At the awards ceremony held recently at Waterstones in Truro, the grand bard of Cornwall, Merv Davey, presented the Holyer an Gof cup to David and Stuart Thorn, authors of the book.
The publication tells the story of their relatives, who were the first to take photographs in Bude and around. Before that time, only written records and paintings tell people what the area was like.
With the advent of photography, which became available to the public from 1850, Harry Thorn, a carpenter’s son from Bude, started his photographic business in the mid 1850s. Bude’s population at that time was around 600, so how did a teenager from such a remote part of the country start his work? He was joined later by his sister, Sarah, who was much younger than brother Samuel.
Sarah’s daughter was later to join him and from 1890, Jake Harrison worked with them. The book tells their story and each photograph has been researched to provide a full description of the event and place.
The book has 144 pages, with over 250 photographs, most of which are taken directly from the Thorn glass negatives. It was published by Halsgrove of Wellington, who were chosen for the quality of their publications.
Signed copies of the book are available from David Thorn at Spencer Thorn Jewellers, Bude, or from www.thorns-of-bude-photographers.uk