The pictured composite photo, titled “Hamilton and
Argonauts: First Rugby Football Teams in Canada”, is contemporary to the two more commonly
viewed composite photos by Notman, the Harvard
versus McGill Football Matches, Montreal, October 23, 1874 and November 12,
1875, both of which are shown below (see also blog entry dated June 12, 2015).
This 1874 composite by Notman and Fraser portrays the Ontario team made up of
the Argonaut Rugby Football Club (established 1873 as an extension of the
Argonaut Rowing Club), and the Leander Club of Hamilton (established in 1869)
that played an interprovincial match against Quebec. The Argonauts included
recently transplanted Englishmen Roger and Harold Lambe, pictured in the photos,
who were two of the most notable rowers of the period (ex London Rowing Club) and who introduced English Rugby Football to the members of the Argonaut Rowing Club.
The inscriptions in the margin are original to the
composite.
These composites are an
important part of documenting the England to Canada to the Unites States story of Rugby Football and
how it morphed under ever-changing rules and adaptations, particularly through
the 1870s.
We know of and have seen only the few football related
composites mentioned in this entry.
The first step in creating a composite photograph is an
artist rendering or drawing that places people and objects at the
appropriate angles and distances that will exist in the finished photograph. Each
individual has their photograph taken separately, in a studio setting, using head or neck rests to keep their likeness from blurring. Each of the
sitters busts are then carefully trimmed out from the original photo and pasted onto a realistically painted
background, in the case of exterior views in particular, and blended with paint
to add realistic details to the sitter and the scene.
These composite photos involved an immense amount of planning, logistics
and photographic and artistic work and the level of this work was proportional to
the number of sitters, which could number into the hundreds. This process also
allowed for the inclusion of individuals who may not be present at the time or
who were deceased, in the finished product, as long as a
photograph was available.
The hope of the photographer was to be able to sell copies
of the photograph to all of the sitters in a composite photo.
Contact prints were then made from the original negatives
and offered for sale in at least a half dozen sizes, including 8” x 10”, the dimensions of this piece.
Composites by Notman were made as early as 1864 and were
exceedingly popular in the 1870s and 1880s. Notman established a number of
branches in Canada in the 1860s and 1870s and opened an office up in Boston in
1883, which initially competed with the likes of Pach for the college photo
market.
Close-up of title and margin
Composite Photo of Harvard - McGill October 23, 1874 Football Match
Composite Photo of Harvard - McGill November 12, 1875 Football Match
Note: the painted backgrounds in all three composites are
very similar as all three composites pictured the Montreal Cricket
grounds with Mount Royal in the background, although backgrounds were painted by two different
Notman artists.
