A Snapshot of Esson
In 1852, George Esson of Preston, Ontario opened a photo gallery. The next year, 1853, on August 10th, James Esson was born to George and Jane Esson. By 1870, James took over his father’s photo gallery[1] and began what would become an outstanding career in photography.
In 1884, following success as a photographer, Esson opened an Atelier (workshop of an artisan) in Preston where he photographed portraits. Among Esson’s customers were the Marquis of Lorne[2], who purchased Homer Watson’s Pioneer Mill painting on behalf of Queen Victoria, and the Watsons themselves. His studio was “three storeys high, built of red brick and trimmed with Credit Valley brownstone”[3] and the interior was described as “beautifully ornate”.[4]
To have a portrait taken at a photography studio was a special occasion. People would get dressed up in their best clothes to have their portrait taken. Roxa Watson, in anticipation of getting her portrait taken, wrote: “I will dress up in my black satin dress, and put on my jacket and hat and go get my photo taken”.[5]
Remembered nearing the end of his career as an “untidy old man with grizzled beard who lived at the back of his store-front with a harem of beautiful Persian cats,”[6] James Esson retired from the photography business in 1916. He moved to Toronto in 1920 and stayed there until his death in 1933 at 80 years old.[7] Through his photography, James Esson is memorialized as a brilliant photographer and artist, and an important contributor to our collection!
[1] Cambridge Hall of Fame, “James Esson,” https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/cambridge-hall-of-fame.aspx
[2] Cambridge Hall of Fame, “James Esson,” https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/cambridge-hall-of-fame.aspx
[3] Cambridge Hall of Fame, “James Esson,” https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/cambridge-hall-of-fame.aspx
[4] “James Esson, Photographer, Helped Put Preston on Map Atelier Richly Furnished,” The Preston Evening Reporter (Preston, ON), 8 March 1949.
[5] Roxa Watson to Phoebe and Susannah Watson, 5 May 1888, Homer Watson Fonds, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives.
[6] Betty Hearn, “My Childhood and Cats,” HWHG Research Material, 12.
[7] Cambridge Hall of Fame, “James Esson,” https://www.cambridge.ca/en/learn-about/cambridge-hall-of-fame.aspx
