Thomas Carlyle (December 4, 1795-February 5, 1881) was a Scottish writer and historian and widely influential on Victorian life and thought. He married Jane Welsh on October 17, 1826.
Jane Baillie Welsh (July 14, 1801-April 21, 1866) was the daughter of Dr. John Welsh and Grace Billie Welsh of Haddington, Scotland, where her father practiced medicine. Haddington is southeast of Edinburgh.
The marriage between Thomas Carlyle and Jane Welsh was a difficult one, although with her death he went into deep depression. In their married life they lived in various places in Scotland and on Cheyne Row, Chelsea, in London.
John Patrick (1830-1923) was a Scottish baker turned photographer. After maintaining photography studios in various towns in Scotland, he opened a shop in Edinburgh in May 1884 at 5 Coniston Road. Eventually his sons joined him in this enterprise. He first photographed Thomas Carlyle in 1874.
The Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle photographs consist of a letter by Thomas Carlyle to the photographer of photographs of his wife Jane Welsh Carlyle together with his comments on the photographs. In addition, there are numerous photographs by John Patrick of Edinburgh of sites associated with Thomas Carlyle and of the interiors of places of residence inhabited by the Carlyles.
The collection is open to research according to the regulations of the Mortimer Rare Book Room.
Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle Photographs are the physical property of the Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors of the works or their legal representatives.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle Photographs, Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts
The Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle photographs are a gift from the estate of Henry L. Seaver, 1976.
Processed by Melvin Carlson, Jr., 2007
1 leaf.
In this letter Thomas Carlyle transmits two photographs of his wife Jane Welsh Carlyle to the photographer.
1 photograph mounted on board.
Photograph of Jane Welsh Carlyle seated at a table, elbow on table and head resting in her hand. The inscription by Thomas Carlyle on the board reads: "Very like! (tho' peculiar & rare)"
1 photograph mounted on board.
Photograph of Jane Welsh Carlyle seated at a table, elbow on table and head resting in her hand (slightly different pose than 2 above). The inscription by Thomas Carlyle on the board reads: "Like, tho' slightly unfavourable (these 2)"
1 photograph on thin paper (possibly a proof)
Jane Welsh Carlyle seated on an arm chair, elbow on arm and hand against her face. Inscribed on the verso by Thomas Carlyle: "A miserable caricature; not one feature like, or even recognizable, pale, ah!, T. C. Carlyle"
4 photographs mounted on boards of the pose of Jane Welsh Carlyle noted in 3 above. Apparently there are different exposure times in the printing of these photographs as each has a different light and dark contrast providing various emphases of the details of the photographs.
1 photograph mounted on board.
Jane Welsh Carlyle seated on a chair with a dog in her lap and a bonnet on her head.
Jane Welsh Carlyle seated on a chair at table, elbow on table and hand touching her face.
2 photographs mounted on boards.
Jane Welsh Carlyle standing with hands resting on the back of a chair and a dog on the seat of the chair. Two different exposures.
1 photograph mounted on board.
The inscription on the photograph reads: "From a daguerreotype 1848, T. Carlyle." J. Patrick & Sons, 52. Comiston Road, Edinburgh.
1 photograph showing Carlyle seated wearing a cape.
1 photograph, showing Carlyle seated with elbow on table and his hand on a cane.
1 postcard. C. W. Faulkner & Co., London, E. C. Series no. 66A.
1 photograph mounted on board.