Francis Frith & Co.
Francis Frith & Co.
British, founded 1859
LocationEngland
BiographyFrancis Frith, was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1822 and died in Cannes, France in 1898. He founded his photographic views publishing company in Reigate, Surrey, in 1859, prior to his third and final photographic tour of the Middle East in the summer of that year.----
The original company founded by Frith continued taking and publishing photographs for 110 years until 1970, when it was closed following the retirement of the owners.
From 1860 to 1900 the primary business was selling photographic prints for Victorians to paste into their family albums. By 1910, following the legalisation of postcards, the business had evolved into a postcard publisher, and became the UK market leader for many years.
Following closure of the business in 1970, Bill Jay, one of Britain's first photo historians, identified the archive as being nationally important, and "at risk". Bill managed to persuade Rothmans, the tobacco company, to purchase the archive to ensure its safety.
Frith was re-launched in 1976 as The Francis Frith Collection by John Buck, a Rothmans's executive, with the intention of making the Frith photographs available to as wide an audience as possible.
In 1977 John Buck bought the Collection from Rothmans and has continued to run it as an independent business since that time.
Person TypeCorporate Body
