Keywords: Fred C Palmer Boys Brigade 001.jpg Postcard portrait of South London Boys Brigade probably taken at or near Herne Bay Kent England from 1907 to 1922 The group is probably at summer camp The postcard is unused postally The photographer was Fred C Palmer who was working at Tower Studio Herne Bay Kent 1907-1922 who is believed to have died 1936-1939 On the back of the unused card is printed F C Palmer Tower Studio Herne Bay Someone has handwritten in pencil 46 S London BB This print has darkened with age but it would be inappropriate to adjust the brightness because detail would be lost Points of interest A boy at the front is wearing a caliper; he is probably a polio survivor A few boys at the front are wearing puttees The boy with the glass is reflecting popular contemporary music-hall humour Fred C Palmer has done or said something just enough to make the boys smile but so as not to make the group fall apart with laughter; a difficult balance to achieve with young excited kids The boy in uniform who is standing almost in front of the man in waistcoat and watch-chain has London written on his shoulder Two of the adults in charge are discreetly holding cigarettes in their folded hands Border The remaining border of this image is important for researchers of this photographer Some photographers trimmed their images more than others and Palmer has a reputation for producing smaller postcards than other early 20th century UK photographers He took his own photos developed them in-house onto postcard-backed photographic paper and trimmed them himself It is worth adding that during hand-developing the border is actively masked with equipment which both crops the picture and causes the white frame or border to appear on the paper This frame is part of the design and is one of the reasons why the quality of Palmer's work is so interesting and why there is an article and category for him on English Wiki Researchers need to see exactly where the edge of the postcard is The darker part of the white frame on the left is of interest as it gives a clue to the development process and the equipment used Thank you for taking the time to read this Scan of original postcard in my possession 1907-1922 Fred C Palmer died 1936-1939 out of copyright PD-old-70-1923 Fred C Palmer of Herne Bay Herne Bay Kent Black and white photographs of boys Boys' Brigade |