Henry HOWSE

(Egham, 1870-Bridstow, 1949)

howse henry portrait 02

Jean-Claude SEGUIN

1

Henry Howse (Upton Cum Chalvey, 07/1844-Welhead, 18/09/1933) épouse Elizabeth, Emma Hibberd (Eling, 23/12/1846-Eton, 01/1889). Descendance :

  • Amy Harriet Howse (Datchet, 13/10/1865-Salisbury, 02/07/1957) épouse Henry Slaymaker (1863-1936). Descendance:
    • Elizabeth Kate Slaymaker (!890-1936)
    • Henry "Harry" James Slaymaker (1892-1916)
  • Mary Maria Howse (Dachet, 09/09/1867-Maidenhead, 10/10/1942)
    • épouse George Joseph Flaxman (1865-1950). Descendance:
      • Ivy Elizabeth Flaxman (1897-1987)
      • Daisy Rtuh Flaxman (1898-1990)
      • Rose Dorothy "Dolly" Flaxman (1900-1967)
      • George William Flaxman (1902-1951)
      • Amy Lilian Flaxman (1904-1935)
      • Charles, Henry Flaxman (1907-1984)
    • épouse Griffiths.
  • Henry Howse (Egham, 03/1870-Bridstow, 09/1949) épouse (Londres, 12/12/1892. Divorce: 1921) Elizabeth, Charlotte, Emily "Mim" Palmer (Croydon, 29/11/1873-Los Angeles, 29/09/1967). Descendance:
    • William, Henry Howse (Penge; 10/1893-Vancouver, 25/04/1967) épouse Mabel Florence Clark (Beckenham, 28/04/1891-North Vancouver, 21/09/1981). Descendance:
      • Joan Howse (Croydon, 25/08/1919-Kamloops, 23/04/2001) épouse Edward W Ryall Bustin (Toronto, 1920-North Bay, [1999]). Descendance:
        • David Bustin (North Vancouver, 1946-) épouse [Bustin]. Descendance:
          • fils
          • fille
          • fille
      • Ronald Albert Howse (Penge, 21/02/1921-North Vancouver, 19/03/2000) épouse Rose Dubensky (1922-1990). Descendance:
        • Eric, Gordon Howse (British Columbia, 12/06/1947-British Columbia, 2000) épouse [Howse].
        • Robert Allen Howse (British Columbia, 10/03/1952-Victoria, 29/03/2017)
        • fils
        • fils
        • fils
        • fille
    • Edith Mabel Howse (Beckenham, 23/07/1895-Toronto, 1980) épouse James Macfarlane (Londres, 23/07/1894-Toronto, 1979). Descendance:
      • Douglas James Henry Macfarlane (Londres, 15/09/1921-Ottawa, 2017) épouse Laura, Louise Lebaron (1914-2009). Descendance:
        • Julia Mae Phillips (Westminster Twp., 08/03/1923-Ottawa, 29/09/1982). Descendance:
          • fille
          • fils
      • Margaret, Elizabeth Macfarlane (Toronto, 1926-Toronto, 2008) épouse Hammond. Descendance:
        • David Hammond.
        • fille
    • Samuel, Eric Howse (Londres, 04/08/1906-Los Angeles, 09/06/1979) épouse Laura, Louise Lebaron (1914-2009). Descendance:
      • fils
  • Jesse Christopher Howse (Egham, 03/1872-Tumbarumba, 15/01/1930) épouse Sophia, Jane Freeman (1865-1926). Descendance:
    • David, John Howse (1893-1968)
    • Amy Marion Howse (1896-1944)
    • Jesse Christopher Howse (1896-1950)
    • William Arthur Howse (1901-1974)
    • Sophia, Grace Howse (1902-1980)
  • Reuben Howse (Datchet, 22/07/1873-Mere, 21/03/1948) épouse Mabel, Annie Coward (1880-1971). Descendance:
    • Arthur, Robert Howse (1907-1941)
  • David Howse (Darchet, 11/12/1875-Londres, 05/04/1956) épouse Frances "Fanny" Nevin (1879-1987). Descendance:
    • Henry, James Howse (1906-1964)
    • Harold, Robert Howse (1911-1972)
  • Elizabeth Charlotte Howse (Datchet, 05/06/1878-Wandsworth, 03/1950) épouse
    • James William Forey (1880-1930). Descendance:
      • Frederic William Forey (1902-1981)
      • James Henry Forey (1904-1984)
      • Ernest Wilfed Forey (1905-1975)
      • Frank Edward Forey (1907-1979)
      • Walter Richard Forey (1909-1989)
      • Geraldine Olivia Mabel (1910-1969)
      • Arthur Gerald Forey (1912-1980)
  • Sarah Jane Howse (Datchet, 04/1880-Warminster, 09/1967)
  • Helen Ruth Howse (Datchet, 12/03/1883-Salisbury, 06/1957) 

