Dates

• Existence: fl. 1886 - 1893

Biography

Ernest May and his cousin William Hanson Boorne were amateur photographers in England (Greenhill and Birrell 1979, p.144). Boorne emigrated to Canada in 1882. He intended to buy a ranch at Manitoba, but after two years decided to move to Calgary, Alberta. He returned to England to buy photographic equipment in 1885 and by 1886 was working as a landscape photographer in Calgary. In 1887 he went into partnership with his cousin Ernest May. Boorne travelled extensively while May was responsible for darkroom work, some portraits and correspondence (Turner 1996, p.374). May gave up photography in 1889 (Greenhill and Birrell 1979, p.144). The firm continued until 1893 when the business collapsed. Boorne had attempted to establish branch studios in other cities but this was unsuccessful and he went bankrupt. He even lost his equipment and glass negatives. He moved to Vancouver but by 1897 had given up photography. He moved to Toronto but circa 1900 he and his family moved back to England (Turner 1996, p.374).

Sources:

Greenhill, Ralph and Andrew Birrell (1979), 'Canadian Photography 1839-1920', Toronto: Coach House Press.

Turner, Jane ed. (1996), 'The dictionary of art'. Volume 4. New York: Grove.