Four 150-year-old photographs
These four photographs were all taken by photographer W W Gregory. They went on sale in France in August 2016, for 25-35 euros each, which seems a snip for pictures which are approximately 150 years old. They were described as being taken in 1865, but they may be a few years younger because Gregory is known to have been in business at 15 Queen Street, then 15 Bath Street, from 1868 to 1877. In 1871 he was joined by another photographer and they traded in Bath Street and then 28 Halkett Place from 1871 to 1877.
Little is known about Gregory, but a number of his images of Jersey scenes in the 1860s survive, and they are among the earliest of outdoor photographs taken in the island. It is often claimed that a photograph showing the Weighbridge and the Esplanade in the collection of La Société Jersiaise, dated to the 1860s is the oldest outdoor view taken in Jersey, but Jerripedia has a much older image of the Harbour, which may be as early as 1850.
There are only two images by Gregory in the Société archive, both studio portraits. The views here show St Catherine (top left), Princes Tower (top right)
A treeless Bouley Bay (bottom left) and an unusual view of the Hermitage from the back (bottom right)