Halsey's Remnants

During his eight year career as a ‘photographic artist’ in Tewkesbury in the twenties, Halsey Freeman amassed a considerable backlog of photographic material. Alas, most is now lost to us. The modest family archive that remains, comprises little more than a hundred prints (many of which, paradoxically, have only come to light in the last ten years or so). Deservedly, most of the latter have since reached the public domain - except for a small miscellany of portraits, character studies and test shots. Now at last some of these unseen remnants, too, can be revealed...

Halsey’s son, Neville

Halsey’s son, NevilleClick Image
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Collectors of Halsey’s work have frequently commented on how recognisable his postcards are – citing, in particular, their non-standard aspect ratio and the idiosyncratic handwritten captions that adorn many of his photojournalistic shots.^[1] Ironically, Halsey often used an aspect ratio (the ratio of the width to the height of an image) of 4:3 which – though considered low at the time – has since evolved to become one of the most widely-adopted standards^[2] of our time. This is the ratio he seemed to prefer for much of his finished commercial work (see for example photos 2, 4 and 8). Yet as the other shots here show, this choice was by no means exclusive and he would often switch to more conventional (higher) ratios as conditions demanded.

Photo 1, possibly a trial shot, is a case in point: a variant of a photo published only recently,^[3]it shows his son, Neville aged about two, humorously attempting a take-off of ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’ – a popular film character of the period.

Shots like this were Halsey’s stock in trade and his son’s cheeky camera persona is very much in tune with the fashions of those days.

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A different example from this same genre is Photo 2 – again of Neville but this time in the company of photogenic companion, Doll Lane. Juxtaposing children in this way was a typical Halsey ploy for adding context to the picture as well as exploiting the potential synergy generated.

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One of his son, Photo 4,  pre-emptively captures the tight-lipped facial characteristic that was to become a Neville ‘trademark’ expression for the rest of his life.

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Taken around the same time as Neville's photograph, Photo 5 shows Halsey’s Alderton-born mother-in-law, Mary Macdonald.

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By all accounts, mother of six, Mary was a warm-hearted lady, much loved by family and friends.

Halsey seems to have particularly picked up on her artlessness (inherited by her elder daughters) in this photo and it is telling that, when she died in 1928 at the age of 63, he recorded the occasion with Photo 6 – an extraordinary photographic epitaph.

Of a less sanguine disposition (if we are to believe what we have been told by various of his descendants) is Mary’s husband, Jesse who appears in Photo 7.

The second of three sons, Jesse had a variety of occupations during his long working life – first as a rope-spinner, then a domestic gardener, before finally going on to run bicycle businesses in Malvern Links and Tewkesbury.

Photo 7: Halsey’s father-in-law, Jesse Macdonald

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When Halsey died in January 1930, Jesse moved in with Lizzie (Halsey’s wife) at 6 Providence Place, sharing a bedroom with his grandson, Neville, in what had previously been Halsey's studio.

Hardly a year later he too had passed on, leaving Lizzie’s younger sister, Flo, an S.R.N. from Eccles, to come down to Tewkesbury to lay him out.

In contrast to the feelings of abandonment Lizzie must have felt after Jesse’s death – coming so soon after the passing of her mother and her husband, Photo 8 shows her at a much earlier stage of her life (when she was possibly still single) looking a picture of insouciance.

Afterword

Halsey’s photos possess a charm and sincerity that identify them uniquely with him and their time. Like the songs of his crooner contemporary, Al Bowlly,^[5] they are redolent of an age now almost beyond living memory. As this new compilation of photos reveals, Halsey lavished as much professional care and attention on his private family shots as he did on his paid commissions. There were no photographic demarcations in his work. His art became synonymous with his life. Long may his images continue to enchant!  

References