2

Fils d'un "railway Place Layer", à l'occasion prédicateur méthodiste, installé à Sunninghill (recensement 1871), Henry Howse réside avec sa famille à Datchet, dès 1873, (recensement 1881) où naissent plusieurs de ses frères et sœurs. Il travaille également comme apprenti boulanger avant de rejoindre l'Armée du Salut où il fait la connaissance de celle qui va devenir son épouse (Penge, 12 décembre 1892).

L'Armée du Salut (1897-1905)

En 1897, Henry Howse intègre la section de photographies pour lanternes magiques de l'Armée du Salut dont la revue The Officer va consacrer un article aux images animées où le nom de Howse figure en bonne place :

ANIMATED PICTURES
A Nineteenth Century Wonder. To Go Round the Provinces.
DURING THE SALE AT CLERKENWELL, visitors were generally surprised at seeing bills round the building, announcing a show of "Animated Pictures" on the building, and when they afterwards saw the thing itself, their surprise was lost in wonder. There the pictures were, moving on the screen as if they were living-the children played so happily on the seashore, there the waves came rolling, and further our shops were sailing to and fro. That was marvellous indeed, and gradually the nineteenth century spirit of enquiry was evident-everybody wanted to know.
How it was done.
Adjutant Howse, who is the "showman" of the affair, gave us all the information we wanted, and we reproduce it below for the benefit of our readers.
The 'Animated Pictures' are the greatest marvel in limelight-work up to date. Ir must be seen to be believed. To see a fine limelight-picture is a treat in itself, but when you see the figures in it suddenly commence to move about as naturally in real life, then you see something which defies the understanding of the average man. And yet ir is all very simple- when you know it.
The apparatus is founded on the principle which we perhaps may call persistence of vision. Anything that moves quicker that one-eight of a second cannot be seen distinctly with the human eye. Take for instance a stick, which is lighted at one end, and swing it round rapidly in a circle. You will then see, nor the point of the stick shifting position, bur an illuminated unbroken circle, which is, of course, an illusion. Upon that illusion is the machine founded.
What, you see on the screen is not one picture, but an immense number of pictures-in some cases up to a thousand-revolving so rapidly that to the human vision it looks like one. These pictures are taken on a long photographic film. The photographic apparatus is focussed ro the scene you want reproduced, and the film is reeled through it very quickly so that about fifteen different photographs are taken every second. It is obvious that every movement of the focussed objects in that way is arrested on the film in a progressive scale, and when the negative afterwards is developed and printed on another film, and that is drawn through a limelight apparatus sufficiently quick, the thousand pictures will show all the movements of the figures as one living picture.
Several men claim the honour of this invention which seems to have a great future before it. Adjutant Howse thinks the Frenchmen Lumiere can claim to be the first on the marker, and it is his parent we use.
Salvation Army Pictures
"Have you any Salvation Army pictures Adjutant?" we asked, knowing that unless linked up with the Army it will not get its proper place in Army circles.
"We have none for the present, but as soon as the fine weather comes, it is our intention to get a series of S.A pictures. The machine we are making will be able to take photographs as well as show them."
(What splendid things the future has in store for us! By-and-by, we shall be able to enjoy the sight of the grand march-past at the Crystal Palace from a comfortable corner of our barracks.)
"It is the intention to go round the Provinces with the machine, I understand?"
"Yes. We will give everybody a chance. Our terms are very favourable. Any Officer can book us in conjunction with an ordinary Limelight Service- which we ourselves provide. We do all the advertisement ourselves. The admission will be threepence- we take two-thirds and leave one-third for the Corps, if we only get, say, 500 people, it will mean quire £2 for the Corps."
''And can the Corps chose the subject for the Limelight Service?"
"Certainly. We shall be glad to make arrangements, with D.O's or F.O's as soon as possible.Those that come first will get first served. I am confident it will prove a great success."


The Officer, mars 1897.

