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Balmain, James C. H.
Balmain, James C. H.
Balmain, James C. H.
About the artist
Name
Balmain, James C. H.
Biography
James C H Balmain was born in Philadelphia, USA in 1853, of Scottish parents. At the age of twenty he began work in Edinburgh, originally as a vitro enameller with the firm of James G Tunny, then based on George IV Bridge. He lived with the Tunny family in Salisbury Place, giving that address when he first joined the Edinburgh Photographic Society in 1881, where he became a very active member. By 1888 he was ready to set up his own business in Edinburgh's West End, training another generation of photographers. In addition he set up a studio in North Berwick, run by his son Kenneth.
Balmain took many photographs of Edinburgh street scenes, recording not only historic events, but also scenes of everyday life in the capital at the turn of the nineteenth century. He was a keen sportsman and included golf, bowling and curling in his photographic repertoire. After his death in 1937 the firm remained in family ownership until it was acquired by the Yerburys.
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