I am currently looking at Henry Edwards, a resident in Bootle in 1901 census for an academic purpose.
Henry Edwards was born in 1856 in Cheshire. He came from a Danmark family and lived in Denmark in his childhood (at least from 4 years old). He served as an engineer in Shanghai Gas Company from 1884 to 1895. His family includes Margaret Edwards (Margaret Hannah Parry, 1867-1843), Gaeme H Edwards (1891-1967), Alfred Denton Edwards (1893-1960), Daisy O Edwards (1894-1972), and Max Edwards (1898-1968). Graeme Henry Edwards has a son- Gordon Malcom Edwards (1921-2003). Max has a son named Joan P Edwards (1927-?). Henry Edwards died in 1931. In 1901, the Edwards registered at 3 Melling Road, Bootle.
According to a newspaper report from Liverpool Echo, Henry Edwards once used stage name “Harry Welby Cook” and showed some films in Shanghai in 1897. He continued to show films back to Liverpool at places like Latham Hall, Seaforth (off Lawson Road), and Bottle Town Hall in around 1900. Henry Edwards is alleged to co-operated with Archer & Sons, Lord Street, who is a known lantern slides and optician premises.
My questions are:
1) How can I find the film exhibition activities in Bootle? British Newspaper Archive has collection of Bootle Times, but only till 1897. I saw some users in this forum posted some news reports from Bootle Times in the 1910s, but I donot know where to find these collections.
2) Where can I some possible photo of Henry Edwards. Databases like findmypast and ancestry.com did not have information about his offsprings like Gordon Malcom Edwards and Joan P Edwards.
Many many thanks,
Kurt
The transcript of the news report about his film activity is as follows:
In my father’s day it was billed as “moving pictures” as I can go as far back as 1897 when he-under the name of Harry Welby Cook-showed three “moving pictures” at the Latham Hall,
Seaforth (off Lawson Road/street?) which I believe was blitzed during the war, and is now the site of a timber yard.
The first film was of a train coming straight for the audience, and many tried to get out of the way! That same picture was shown earlier in Shanghai and there was considerable panic by the coolies- after which my father had for some time to seek police protection.
Coming back to Seaforth the second picture depicted a gardener pushing his barrow up the garden path, collecting a heap of leaves, returning and then burning them. What a sensation!
Finally, the programme finished with workmen coming out of the gates of Vickers’ works, grinning, waving and giving the “V” sign!
The accompanying music was worked backstage by my brother and I on a phonograph, with wax cylindrical records. The horn was about three feet long. Music was of a symphonic nature.
Incidentally, the film fell into an open basket and was re-wound by hand- with rather a disastrous result at a trial owing to the picture being projected backwards!
Later my father gave a show at the Bootle Town Hall and it was after that date that the machine had to be cased in to avoid fire- as someone in the gallery might have dumped his fag into the open basket.
Our evidence of these early films was lost through the folly of my brother and I who (in Lawson Road) pushed the centre of the film upward and applied a match. The back room came off badly, but while the Fire Bridge turned up the midwife arrived a few minutes early to bring into the light of day another “film fan”.
For a few days I did not find much pleasure in sitting down on a seat!
I have tried to be correct with my dates and it was a few years before the relief of Ladysmith. February 28, 1900 and again Mafeking, which was besieged from October 11, 1899, and May 18, 1900.
While my father made a bit of money with his exhibitions, it was more of a hobby and if I remember correctly was in co-operation with Archers, who had an establishment in Lord Street.
Thank you for giving us such plentiful news for tuppence—Graeme H. Edwards (born Shanghai, January 25, 1890), 86 Long Lane, Liverpool.
