Tord Tutturen sent in a question about a picture of his relative Ludvig Field.
He wrote:
Share this:I have a picture of an old relative, photographed in a rickshaw on West Street in Durban. The storefront in the background shows F.A. Stow, probably owned by Frederick Ambrose Stow (1864-1947). In the “Who’s who” from 1906, Stow’s address is 131-137 West Street. Can you help me pin down more exactly when and where this picture was taken. The man sitting in the rickshaw was a Norwegian, Ludvig Field (1862-1944), who lived in the Transvaal from 1896 to 1937. One can observe that the road is not paved, can that help to find a date for the picture?
Gerald
Hi Tord
From my 1938 Directory, FA Stow was still in existence but the address is given as 141 West Street and on the corner of West and Stanger Streets. Being on the corner one has to decide which was the shop front as this would determine the orientation of the picture. If the shop front as shown in the picture is the main entrance then one would assume that is West Street so the ricksha is in Stanger Street. FA Stow is listed as being on the left hand side so this would agree with the picture.
F A Stow is listed as a draper. F A Stow is still listed in a 1957 directory as well as 1965 and 1968 but in the latter two, the business on the premises is listed as Peerless Trading and Weltex respectively. The substantial building behind the rickshaw is difficult to identify but it could be the New Rand Hotel. re the untarred road you could be right but curbing is present. It would tie in though as West Street would have been tarred as a major road and Stanger untarred as a minor road. Dating is difficult but looking at the man’s dress I would guess 1920s.
Erica McKenzie
Hi Tord
Previous info given to you 2 years ago so I am unsure if you will see this post. F A Stow was my grandfather and I found a slip of paper in my mother’s diary with the address of the store as 141 West Street as the previous person stated. A family member also guessed the year to be around 1920 because of the hat the lady in the background is wearing. Unfortunately I do not have as much info as I would like.