Jessie Mann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessie Mann
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An 1844 photograph by David Octavius Hill, thought to be Jessie Mann
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Janet Mann
20 January 1805 |
| Died | 21 April 1867 (aged 62) Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Photographer and assistant |
| Employer | David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson |
| Known for | Pioneer in photography |
Jessie Mann (born Janet Mann, 20 January 1805 – 21 April 1867) was an important Scottish woman who helped create some of the world's first photographs. She worked as a studio assistant for famous Scottish photographers David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson. Many believe she was the very first Scottish woman photographer. She was also one of the first women anywhere to work in this new art form.
Early Life in Scotland
Jessie Mann was born on January 20, 1805, in Perth, Scotland. Her father, Alexander Mann, was a house painter. She grew up in Perth with her four sisters and one brother. Their home was right across from where David Octavius Hill lived.
In 1839, her father passed away. Jessie then moved to Edinburgh with two of her unmarried sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret. They went to live with their brother, Alexander, who was a lawyer. Alexander later became the lawyer for David Octavius Hill.
Photography Career
Jessie Mann moved to Leopold Place in Edinburgh when her brother Alexander got married. This new home was close to "Rock House," the first photography studio in Scotland. This studio, located on Calton Hill, was run by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson.
Jessie became an assistant to Hill and Adamson. She likely helped with important tasks like processing and printing photographs. Hill was already a well-known painter. He teamed up with Adamson, who was very skilled in early photography methods.
Miss Mann was hired to help them photograph 450 ministers from the Church of Scotland. These ministers were breaking away to start the Free Church of Scotland. This big event was known as the Great Disruption.
She worked with Hill and Adamson for at least three years. Their studio closed after Adamson's death in 1848. After this, Jessie became a housekeeper at a school in Musselburgh.
She later returned to Edinburgh. Jessie Mann passed away there on April 21, 1867, after having a stroke. She is buried at Rosebank Cemetery.
Jessie Mann's Legacy
Many people believe that Jessie Mann took a famous photograph in 1844. This picture, of King Frederick II of Saxony, was taken at the studio when Hill and Adamson were not there. It was known that an assistant had taken the portrait.
Carol Jacobi, a curator at the Tate art museum, says this shows Jessie's skill. She explains that Jessie "must have been part of their skillful understanding of how you set up a photograph." This makes Jessie a true pioneer in photography.
A letter from the painter James Naysmith to Hill in 1845 also praised Mann. He called her "that most skillful and zealous of assistants."
Jessie Mann's important work was recognized in 2016. She was included in an exhibition at Tate Britain called Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age.
