Tony Boxall
Encyclopedia
Anthony Gordon Boxall was a British amateur photographer, known for his portrayal of Gypsy life in Britain in the early 1960s.
, Surrey. He left school at 14, and did manual labour while attending evening classes at Redhill Technical College
, gaining City and Guilds
qualifications in technical subjects. Boxhall thereafter worked in a bookmaking company, in the 1960s running its shop in Horley
. After a customer persuaded him to accept a folding camera
to settle a gambling debt, Boxhall taught himself how to use it. Boxall was a fast learner; he switched to a twin-lens reflex camera
(TLR) and energetically attempted to turn professional. This ambition failed but he became an accountant
and did much for the Dorking
-based Newspaper Press Fund (later renamed the Journalists' Charity).
After photographing a Gypsy couple in a Gypsy caravan from his car one day in 1964, ignoring shouted abuse and driving on, Boxall felt remorseful and searched them out to apologize and give them prints. He eventually succeeded and after initial suspicion was allowed to continue photographing them. He did this with two TLRs, one loaded with black and white film and the other with colour. The photographs, taken from 1964 to 1968, show a warm family life amid poverty and lack of amenities. Some of those in black and white were published in book form in 1992; Boxall had delayed as he had felt unqualified to write text that in the end was provided by Brian Raywid. Boxall also sold the photographs via agencies, and in 2007 estimated that this had earned him £70,000.
Boxall died in Horley on 18 December 2010.
Life and career
Boxhall was born on 15 December 1929 in RedhillRedhill, Surrey
Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Redhill and the adjacent town of Reigate form a single urban area.-History:...
, Surrey. He left school at 14, and did manual labour while attending evening classes at Redhill Technical College
East Surrey College
East Surrey College is situated in the town of Redhill, a busy shopping and commercial centre for surrounding small towns. The College has over 1,100 full-time students and more than 9,000 part-time students; studying courses that range from vocational qualifications to community leisure...
, gaining City and Guilds
City and Guilds of London Institute
The City and Guilds of London Institute is a leading United Kingdom vocational education organisation. City & Guilds offers more than 500 qualifications over the whole range of industry sectors through 8500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide...
qualifications in technical subjects. Boxhall thereafter worked in a bookmaking company, in the 1960s running its shop in Horley
Horley
Horley is a town in Surrey, England, situated south of the twin towns of Reigate and Redhill, and north of Gatwick Airport and Crawley.With fast links by train to London from Horley railway station, it has grown popular with commuters in recent years...
. After a customer persuaded him to accept a folding camera
Folding camera
A folding camera is a camera that can be folded to a compact and rugged package when not in use. The camera objective is sometimes attached to a pantograph-like mechanism, in which the lid usually is a component. The objective extends to give correct focus when unfolded. A cloth or leather bellows...
to settle a gambling debt, Boxhall taught himself how to use it. Boxall was a fast learner; he switched to a twin-lens reflex camera
Twin-lens reflex camera
A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...
(TLR) and energetically attempted to turn professional. This ambition failed but he became an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
and did much for the Dorking
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
-based Newspaper Press Fund (later renamed the Journalists' Charity).
After photographing a Gypsy couple in a Gypsy caravan from his car one day in 1964, ignoring shouted abuse and driving on, Boxall felt remorseful and searched them out to apologize and give them prints. He eventually succeeded and after initial suspicion was allowed to continue photographing them. He did this with two TLRs, one loaded with black and white film and the other with colour. The photographs, taken from 1964 to 1968, show a warm family life amid poverty and lack of amenities. Some of those in black and white were published in book form in 1992; Boxall had delayed as he had felt unqualified to write text that in the end was provided by Brian Raywid. Boxall also sold the photographs via agencies, and in 2007 estimated that this had earned him £70,000.
Boxall died in Horley on 18 December 2010.
Books by Boxall
- Gypsy Camera. Croydon: Creative Monochrome, 1992. ISBN 1873319010. Text by Brian Raywid.
- Negative to Positive: My Life in Words and Pictures. blurb.com (here).