, Broom used the coal cellar as her dark room. She was assisted by her daughter Winifred, who had left school to assist her mother; Albert wrote the captions for the postcards in his neat script. The postcards sold well: in one night-time session Broom printed 1000.
Broom was appointed official photographer to the Household Division
Household Division
Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with the head of state.-Historical Development:In...
from 1904-1939 and had a darkroom in the Chelsea Barracks
Chelsea Barracks
Chelsea Barracks was a British Army barracks located in the City of Westminster, London, adjacent to Chelsea, on Chelsea Bridge Road.-History:The barracks was originally built in the 1860s to house two battalions of troops...
; she also took many photographs of local scenes, including those at the Palace, as well as The Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
and Suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
marches.
Albert died in 1912 and Broom and Winifred moved to Munster Road, Fulham. Broom took the professional name of Mrs Albert Broom. In the 1920s and 1930s her work was featured in publications such as the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
, The Tatler, The Sphere
The Sphere (newspaper)
The Sphere was a British newspaper, published weekly from 27 January 1900 until the closure of the paper on 27 June 1964; the first issue came out at the height of the Boer War and was no doubt a product of that conflict and the public appetite for images...
, and Country Life
Country Life (magazine)
Country Life is a British weekly magazine, based in London at 110 Southwark Street, and owned by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.- Topics :The magazine covers the pleasures and joys of rural life, as well as the concerns of rural people...
.
Broom died on 5 June 1939 and was buried in Fulham old cemetery.
Collections of Broom's photographs are held at the Museum of London
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the Prehistoric to the present day. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre, as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 70s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb damaged...
, the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London, the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, the Royal Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the Guards Museum, London; the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Local Studies Library; the Hammersmith and Fulham Archive and the National Army Museum; Maidstone Art Gallery, Kent; and the Harry Ransom Center and the Gernsheim Collection, University of Texas, both at Austin, Texas, United States.
On 17 December 2009 a collection of some 2,000 of Broom's photographs, mainly of military subjects, was to be offered for sale by auction at Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
in London. The collection was expected to make up to £35,000.
Further reading
- Atkinson, D., Mrs Broom's Suffragette Photographs (1990)
- Inselmann, A. (ed.), A Second Look (1993)