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James Lafayette

Career in photography

James Lafayette was a successful Irish photographer. He established Lafayette Ltd in Dublin in 1898 and was managing director until 1923. Lafayette was a Victorian and Edwardian portrait photography specializing in society photographs and under his guidance his studio turned into the head representation studio in Ireland.

In 1880 James Stack Lauder established his own photography studio, taking on the expert name of James Lafayette "Late of Paris" and anointing his studio "Jacques Lafayette", "J. Lafayette", and "Lafayette" as a sign of his imaginative preparing in Paris and making another picture for the privately-run company.  Lafayette has one of the longest and most extravagant accounts in photography. James Lafayette was the child of a fruitful visual trailblazer. After he established his studio, he was joined by his three brothers, who were all talented photographers in their own right. Together they fashioned a standing for vanguard photography that was inseparable from Parisian workmanship and culture. Lafayette's profession in photography developed and under "James' watchful eye", his business turned into the chief picture studio in Ireland.  Throughout that decade his business expanded as a result of a new less expensive photograph on glass -ambrotype- that replaced daguerreotype, which up to this time had been used. A further evolution in the photographic industry took place in 1860 with the introduction of a remarkably cheaper photograph that is put on paper named the ‘carte-de-visite’. Lauder siblings at last possessed three visual studios in Dublin, at 45 Sackville Street Lower, and 22 and 32 Westmoreland Street. All studios were situated on what was known as the ‘photographic mile’, where all that visual studios could be found.

In 1884 James was chosen individual from the Photographic Society of Great Britain, and from that point his entrances in the renowned visual rivalries all through Great Britain and in Europe copper attached his notoriety, winning him decorations for "particularly fine representations".  Lafayette reputation grew by showcasing his work in London, Paris, and other European cities. From 1884 he showed his photos at the yearly presentation of the Royal Photographic Society in London. In that year he was granted an award as the adjudicators talked about his 'amazing representations of superior grade'. In the next year he was similarly effective in winning one more award as the adjudicators pronounced that in the expert likeness area 'the best without a doubt is that of Lafayette of Dublin’. By 1885, the studio's result was lauded on paper by the Photographic Society of Great Britain as "extremely excellent, being recognized for delicacy of treatment". Further, Lafayette's early experiments with hand-coloring created pictures that were portrayed as "extremely durable carbon photos painted in water-shaded on porcelain". He went on to copyright some of his best work. He commended demographic like the Irish viceroy and increased newspaper and photography magazine coverage, At the Paris exhibition of 1889, Lafayette was awarded a gold medal. In 1887 he got a definitive distinction as he was welcome to photo Queen Victoria in her celebration year. Thus, he was conceded on illustrations warrant as 'Her Majesty's picture taker in Dublin’. Lafayette’s business flourished, and by 1889 branches were opened in Glasgow and Manchester. Lafayette was imaginative and exceptionally fruitful in his picked field and demonstration of this is that his studio actually exists today more than 130 years after the fact.

A portrait photographed by James Lafayette of Countess Etienne Apraxine nèe Princess Baratow in 1904