The photographer William Edwin Alexander Drinkwater occupied his studio in Havelock Road, Hastings for about five years (1888-1892). The studio at 31 Havelock Road, Hastings was the first studio that William Drinkwater owned, but It seems that to give the impression that he had long experience as a professional photographer, the twenty-three year old began numbering his negatives from 10,000 rather than starting at number 1. It appears that during his time in Hastings, W. E. A. Drinkwater produced about one thousand photographic negatives each year. Like the majority of professional photographers in Late Victorian Britain, Drinkwater produced his photographic portraits in the increasingly popular cabinet card format [a photographic print mounted on a sturdy card measuring 4.25 inches by 6.5 inches, roughly 11 cm x 17 cm] and in the long-established carte-de-visite (cdv) format. [ The carte-de-visite was a photographic print on a card mount the same size as a conventional visiting card (roughly 2.5 inches by 4.25 inches or 6.3 cm by 10.5 cm), hence the name “carte de visite“- the French term for visiting card.
Cabinet Card Portraits
The photographer William Edwin Alexander Drinkwater pictured with his pet cat and pet dog. Cabinet card by W. E. A. Drinkwater, 31 Havelock Road, Hastings (circa 1892). PHOTO SOURCE: Stephen Hudson
William E. A. Drinkwater pictured with his wife, Martha (left), his mother-in-law, Mrs Janet Funnell (right) and a seated woman, believed to be William’s mother, Mrs Sarah Anne Drinkwater. Cabinet card photograph by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. (c1889). PHOTO SOURCE: Stephen Hudson
Portrait of a young woman holding a baby. This cabinet card was found in the Drinkwater photograph collecton but the woman has not been identified. Photograph by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings, Sussex (circa 1890). PHOTO SOURCE; Stephen Hudson.
Cabinet portrait of a bearded man by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. Negative No. 10455 (c1888). Permanent Chromotype Photograph.
A family group portrait by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. Cabinet card. Negative No. 11034 (c1889) Albumen print.
Portrait of a Leading Seaman in the Royal Navy by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings . Cabinet Card. Negative No.11554. (c1889). Permanent Chromotype.
Portrait of a married couple. A cabinet card photograph by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. Negative No. 11655 (circa 1889). Albumen print.
Portrait of a young woman. A cabinet card photograph by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings (circa 1891) . Negative No.13767. Albumen print.
Portrait of a young child standing on a chair. A cabinet card photograph by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings (circa 1892). Negative No. 14679.
W. E. A. Drinkwater: Cabinet Card Trade Plate Designs (1888-1892)
During the first couple of years at his Havelock Road studio, William Drinkwater produced cabinet cards with a blank back, with only a hand-written negative number inscribed on the reverse of the photographic portrait. Once he was established at his Hastings studio, Drinkwater utilised printed trade plate designs on the reverse of his photographs. By 1891, William Drinkwater was incorporating publicity within the central panel of his decorative trade plate design, giving details of the services he offered (e.g. enlargements) and the different types of photography he could supply (e.g. “Permanent Chromotypes”).
W. E. A. Drinkwater Cabinet Card. Trade Plate Design (1889-1890)
W. E. A. Drinkwater Cabinet Card. Trade Plate Design (1891-1892)
Cartes-de-visite Portraits
Portrait of an unknown boy by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. On the reverse is the inscription “E.D.”. Carte-de-visite. Negative No. 10154, (c.1888). Albumen print. This portrait carries a simple trade plate on the back of the photograph – a printed signature of the photographer’s surname and the studio address viz. “Drinkwater – PHOTO- 31 HAVELOCK ROAD, HASTINGS. ” [See the cdv of the young lady – Neg. No. 12370 – below].
[ABOVE] The trade plate printed on the reverse of the carte-de-visite portrait [see photo on the right] by W. E. A. Drinkwater, Photographer of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. Negative No. 12015 (circa 1890). The trade plate refers to the fact that Drinkwater’s studio was situated above the Hastings Coffee Palace on the ground floor of No. 31 Havelock Road.
[ABOVE] Vignette portrait of a young woman, a carte-de-visite by W .E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. Negative No. 12015. (circa 1890).
[ABOVE LEFT] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman standing by an indoor house plant, a common accessory in studio portraiture in late Victorian times. Negative No. 12370 (circa 1890). [ABOVE RIGHT] The simple trade plate design which was printed on the reverse of the cdv portrait on the left.
[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young woman. Negative No. 12454. (circa 1890). The reverse of this cdv is blank apart from the negative number to quote when ordering reprints.
The elaborate trade plate design which appeared on the cdvs and cabinet card portraits Drinkwater produced in 1891 and 1892. This example is printed on the reverse of the portrait of the child pictured on the right. Negative No. 13970. (c1891).
[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite portrait of a young child seated on a chair by W. E. A. Drinkwater of 31 Havelock Road, Hastings. Negative No. 13970. By the length and style of the hair, i am assuming the subject is a little girl, although in Victorian times it was not uncommon for boys under the age of four to be attired in dresses. This cdv dates from around 1891.
Cartes-de-visite by Drinkwater (not Hastings)
After he left Hastings in 1892, W. E. A. Drinkwater worked as a professional photographer in Devonport, Wells in Somerset, Plymouth in Devon, Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham.
[ABOVE] A carte-de-visite of an unknown woman photographed at Drinkwater’s studio at Coleridge Chambers, Corporation Street, Birmingham.The reverse is blank with no photographic negative number (circa 1907). When this portrait was made, Drinkwater was operating a branch studio at 101 London Road, Leicester, which he opened around 1906.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I am grateful to Stephen Hudson for supplying some of the images from the Drinkwater Family photograph collection. The other Drinkwater photographs are from my own archive.
Victorian Sussex Photographers 
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