1839 | The first miniature photo
English photographer John Benjamin Dancer (1812–1887) created the world’s first miniature photo in 1839. It measured just one millimetre square. By the 1850s, Dancer had built a thriving business selling miniature photos of all sorts of things – such as royal portraits, bible verses and poems – mounted on glass slides, to be viewed with a microscope.
1860 | The first Stanhope
Many wealthy Victorians purchased sets of Dancer’s photos, but the microscope needed to view them made it an expensive pursuit. This changed when, in 1860, French photographer René Dagron (1817–1900) unveiled a more practical way to view miniature photos. By attaching the photo to a specially shaped lens, he combined the picture and a means of viewing it into one unit. Suddenly, miniature photos became widely accessible.
1860–1900 | Growing popularity
The Stanhope quickly became one of the most popular keepsakes of the late nineteenth century. It was easily incorporated into all sorts of objects such as jewellery, pens and cutlery, and often used in items commemorating important events, such as Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, or to make holiday souvenirs.
1900 onwards | Slow decline
Over the course of the twentieth century, the popularity of the Stanhope declined, largely due to the rise of affordable and easy-to-use cameras and slide projectors. Holidaymakers were now able to take their own photos, and therefore were less inclined to purchase a Stanhope souvenir.
An enduring legacy
Many nineteenth-century Stanhopes can still be found today hidden in antiques, often in good working order. Remember's products are inspired by this legacy – our signature Stanhope lens is based on Dagron’s original design. But while nineteenth-century Stanhopes were made in batches that used the same photo, Remember’s Stanhopes contain photos chosen by our customers, to create unique, personalised keepsakes to pass down the generations.
John Dancer with his scientific apparatus, 1853
René Dagron, date unknown
Why is it called
a ‘Stanhope’?
You might be wondering why the Stanhope isn’t named after Dagron, its inventor. Dagron actually modified a lens that had been invented some years before by English politician Lord Stanhope (1753–1816). Stanhope’s lens was domed at both ends: Dagron’s innovation was to flatten one end and attach the photo.
A short history of the Stanhope
The magical lens at the heart of Remember’s jewellery, the Stanhope, has a longer history than you might imagine. Its story begins shortly after the birth of photography itself in the 1820s.
Victorian pig souvenir with a Stanhope inside
1839 | The first miniature photo
English photographer John Benjamin Dancer (1812–1887) created the world’s first miniature photo in 1839. It measured just one millimetre square. By the 1850s, Dancer had built a thriving business selling miniature photos of all sorts of things – such as royal portraits, bible verses and poems – mounted on glass slides, to be viewed with a microscope.
John Dancer with his scientific apparatus, 1853
1860 | The first Stanhope
Many wealthy Victorians purchased sets of Dancer’s photos, but the microscope needed to view them made it an expensive pursuit. This changed when, in 1860, French photographer René Dagron (1817–1900) unveiled a more practical way to view miniature photos. By attaching the photo to a specially shaped lens, he combined the picture and a means of viewing it into one unit. Suddenly, miniature photos became widely accessible.
René Dagron, date unknown
1860–1900 | Growing popularity
The Stanhope quickly became one of the most popular keepsakes of the late nineteenth century. It was easily incorporated into all sorts of objects such as jewellery, pens and cutlery, and often used in items commemorating important events, such as Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, or to make holiday souvenirs.
Why is it called a ‘Stanhope’?
You might be wondering why the Stanhope isn’t named after Dagron, its inventor. Dagron actually modified a lens that had been invented some years before by English politician Lord Stanhope (1753–1816). Stanhope’s lens was domed at both ends: Dagron’s innovation was to flatten one end and attach the photo.
1900 onwards | Slow decline
Over the course of the twentieth century, the popularity of the Stanhope declined, largely due to the rise of affordable and easy-to-use cameras and slide projectors. Holidaymakers were now able to take their own photos, and therefore were less inclined to purchase a Stanhope souvenir.
An enduring legacy
Many nineteenth-century Stanhopes can still be found today hidden in antiques, often in good working order. Remember's products are inspired by this legacy – our signature Stanhope lens is based on Dagron’s original design. But while nineteenth-century Stanhopes were made in batches that used the same photo, Remember’s Stanhopes contain photos chosen by our customers, to create unique, personalised keepsakes to pass down the generations.
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