Un autre, un peu plus tardif, offre quelques compléments :

I write to bring before the notice of your readers, our collection of Animated Photographes [...] In connection with our Lantern department we have a plant for producing and exhibiting living pictures [...] We are open to give exhibitions in conjunction with a good Limelight servie at any Corps [...] Our terms are as follows - for the London District - one half of the profits with a minimum of £2 guaranteed We will provide all apparatus including gas.


The Officer, novembre 1897. [cité dans FLETCHER, 2015: 13].

Selon ses dires, il aurait filmé le Jubilé de la reine Victoria en 1897 avec une caméra de sa propre conception. Lors du recensement de 1901, il réside à Penge avec sa femme et ses trois enfants et figure comme photographe. Lorsqu'en 1903, l'Armée du Salut crée son département de cinématographie, il en devient le premier cinématographiste sous la direction du major Frederick Cox. Dans un ouvrage consacré à l'Armée du Salut, on évoque les débuts de ce nouveau département :

The cinematograph was introduced as “ a novel method of influencing the unsaved” in 1903, under the management of Major (later Brigadier) Fred Cox and Adjutant Howse, who on five occasions carried their heavy apparatus to the very top of St Paul’s Cathedral, plunged into the dirty waters of the River Lea in order to obtain a life-like photograph of a supposed rescue from drowning, and even entered the den of the hippopotamus at the Zoological Gardens, to be chased out for their pains by that cumbrous but swift-moving beast. The cinematograph was able to provide a two hours’ programme. The films were
ribbon-like in appearance, being about an inch in width and 150 feet in length. Each film contains upward of 2,000 photographs taken at the rate of about fifteen a second. All have been taken, printed and developed by our own Officers [says the War Cry], and are projected on the screen by means of a light which represents about 2,500 candle-power... The first animated picture thrown on the screen was at a Salvation open-air meeting held in Whitechapel Road.
The machine was then taken to Southend-on-Sea for a weekend and fifteen people professed conversion. A lady who drove up to one of the meetings in a carriage and pair said it was “ the most beautiful and interesting entertainment she had ever seen.”


The History of the Salvation Army, vol. IV, 1886-1904, Londres/New York, Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd., p. 394.

Fred Cox et Henry Howse vont alors parcourir la Grande Bretagne dès le début de l'année 1904: Sunderland (février), Nuneaton, Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Crewe, Longton, Coatbridge, Hanley, Swadlincote, Attercliffe, Sheffield, Inverness (mars), Thurso, Kirkwall (mars), Peterhead (mars), Buckie (mars), Elgin (avril), Montrose (avril), Wick... Toujours au service de l'Armée du Salut, il continue à offrir des séances cinématographiques dans les mois qui suivent : Bromley (Londres) (octobre), Forest Hill (Londres) (octobre), Newcastle (novembre)...

Il accompagne William Booth lors de ses voyages en Grande-Bretagne en en Terre Sainte (mars 1905).

booth williamWilliam Booth (Nottingham, 1829-Londres, 1912)

La société Walturdaw (1905-1906)

La société Walturdaw va commencer à éditer des vues à partir de 1905. La première concerne le voyage du fondateur de l'Armée du Salut, William Booth, en Palestine, en mars 1905. Même si le nom d'Henry Howse n'est pas rattaché à ce film, il en est bien l'auteur :

MESSRS. WALTURDAW, LTD., at Dean Street, are making great preparations for the season, and their new films will be quite a feature amongst the Winter Exhibitions. The firm have supplied R. G. Knowles, the well-known entertainer, with quite a large selection of films, including Venetian, Rome, and Naples Pictures, in addition to several specialities from the series taken by their own representative in Jerusalem, including a street in Jaffa, oxen ploughing. camels entering Jerusalem, Holy Sepulchre, Mosque Omar, etc.


Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, vendredi 15 septembre 1905, p. 243.

walturdaw 1905 palestine
Voyage de William Booth en Palestine (Henry Howse, mars 1905)

Outre les vues animées, la société Walturdaw va éditer une série de cartes postales sur ce voyage en Palestine.

booth william 1905 walturdaw 01a booth william 1905 walturdaw 01b
"General Booth at the Mosque of Omar, which stands on the site of Soloman's Temple" (mars 1905)
The "Walturdaw Series"
booth william 1905 walturdaw 02a booth william 1905 walturdaw 02b
"General Booth at the tomb of Lazarus, Bethany" (mars 1905)
The "Walturdaw Series"

howse henry 1905 walturdaw
Henry Howse au Calvaire (1905)
Extrait de l'enregistrement du copyright
[reproduit dans FLETCHER, 2015: 44]

Presque un an plus tard, Henry Howse va se rendre en Inde dans le but de tourner des films pour l'entreprise :

THE Walturdaw Co. have secured a large contract for a series of pictures on "Indian Scenes and Life," for which they have just sent out to India a full staff, with an entire developing plant, so that the films will be completed where the pictures are taken.


Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, jeudi 15 février 1906, p. 74.

Ces vues participent clairement d'un projet de propagande évangélique où sont représentées de nombreuses missions chrétiennes locales :

Mr Henry Howse,of the Walturdaw Cinematograph Company, has been touring India, and has returned with living pictures of Christian work and native life in India of the most remarkable character. In addition to photographing living pictures of missionary operations, many illustrating heathen rites and practices have been secured, which will be very helpful to the missionary cause and give a fresh stimulus to these operations. Prominent among the work extensively dealt with is that of the London Missionary Society, the Wesleyan Medical Mission at Medak, Pandita Ramabnai's Child Widows of Mukti, Kedgaon, the Salvation Army, the work connected with Dr. Grattan Guinness of the Regions beyond Missionary Union, and of Mr Gnanamutthu Joseph Israel’s Madras Tamil Mission and Orphanage. While in India Mr Howse conducted evangelistic meetings at the new school for orphans and Indian Christian children in connection with the Madras Tamil Mission. A deep impression was made. Eternity alone will reveal the results of this mission. Mr Howse also gave straight talks on "Holiness” in the Sunday morning meetings at Tondiarpett.


Shields Daily News, samedi 2 juin 1906, p. 1.

Ce que confirme l'article suivant:

Mr. Howse, of the Walturdaw Company, though not very long back from the trip which resulted in the series of Indian films, was so busy with new subjects that it was only after three trials that we succeeded in securing a talk with him, and then we had to cut it short for he was almost starting on another trip. We were lucky in being present at the first running over of a series depicting the life of the boys of the " Exmouth " training ship. The title of the film, "A Naval Nursery," gives a good idea of its comprehensive nature. The drilling of the white-clad carefully trained boys makes a very pretty picture, and the dexterity with which the youngsters carry heavy guns over obstacles, and the rollicking way in which they dance the hornpipe is clearly shown by the film. The Walturdaw Co. had just received negatives of a film giving scenes from Miss Braddon's book, "Lady Audley's secret," and it will by this time be on the market.


KInematograph Weekly, Londres, dimanche 15 juillet 1906, p. 170.

Des vues tirées à partir des films tournés par Howse sont également commercialisés par la Walturdaw :

THE WALTURDAW Co. have issued a Dumber of slides showing scenes of Indian life. The series of kinematograph films taken in that country by Mr. Howse will be remembered. The slides are made from photos taken at the same time, and are fully as comprehensive as the former.


The Optical Lantern and Kinematograph Journal, lundi 15 octobre 1906, p. 228.

C'est Henry Howse lui-même qui va offrir une représentation à la famille royale et un parterre de princes et de princesses :

Kino. Show before Royalty.
Mr. Howse, of the Walturdaw Co., had the good fortune recently to give two demonstrations of living pictures before some of the principal members of the Royal family. Those present at the performances, which took place at Cowes, included Princess Henry of Battenburg, the Princess Royal, Princess Victoria, and the two sons of the Prince of Wales. The series of Indian films were the leading subjects shown. They were of peculiar interest to the audience, in consequence of the recent visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales.


Kinematograph Weekly, lundi 15 octobre 1906, p. 229.

Et après... (1907-1949)

À la fin de l'année, on annonce le prochain voyage d'Henry Howse pour la Chine :

The Walturdaw Co. Inform us that Mr. Howse has set out on an eight months' tour in search of pictures, in the course of which time he will visit practically every corner of the world, including, we believe, China. It will, of course, be some time before his subjects begin to be published, but when they are they will probably be the most complete pictorial record of little known parts of the world ever issued. The Walturdaw Co. have just put another Indian subject on the market. It shows the famous Ganges and the pilgrims bathing, and in another section an Indian funeral pyre, and is a good addition to the already long list of Indian subjects published by the same firm. Their Ceylon Tea Industry is a comprehensive picture, showing every phase of the work, from the actual picking of the leaf to its dispatch. They have also put out a good comic in A Little Bit of String, which shows what mischief boys, with a tendency in that direction, can effect in a short space of time.


