copemanpage1

The work of Robert W. Copeman
(page one)

I bought this fascinating group of around 170 views a while back and they intrigued me. At first glance they seemed to be typical, if very good, amateur views - dating from the first 20 years of the last century. On studying them in the viewer I was struck by the high quality and excellent stereoscopic effect. The subject matter is wide and ranges from landscapes in Wales - obviously following in the footsteps of Francis Bedford - to family views, still lifes and views of the Waveney Valley in Suffolk. Many bear the monogram 'R.W.C.' and one, fortunately, is printed 'With Christmas Greetings and Best Wishes for the New Year, from Mr & Mrs R.W. Copeman, Town View, Wincanton. Xmas 1904'. Further research led me to this website and, on scrolling down, I was astonished to see one of the views as a single image attributed to the Somerset Records Office. Further research revealed the fact that Copeman was Master of the Wincanton Workhouse. I contacted the originator of the Workhouse website and he kindly added my views and an explanatory note giving authorship of the views to Copeman.
The breakthrough came with a small note of recent acquisitions to the Royal Institute of Scotland where I found that a group of views of Scotland by Copeman were gifted to the Institute in 2002 by his grandson. The gem in this entry was that Copeman was a one-time President of the (British) Stereoscopic Society.
No wonder Copeman's views were good!
The next thread was to discover that 18 of Copeman's views of Suffolk were held by the Suffolk Records Ofice in Lowestoft, again gifted by his grandson. Comparing the views with the ones on these pages I found that most were duplicates. Fortunately the Records Office had recorded details of Copeman's life from his grandson. Their record reads as follows:
'Robert William Copeman, born Beccles c1861. Robert's father Isaiah carried on a long-established butcher's business at Blyburgate in Beccles. Robert was apprenticed at age 12 to a firm of auctioneers in Ipswich. At the age of 25 he moved to Henstridge, Somerset, to becme an auctioneers' clerk. Later he and his wife Eveline became Master and Matron of the Workhouse in Wincanton, Somerset. Robert later worked in Lloyds Bank, Bristol. The (Beccles) photographs will have been taken on holiday visits with his family. He appears in some of the photographs, as do his wife, their son H.W.M. Copeman, and daughter Kathleen M. Copeman.
R.W. Copeman was for some years President of the Stereoscopic Society, a group which exchanged prints at home and overseas'.
So, please enjoy one man's work of, around 100 years ago. Many are not titled and those that are are in a sometimes difficult to read hand. The scanner has not made an excellent job of these as they have fairly reflective surfaces. Generally much more detailed and clearer than scans.