| AdminHistory | Frank Mottershaw was born on 26 November 1850. On leaving school at the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a steel firm in Carlisle Street. After a spell at the Birley Collieries he accepted a job at the Sheffield Coal Company, where his father had worked. Later he went into the coal business on his own account with an office in 7 Castle Street.
In September 1880 he married Mary Elizabeth Storm. Their first child, Frank Storm Mottershaw, was born in 1881, and their second son Arthur was born around 1884. Their eldest daughter Edith Marion was born in 1885.
Frank Mottershaw had taken up photography around 1875 and would take and develop photographs while on holiday in Fife, Scotland. He decided to use his home as a studio and fit in some portrait work in his spare time. Recognising the opportunities offered through the buying and selling of cameras he abandoned his coal business and set up in West Bar in 1887 as a photographer and dealer in photographic equipment. In 1889 he moved the business to Fargate near Chapel Walk, opposite Cole Brothers. The studio for portraiture was behind the shop, selling a variety of photographic goods. Artists' requisites were introduced as an additional line. This proved a successful innovation and in 1890 a shop was opened in Pinstone Street.
Eventually it became necessary to vacate the Fargate premises due to redevelopment and in 1896 both businesses moved to 95 Norfolk Street, which also became the family home. While living there, Frank and Mary had their third son, Walter (c. 1895), followed by a daughter called Jessie (c. 1897), another son, Harry (c. 1900), and finally Edward Richard (c. 1902).
By 1900 the two elder sons had joined the family business and, encouraged by their father, Frank Storm and Arthur had become interested in moving pictures. After making their own projector from old camera parts they were later able to buy a new cine-camera and projector. The Mottershaws took pictures of football matches and other topical events, which were shown to audiences the next day or sometimes the same evening.
The Mottershaws were among the first filmmakers to exploit the possibilities of filming out of doors on location, and situations were devised so as to avoid interior scenes, wherever possible. Titling was also carried out in the garden studio in daylight using white enameled letters set at an angle against a board covered with black velvet, a fancy border being cut from plywood.
An early assignment for Frank Storm Mottershaw was to take a film unit to Serbia in company with Arnold Muir Wilson, Consul to Serbia, to record ceremonial details of King Peter’s coronation. Frank Mottershaw senior was developing short stories that could be used as a basis for making a film. The first of these had been 'The Daylight Burglary’' (also known as 'A Daring Daylight Robbery'), which was made in 1903; five hundred copies were sold outright and the negative was eventually disposed of in America. It was one of the first picture stories using natural scenery as a background entirely without stage settings.
The Sheffield Photo Company’s best known film was probably 'The Life of Charles Peace' (1905) but it appears to have been irretrievably lost. The version that has survived was made by the showman Walter Haggar. The total output of fictional films was only 63, of which 41 were made between 1904 and 1906; none were made after 1909, although the company continued in the documentary and topical field. Nevertheless, the Sheffield Photo Company had been the most important film producer in the North of England.
Around 1908 the business decided to move away from film making due to rising costs and competition from the United States of America, and concentrate on retail, as amateur photography was booming due to the convenience of the newly introduced roll film cameras. The Sheffield Photo Company responded by organising a quick service for developing and printing.
By 1911 Jessie had left school and had been absorbed into the retail business. In 1924 the business moved to 6 Norfolk Row but space was limited and the developing and printing department was located in Sidney Street.
The records Sheffield Archives holds begin from the time the business became registered as a company. On the 19 Jan 1928 the Sheffield Photo Company Limited was registered, with Frank senior as Chairman, his daughter Jessie the Company Secretary, his wife Mary Elizabeth (who had always played a very active role in the business), and sons Walter Nelson, Henry and Edward Richard as directors. This business would be a dealer in photographic materials and apparatus.
Earlier in 1927 a sister company was registered, Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited. This was set up by Fred Mottershaw, his son Henry Mottershaw, William McIntosh and James Christie. They borrowed £3,000 from Kodak Limited to buy some premises to develop a photographic laboratory, with the idea that Kodak would be issued the balance of the Shares Capital in Photo Finishers in order to give them the 51% controlling interest which they desired, and that Kodak paper and chemicals should be used exclusively by the laboratory. The directors of the business originally bought a property on William Street, which was not ideal for their purposes but decided it was the best they could get, and alterations were made to it. Then, almost immediately, more suitable premises in the form of an old chapel on Union Road/Osborne Road in the Nether Edge area became available, which they bought as well. This would become Cherry Tree Laboratories, the long-term home of the business. By 1930/1931 Kodak had decided not take up its option of acquiring a controlling interest, which in fact had been obtained by Sheffield Photo Company Limited and its Directors. Mottershaws served on its board of directors, but it was not until 1931 that Henry Mottershaw became its Chairman, a position he would hold until his death in 1967. This firm would specialise in photographic developing and printing, industrial, advertising and commercial photography.
Frank Mottershaw died 18 Sep 1932. His wife became Chairman of the Sheffield Photo Company Limited during the 1930s, leading the company through the Second World War and the challenges of post war Britain, until her death in 1956. Her son Henry would become Chairman of both companies, and after his death, his brother Edward Richard would become the Chairman of the Sheffield Photo Company Limited, while Henry’s son Ian A. Mottershaw would become Chairman of Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited.
The period from the 1930s through to the end of the 1960s saw both businesses responding to the demands of the growth of amateur photography, increasing competition, dealing with different aspects of government legislation, changes in technology and material and labour shortages during the Second World War and through into the post war period.
