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Original Victorian carte-de-visite portrait of Francis Addams-Williams, photographed in Monmouth, Wales, in November 1893 by R. T. Williams / Richard Tudor Williams.
The reverse is period-inscribed with the sitter’s name and birth information:
“Francis Addams-Williams”
“Born March 4th 1878”
“Photographed Nov. 1893”
Francis would therefore have been approximately 15 years old when this portrait was taken.
Research identifies her as Francis Addams-Williams, twin sister of Eleanor Addams-Williams and a daughter of William Charles Addams Williams and Julia Ellen Gabb, members of the historic Addams-Williams family associated with Llangibby Castle, Monmouthshire.
The identification is especially interesting because genealogical researcher Kurt Gänzl independently encountered photographs of both Francis and her twin Eleanor from what appears to have been a dispersed Addams-Williams family photograph collection and reconstructed their family relationship.
The photographer, Richard Tudor Williams, was an established Monmouth photographer whose work survives in major institutional collections. His studio operated in Monmouth during the Victorian period.
Front mount is marked:
R. T. Williams — Monmouth
The reverse also bears a later pencil inventory number, 5345, apparently from a previous dealer.
A particularly nice researchable Victorian photograph combining an identified sitter, exact birth date, exact sitting date, known photographer, and documented Welsh family provenance.
Please examine all photographs carefully for condition. The image shows age-related fading, foxing/toning and general surface wear consistent with an original late-19th-century photograph. Writing on the reverse is original/period unless otherwise noted.
Original photograph only. No reproduction.
