Edward Bracher

Edward Bracher (1823 – 31 May 1887) was a pioneering Victorian photographer based in Oxford, England.[1]

Bracher was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire.[2] He had photographic premises at 26 High Street, Oxford from 1852 to 1863.[3][4] He worked mainly on portraits and commissioned landscapes, advertising as the "Oxford University Portrait Rooms" with "Portraits takes on Ivory, Paper, and Glass" as well as "Gentlemen's Mansions & Churches Photographed".[5] Bracher lived over the premises with his wife and two children.[6]

Henry Taunt, later another well-known photographer, joined Bracher at the age of 14 as a member of staff in 1856.[7] In 1863, Bracher sold his business to the Oxford booksellers and stationers, Wheeler and Day.[8] The business transferred to 106 High Street, but Henry Taunt stayed at the original premises as photographic manager for a brief period.[6]

He died at his brother's residence in Sedgehill, Reading, aged 64.[9][10]

References

1. Photographers in the High, High Street, Oxford, UK.
2. 1861 England Census
3. Stephanie Jenkins, Oxford Photographers, Oxfordshire-L Archives, 21 February 2004.
4. Henry W Taunt: the business Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine, English Heritage, UK.
5. Oxford University Portrait Rooms, Alden's Illustrated Family Miscellany and Oxford Monthly Record, Vol. XI, No. 122, October 1864.
6. The High, Oxford: 24–31 Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine, High Street, Oxford Archived 2010-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, UK.
7. Bryan Brown (editor), The England of Henry Taunt: Victorian photographer. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1973, page x. ISBN 978-0-7100-7542-0.
8. Graham Diprose and Jeff Robins, The River Thames Revisited: In the Footsteps of Henry Taunt. Frances Lincoln Publishers, 2007, page 12. ISBN 978-0-7112-2765-1.
9. "Deaths". Reading Mercury. 4 June 1887. p. 5. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
10. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995