In 1956 Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited resumed film production with the formation of an associate company, Mottershaw Commercial Films. This produced commercial films such as promotional films or documentaries, its first being a 16mm documentary for Sheffield City Libraries (Books in Hand). In 1966 Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited purchased Montgomery Chapel near Cherrytree works on Union Road and transferred the Commercial Department there. This became known as Montgomery Studios and was a commercial and advertising photographer under the title of Mottershaw Photography. Mottershaw Commercial Films also moved to Montgomery Studios and was still producing films in 1978. Future Chairman John R Mottershaw produced and directed a number of films in the 1960s in this small, but profitable section of the business.
By 1970 the Sheffield Photo Company employed 21 full time male staff and 15 part time members of staff. In that year the Sheffield Photo Company Limited and Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited had a new Chairman, John R Mottershaw, the son of Edward Richard Mottershaw and grandson of the founders of the business. While in the past both companies had often relied on independent dealers (such as chemists) to sell and market some of their products, in 1971 the long-term objectives of the business was to establish a chain of retail shops.
Shops were established around the country, and by 1982 the Sheffield Photo Company Limited has increased its owned or control outlets from 26 to 33. The character of the shops and their trading policy was converted to that of a Developing and Printing shop rather than a camera shop.
Changes were also made with Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited. At an Extraordinary General Meeting held 19 Mar 1974, it was resolved that the name of the Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited was to be changed to ‘Cherytree Laboratories Limited’. By 1977 they were producing about 10 million colour prints a year.
On 29 May 1975 Photocare Limited was registered as subsidiary of Cherytree Laboratories Limited. Its principal activity was the marketing of photographic products. As with the Sheffield Photo Company, the aim was to seek to extend and market through their own or associated outlets. By 1979 the company had 21 outlets. It was under Photocare Limited that the mail order business was directed. In 1980 another subsidiary was created, Photoco Snapshops Marketing Limited. By 1981 a Photoco SnapShop Franchise was to be put into operation, and by that time too an In-Store Franchise had already been successfully launched into a dozen or so shops, with plans to extend to others. The company’s strategy was to collect marketing fees from franchisees, including Sheffield Photo Company Limited and to allocate these funds entirely to marketing activities. The company also collected royalty payments on behalf of Cherrytree Laboratories Limited.
Photoco Silver Technology Limited (formerly John David Grange Limited) was also created as a subsidiary company of Cherrytree Laboratories Limited, and other businesses were bought as a means of expanding around the country.
By 1983 the Sheffield Photo Company group employed 150 people, and had 34 shops in the north and midlands. However, the company faced cash flow problems due to the highly competitive nature of the photographic industry. By December 1982 the Directors decided that Photoco Snapshop (Marketing) Limited and Photocare Limited should become dormant companies and their book keeping incorporated into Sheffield Photo Company Limited and Cherrytree Laboratories respectively. During 1983 redundancies to the Board and staff were made, long-term managers left the company as the business declined, certain sites closes, night-shifts stopped, and a non-executive director was hired on a fee paying basis on the Bank’s recommendation. On 8 Sep 1983 the Sheffield Star reported the Sheffield Photo Company and its other companies had gone into receivership, and the company was wound up in 1984.
The Sheffield Photo Company Limited:
Chairman:
Frank Mottershaw 1928 - 18 Sep 1932.
Mary Elizabeth Mottershaw 18 Sep 1932 - 17 Oct 1956.
Henry Mottershaw 26 Apr 1957 - 20 Mar 1967.
Edward Richard Mottershaw 10 Apr 1967 - 19 Feb 1969.
David Spring 14 May 1969 - 12 Aug 1970.
John R Mottershaw 12 Aug 1970 – [1980s].
Secretary:
Jessie Sharp 1928 - Jan 31 1970.
Anthony Macha 31 Jan 1970 - 28 Jan 1983.
Cherry Tree Laboratories Limited (formerly Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited).
Chairman:
George William McIntosh 30 Sep 1927 - 3 Feb 1930.
James Christie 3 Feb 1930 - 25 Mar 1931.
Henry Mottershaw 25 Mar 1931 - 20 Mar 1967.
Ian A Mottershaw [1967] – 1970.
John R Mottershaw 12 Aug 1970 – [1980s].
Secretary:
Anthony Macha 1969 – 28 Jan 1983.
Roger Hall 4 Feb 1983. Also secretary for Photoco (Snapshop) Marketing Limited, Hodgsons Camera Shop Limited and PhotoCo Silver Technology Limited and Fotosaver Limited. |
| Description | This collection comprises:
Sheffield Photo Company Limited [1890s] - 1986 (MD7293/1):
Financial records, 1928 - 1986 (MD7293/1/1)
Administration records, 1928 - 1983 (MD7293/1/2)
Staff records 1948 - 1965 (MD7293/1/3)
Operational records, 1927 (MD7293/1/4)
Legal records, 1927 - 1983 (MD7293/1/5)
Advertising and promotional material, 1946 - 1968 (MD7293/1/6)
Photographs, [1890s - 1920s] (MD7293/1/7)
Cherry Tree Laboratories (formerly Photo Finishers (Sheffield) Limited, 1927 - 1982 (MD7293/2):
Administration records, 1927 - 1982 (MD7293/2/1)
Legal records, 1927 - 1973 (MD7293/2/2)
Plans, 1937 - 1947 (MD7293/2/3)
Photographs, 1940 (MD7293/2/4)
Advertising and promotional material, 1927 - c. 1967 (MD7293/2/5)
Financial records, 1949 - 1958 (MD7293/2/6)
Photocare Limited, 1967 - 1980 (MD7293/3):
Administration records, 1977 - 1978 (MD7293/3/1)
Advertising and promotional material, 1967 - 1980 (MD7293/3/2)
Photographs, 1980s (MD7293/3/3) |
| CustodialHistory | These records came to Sheffield Archives direct from the home of the last Chairman of Sheffield Photo Company Limited and Cherry Tree Laboratories Limited and its associated companies, in 1995, 1999 and 2000. |