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Watson

postcard

Road at Treyford

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Address unknown, possibly a West Sussex resident. Sepia real photographic cards of Harting, Elsted and Treyford are occasionally seen that are signed "Watson" in the bottom right corner of the photographs. The cards almost certainly date from the inter-war period, though no postmarks have been reported. Well produced, they have captions written in a distinctive, neat script.

Somewhat less scarce are other cards of the same area of very similar design that are signed "A. F. Healey" instead of "Watson", though quite possibly by the same person. Indeed, two versions of a card of Harting Hill have been found, one signed "A. F. Healey" and the other "Watson". With further searching other pairings may come to light.

Healey and Watson are not listed in interwar Directories as residents of any of the villages featured on the cards, though it is evident that the photographer had quite an intimate knowledge of the area. A. F. Healey can be confidently identified as Arthur Frank Healey, a Peterborough photographer. Perhaps Healey took his summer holidays in West Sussex and produced the cards to sell to local shopkeepers. Watson could have been a shopkeeper or perhaps a friend who distributed the cards. Alternatively, he might have been a partner of Healey at Peterborough or even his successor. Further research is needed to try to establish the nature of the relationship between Healey and Watson.

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