Craigg, J. Augustus^{[1, 2, 3, 4]}

• Name	Craigg, J. Augustus
  Gender	Male
  Home Address/Year	1869	Victoria, BC
  	Address: Douglas St. Victoria, BC Canada
  Business Address/Year	Jun 1869-Apr 1872	Victoria, BC
  	Address: Government St. (W. side near View St.) Craigg's Photographic Gallery Victoria, BC Canada
  Association	Victoria Theatre Photographic Gallery (Relationship: Owner)
  Association	Craigg's Photographic Gallery (Relationship: Proprietor)
  Person ID	I379	Camera Workers | C, vol. 1, 1858-1900
  Last Modified	17 Oct 2021

  
  

• Photos

  Victoria Theatre Photographic Gallery, Government Street, Aug 1875, by Charles Horetzky Magnification of a photograph taken from the Driard Hotel showing the distinctive facade of the Victoria Theatre Photographic Gallery at the time it was leased to Noah Shakespeare by its owner S.A. Spencer. This photograph appears in multiple copies Horetzky's 1875 Bute Inlet route survey photographs albums and is dated Aug 1875. Image courtesty of BC Archives, Visual Records call number A-03456.

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		J.A. Craigg's letter to the editor, Daily Colonist, 4 Nov 1869, p. 3. In this letter to the editor of the Colonist, J.A. Craigg objected to the newspaper's insinuation that a "licentious photograph" had been taken in the Theatre Photographic Gallery. Noah Shakespeare's letter on the subject appeared in the same paper.
  		J.A. Craigg imprint from the back of a carte-de-visite portrait, between 1869-1872. From verso of BC Archives carte-de-visite in Hunter album no. 3, p. 37.
  		J.A. Craigg's ad, Victoria Standard, 14 Jul 1870, p. 4.
  		J.A. Craigg's imprint from the back of a carte-de-visite, ca. 1870 R.S. Vickers (1917-2008), who owned this carte-de-visite, was the great-grandson of photographer George Robinson, a contemporary of Craigg's and who had also once operated the Theatre Photographic Gallery.
  		J.A. Craigg's ad, Daily Colonist, 22 Jun 1869. Craigg acquired the Victoria Theatre Photographic Gallery from George Robinson in May or June 1869.
  		Victoria Theatre Photographic Gallery ad, First Victoria Directory, Third Issue, and British Columbia Guide (Mallandaine, 1869), p. 75. Operated by J.A. Craigg who had acquired it from George Robinson in the spring 1869.
  		Craigg's Photographic Gallery ad, Daily Colonist, 12 Apr 1872, p. 2.
  		J.A. Craigg news, Daily Colonist, 13 Aug 1872, p. 3. He left for England and then planned on moving to one of the southern United States.
  		S.A. Spencer's ad, Daily Colonist, 5 Jun 1872, p. 2. Announcing he has purchased Craigg's Photographic Gallery; the ad first appeared in the Daily Colonist on 9 May 1872, p. 2.
  		Craigg's Photographic Gallery news, Daily Colonist, 19 Apr 1872, p. 3. Reporting that J.A. Craigg has sold his studio to S.A. Spencer.
  		Richard Maynard and J.A. Craigg news, Victoria Colonist, 3 May 1872, p. 3. About their collaboration in photographing St. Ann's convent.
  		"Licentious Photograph" news, Victoria Colonist, 3 Nov 1869, p. 3. Both J.A. Craigg and Noah Shakespeare wrote letters to the editor, published on 4 Nov 1869, in which they assumed this news item had been aimed at their studio.
  		J.A. Craigg news, Victoria Daily Standard, 9 May 1872, p. 2. About the purchase and renovation of Craigg's Photographic Gallery by S.A. Spencer.
  		J.A. Craigg's letter to the editor, Victoria Colonist, 2 Apr 1870, p. 2. Craigg objected to the racist characterization by the Law Society of the new Attorney General. The Colonist editor thought it more a case of local talent being passed over.

  
  

• Notes

  STATUS: Commercial. BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: He purchased the Theatre Photographic Gallery from George Robinson in May or Jun 1869 and sold the same business to S.A. Spencer in Apr 1872. Craigg appears to have taken only portraits during his proprietorship, but he worked outdoors as well as inside. In Apr 1870 he took a group portrait of Oddfellows in front of the Victoria Theatre on the occasion of their 51st anniversary. Craigg left Victoria for England in Aug 1872 and then planned on moving to one of the southern United States. IDENTIFYING MARKS: "J. A. Craigg, Photo., Gov't Street" on front of carte-de-visite "J. A. Craigg, Photographer, Theatre Building, Government Street, Victoria, B.C." on verso of same carte-de-visite. "J. A. Craigg, Photographer, Government Street, Victoria, B.C." on verso of carte-de-visite. FORMATS: portraits (cartes-de-visite). REFERENCES: Colonist, 1869 03 29-05 06 [G. R. Robinson ad for sale], 1869 06 22-09 07 [Craigg ad], 1870 04 27/3, 1872 04 19/3.

  
  

• Sources

  [S46] COLLECTION: BVIPA. [S3] David Mattison, Mattison (1980 Winter), (British Columbia Historical News). [S13] MAL69, (Victoria, V.I.: E. Mallandine, 1869), 23. Victoria: Craig [sic] J. Augustus Theatre photographic gallery resid. Douglas street Ad, p. 75. [S14] MAL71, (Victoria, V.I.: E. Mallandine, 1871), 9. Victoria: Craigg J. Augustus theatre photographic gallery