Kinematograph Weekly, samedi 15 décembre 1906, p. 37.

C'est en réalité un tour du monde que le cinématographiste va entreprendre l'année suivante. Un article consacré à la société dans The Optical Lantern and Kinematograph Journal évoque de nouveau ce voyage en indiquant de nombreuses destinations :

As an instance of enterprise in this direction, I might mention (what was casually told me when I called) that the indefatigable Mr. .Howse is now on an eight month's tour in search of pictures. He will touch practically every country — including many which have never before been invaded by a bioscope operator. He will go to Germany, the United States, Canada, Austria, Turkey, Egypt (where he will pay. a flying visit to Khartoum), India, Ceylon, China, Japan and New-foundland.


The Optical Lantern and Kinematograph Journal, samedi 15 décembre 1906, p. 46.

Dès les premiers jours de l'année, il est déjà en Turquie où il se retrouve en prison :

Didn't Appreciate the Bioscope.
We are informed that Mr. Howse, of the Walturdaw Co., at present on a tour round the world with a bioscope camera, has had a dose of prison in Turkey, being kept in durance vile for two or three days. He is now free and taking pictures every day.


Kinematograph Weekly, mardi 15 janvier 1907, p. 77.

Quelques mois plus tard, il est en Chine où il prend de nombreuses vues:

MR HOWSE, of the Waltudaw, was somewhere in China he last time we had news of him, and a great bulk of film was being despatched for his use. His two-year journey should result in some fine pictures when it is finally brought to a conclusion.


Kinematograph Weekly, jeudi 16 mai 1907, p. 11.

Un autre journal, plus tardif, donne quelques compléments d'information :

I was talking the other day to Mr. H. Howse, a well-known cinematograph operator who, in pursuit of the best biograph subjects, had visited seventeen countries, and had been all round the world in search of subjects for his art. He had been arrested in Turkey as a spy, and confined in prison; he had crossed the deserts of China; he had been suspended by ropes over the crater of Vesuvius, and had watched the molten brimstone bubble up from the hideous cauldron of smoke and steam, and then had nothing to show for it but yards of blurred films. This is work that requires something more than skill in photography, something more than the power of discovering interesting subjetcts. It asks for nerve and endurance, for quick thought and action, for all the qualities that bring success in the most serious occupations of mankin.


London magazine, Londres, nº 115, mars 1908.

Il est de retour au mois de juillet avec un nombre important de films : 

After his trip round the world, Mr. Howse, of the Walturdaw Co., is back in London again, with a big stock of films and a sunburnt countenance.


Kinematograph Weekly, jeudi 25 juillet 1907, p. 170.

En novembre 1907, il participe à un important banquet réunissant nombre de figures en vue du cinématographe britannique.

kinematograph manufacturers 1907

Kinematograph Weekly, 3 mai 1956, p. 43.

L'année 1910 marque un tournant dans la gestion de la société puisque Harry Dawson et Ernest Howard quitte la "Walturdaw" :

IMPORTANT NOTICE.
The Directors of the Walturdaw Company, Ltd., beg to announce that Messrs. G. H. J. Dawson and E. Howard, participators in the original private business of Walker, Turner, Dawson and Howard, and for the last six years acting as Managing Directors with the Walturdaw Ltd., have voluntarily resigned their positions in the Company as from September 1, 1910.
Messrs. Dawson and Howard, while retaining a very large financial interest in the Walturdaw Company, Ltd., are preparing to specialise in an independent way in various branches of Animated Photography, and the Directors wish them every success in their undertakings.
Signed J. D. WALKER ,E. G. TURNER, Managing Directors.


The Bioscope, 15 septembre 1910, p. 33.

On peut penser que c'est alors que Henry Howse choisit de rejoindre la Tyler Film Company pour laquelle il va tourner, en juin 1911,  un film dans les régions arctiques : 

WITH THE CINEMA IN THE ARCTIC.
AFTER WHALES AND POLAR BEARS.
Film Company's Action for Damages.
A voyage the Nimrod to the Arctic regions was described in Mr Justice Bailhache's Court in London.
The Nimrod was the vessel which Sir Ernest Shackleton went the Antarctic.
The plaintiffs in the suit are the Tyler Film Company. They are suing Captain R. V. Webster, of Kensington Palace Mansions, for damages for breach of contract.
How the claim came to be made was told by Clavell Salter, K.C. In June, 1911, Captain Webster, who had acquired the Nimrod, called the offices of the company, and said that he and others intended to take sporting cruise to Arctic Waters.
He proposed that the company should supply him with a cinematograph photographer to take pictures of sporting incidents. On the profits made from the pictures he asked a royalty of 10 per cent.
He assured the company that the cruise was to be merely for the purpose sport. Among the big game whose fate could be filmed were whales, reindeer, Polar bears, and walrus.
The company, continued counsel, was pleased with the idea. It agreed to the terms proposed.
A Mr Howse, it was arranged, should go as  the photographer, paying 10s a day for his keep. Mrs Webster, who had literary tastes, was to accompany her husband. To assist her as typist, Mr Howse's son became member of the party.
The Polar Bear Firm.
Off Nova Zembla some duck were shot, and on another occasion Mr Howse was lucky enough to sight some whales in the distance.
But no steps, complained Mr Salter, were taken to pursue the whales and cinematograph them.
The destination of the Nimrod was the mound of the Yenesei, but she got stuck in the ice.
A large polar bear was seen tobe prowling round with an obvious disposition to come on board if possible. He might have done so if Captain Webster had not shot him.
With the help of the bear's corpse Mr i Howse got a film bear hunting, but, remarked counsel, might have got the same result from a stuffed bear at home.
A motor car was then landed. Captain Webster disappeared, and appeared to have returned by motor car overland.
He had ordered Captain Reece to bring the ship back.
Mr Howse got back on October 5, without any film of commercial value.
When Mr Henry Howse. of Leonard Road, was called, counsel asked, " How did you know you were going to hunt whales?"
Witness —Captain Webster told that was going to take on a whaling crew.
On his return to England, Captain Webster asked. " Did you get any whales?" He said " No.
He continued —Captain Webster suggested I should fake some whales. I told him I could fake a good many things, but I could not fake whales. (Laughter.)
Opening the case for the defence, Mr Haldinstein said that Captain Webster had served in the Soudan with Lord Kitchener, and had received an important appointment from Lord Milner in South Africa. He had been a successful tea planter in Ceylon.
His voyage was undertaken from the love of discovery and adventure.
The hearing was adjourned.


Dundee Evening Telegraph, mercredi 12 mars  1913, p. 4.

Il est probable que ce tournage ait correspondu avec le recensement 1911 où ne figurent que les autres membres de sa famille. Ce voyage ne va pas être sans conséquences pour le moins curieuses. Deux ans plus tard, la société Tyler Film Company va attaquer en justice le capitaine du navire, R. Vl Webster en particulier sur une question liée à l'authenticité des films tournés, Howse étant tenu pour responsable de prises de vues "truquées". Pourtant, la même année, Howse continue de tourner des films pour la Tyler Film Company :

It is interesting to note that the two very admirable pictures, "The Scotch Tweed Industry" and "Hosiery Manufacture," which are being . shown in the British Open-air Theatre, at the Ghent Exhibition, were taken (for the South of Scotland Chamber of Commerce and Messrs. Peter Scott, Hawick, respectively) by Mr. Henry Howse, of the Tyler Film Company. A good industrial film is a very difficult thing to make, necessitating, as it usually does, much interior photography under extremely awkward conditions, and Mr. Howse is to be congratulated warmly on having turned out two of the best pictures of this kind that we have seen.


The Bioscope, jeudi 17 juillet 1913, p. 159.

Quelques mois plus tard, il va fonder sa propre société, la Henry Howse & Co. qui se destine principalement à la vente et commercialisation de cinématographes et d'équipement pour la projection de films:

Messrs. Henry Howse and Co., kinematograph specialists, are now installed at 51 Rupert Street, W. This firm intend to cater for the trade in any and every department. Mr. Henry Howse, one of the first camera men in the business, is generally superintending, and is assisted by his two partners, Mr. Geo. E. Redman, late of Hastings, and Mr. A. H. White. The firm is already doing a big export business both in new and second-hand stuff, and all the firm's cameras are busy working each day.


Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, jeudi 25 juin 1914, p. 18.

howse henry 1914 annonce
The Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly (supplement), 25 juin 1914, p. lxxxi.

Il va d'ailleurs multiplier ses activités dans le domaine cinématographique. On le retrouve ainsi fondateur de la Kine Film Printing Co. Ltd :

Kine Film Printing Co., Ltd.-Registered on Dec. 31st with a capital of £1,000 in 950 non-cumulative participating preference shares of £1 each and 1,000 deferred shares of 1s. each, to carry on the business of film producers, owners, contractors, exporters, importers, buyers, sellers, hirers, renters, exhibitors and dealers, etc. Private company. The number of directors is not to be less than two nor more than five; the first are H. Howse (managing director) and A. H. White. Qualification, 100 shares of either class. Registered office, 51 Rupert Street, W.


Kinematograph Weekly, jeudi 14 janvier 1915, p. 45.

Et de la Henry Howse and Co., Limited, dans le prolongement de son entreprise du même nom :

HENRY HOWSE AND CO., LIMITED. (139,658)-This company was registered on March 16th, with a capital of £2,000 in £1 shares, to take over the business of cinematographers, photographic specialists, film producers, etc., carried on qt 51, Rupert Street, W., as Henry Howse and Co. Private company. the number of directors is not to be less than three nor more than seven. The firt are: H. Howse, 51, Rupert Streeet, W.; A. H. White, Gresham House, Littlehampton; and G. E. Redman, 9, Stockleigh Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea. Qualification £200. Remuneration as fixed by the company. Registered office: 51, Rupert Street, W.


The Bioscope, 8 avril 1915, p. 146.

Avec son entreprise, Henry Howse va également produire The Stronger Will et Meg of the Slums  sortis en janvier 1916 et dont la vedette est Helena Millais:

Mr. Jack Seaman, of the City Film Service, announces that trade shows of "Meg of the Slums" and "The Stronger Will" will be given shortly.


Kinematograph Weekly, 6 janvier 1916, p. 115. 

En novembre 1915, il quitte la Grande-Bretagne pour l'Afrique du Sud à bord du Durham Castle et et travaille pour l'African Film Productions (Johannesburgpour laquelle il tourne plusieurs films en 1916. En 1917, il rejoint, au Cap le neveu de son épouse, Ernest G. Palmer, pour le tournage de La Rose de Rhodésie (1918) où les deux interviennent comme opérateurs sous la direction d'Harold Shaw. 

howse henry portrait 03
Henry Howse

howse henry portraitMr. Norman H. Lee, Producer and Drawer of the Film Comedy Cartoons (in the foreground), and Mr. Henry Howse, Producer and Editor of The African Mirror
Stage and Cinema, 1er septembre 1917, p. 19.

Il part ensuite pour les États-Unis, en mars 1919 à bord du Carmania et y séjourne pendant quelques mois, à la tête de la société Harma Productions :

Howse Is General Manager of Harma Productions, Inc.
HARRY MAZE JENKS, who recently returned to Europe on the Acquitania, expressed himself before sailing, as being gratified with the result of his visit to this country and the way in which "A Romany Lass" and his other productions have been received.
Mr. Jenks announces that his business in this country will be carried on under the name of Harma Productions, Inc., and Henry Howse has been appointed general manager. Offices have been secured at 46 West Twenty-fourth street, and this company will deal with foreign exporters for the distribution of their products.
Arrangements are being made for enlarging the organization of this company in Europe by the engagement of well-known American stars and securing of one or more American producers, who, it is announced, will proceed to Europe as early as possible.


The Moving Picture World, 31 mai 1919, p. 1376.

Il est de retour en Angleterre en septembre :

Back from the States
Mr Howse Harma's technical adviser, has just returned from the States, where he has been inspecting most of the principal studios over a period of several months. Under his direction improvements will be effected at Croydon, and already new powerful spot-lights, similar to those used by the Famous-Lasky Co., have been installed.


Kinematograph Weekly, jeudi 4 septembre 1919, p. 97. 

C'est lui qui est chargé, par Harry Maze Jenks, de la succursale britannique dont il assure la ré-organisation dès son arrivée: 

Harma Studio Being Re-Organised
Harma will shortly be starting on a big subject, with a general appeal as strong as that in "The Man Who Forgot." During the last week or two the studios and staff have been undergoing re-organisation, under the capable direction of Henry Howse, who is acting as manager for H. M. Jenks, the proprietor of Harma Photoplays.
Mr. Howse has recentily returned from a prolonged visit to America, and the information he obtained in the States will be reflected in the forthcoming productions, both as regards story, technique and titling. Mr. Howse was actively associated with the African pictures which have recently attracted considerable public notice. In the coming films suitable parts will be found for the three successful Harma stars-Marjorie Villis, Bernard Dudley and James Knight, Constance Worth will also most probably be included in the cast.


Kinematograph Weekly, Londres, 23 octobre 1919, p. 110

Son nom apparaît encore en 1920, alors qu'il est responsable des studios de la Clarendon Co., puis on ne sait plus rien de lui jusqu'en 1925 lorsqu'il va travailler pour le Missionary Film. Il accompagne le réalisateur T. H. Baxter, secrétaire de cette entreprise en Inde pour le tournage de India To-day, puis en Palestine en 1929 :

NEW PALESTINE FILM.
CINEMA AID TO BIBLE STUDY.
The Missionary Film Committee. In which the Baptist Missionary Society. the Church Missionary Society. the Church of England Mission. the London Missionary Society, the S.P.G.. the Weselyan Methodist Missions. and the United Free Church of Scotland cooperate. Is undertaking a new film of Palestine.
The secretary of the committee. Mr. T. H. Baxter, who is responsible for the films " India To-day and "Africa Today," which are still drawing large audiences in all parts of the country. has just left London with Mr. and Mrs. Henry Howse, cinematographers photographers, for Palestine. He is due in Jerusalem on March 21.
"We shall try to produce a film showing Palestine as it is to-day," said Mr. Baxter, " and to emphasise the fact that although the Holy Land is developing by such leaps and bounds, it still in its essential life illustrates the Bible story. The aim of the film will be to make the Bible more real than ever to the present generation. The task will not be an easy one, but I feel that this is the most important film we have undertaken."


The Daily News and Westminster Gazette, mercredi 20 mars 1929, p. 6.

Son nom n'apparaît plus dans les années suivantes. Il décède en 1949. 

Sources

"A Brief Description of Walturdaw Enterprise", The Optical Lantern and Kinematograph Journal, samedi 15 décembre 1906, p. 43-50.

FLETCHER Tony, The Salvation Army and the Cinematograph 1897-1929. A Religious Tapestry in Britain and India, Londres, Local History Publications, 2015, 100 p.

HAMMOND David, "The Founder's Photographer. An episode of Easter, 1905, The War Cry, 5 avril 1969, p. 14.

PARSONS Neil, Black and White BioscopeMaking Movioes in Africa 1899 to 1925, Pretoria, Protea, 2018, 252 p.

PARSONS Neil, "Investigating the Origins of The Rose of Rhodesia, Par I: African Film Productions" et "Investigating the Origins of The Rose of Rhodesia, Par II: Harold Shaw Film Productions Ltd.", Screening the past.

"The Romance of the Cinematograph" - London Magazine, mars 1908, p. 1-6. [reproduit dans Film History, vol. 24, nº 3, p. 341-344]. Cet article n'est pas signé, mais le Kinematogaph Weekly donne quelques précisions au sujet des auteurs:

The Romance of the Kinematograph.
This article in a recent issue of the London Magazine was alluded to in our notes as the work of Mr. C. H. Sheldon. We should have said that the writer of the article was Mr. Harris Burland, Mr. Sheldon supplying some of the illustrations while others were furnished by Mr. Howse of the Waltudaw Co, from films issued by that company.


The Kinematograph and Lantern Weekly, 12 mars 1908, p. 319.

Remerciements

Tony Fletcher.

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On retrouve quelques fragments de films tournés probablement par Henry Howse dans le moyen métrage William Booth, God's Soldier (1978) de W. Hugh Baddeley.

1897

Le jubilé de la reine Victoria

1905

Voyage de William Booth en Palestine

Rues de Londres

Visite aux jardins zoologiques

Réunion en plein air à Whitechapel Road

1906

Indian Scenes and Life

A Little Bit of String

1909

The new minister or the drunkard's daughter

1913

The Scotch Tweed Industry

Hosiery Manufacture

1916

The Stronger Will

Meg of the Slums

A Story of the Rand

An Artist's Inspiration

1916 an artist inspiration
An Artiist's Inspiration (Lorimer Johnston, 1916)

The Silver Wolf

1916 silver wolf
The Siver Wolf (Lorimer Johnston, 1916)

The Water Cure

1916 silver wolf
The Water Cure (B. F. Clinton, 1916)

[De] Voortrekkers (Winning a Continent)

1916 voortrekkers
[De] Voortrekkers (Harold M. Shaw/Dick Cruikshanks, 1916)

1917

African Mirror

1918

Pur-sang

The Rose of Rhodesia

Thoroughbreds All

1920

Land of Mystery

1925

India To-day (Missionary Film)

1929

Palestine (Missionary Film)

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