Fullarton - Shaw

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Some Thoughts and Words From Tocofan

Following the Helen Baxter post, which linked to Helen’s newly added homepage, tocofan made a comment that Fullarton was not, in fact, Helen's photographer. Over the last couple of days, he has taken the time to expand on his thoughts that there were two Scottish photographers. At the bottom of this post, I have inserted the links to previous Fullarton posts and J.B. Fullarton’s homepage. So, read below what tocofan has to say, and let us know what you think. Your comments are very welcome.

Some Thoughts and Words From Tocofan

Following my comment attached to the Helen Baxter post refuting the statement that J B Fullarton was the photographer (and by association of all the Scottish girls), I have been asked to amplify my reasoning. 

I was fortunate enough many years ago to acquire a few of the "file copies" of Spick, Span and Beautiful Britons from the Vintage Magazine Shop in Soho (not cheaply it has to be said!). These were the copies retained by the publishers and marked up with the names of the contributors to be paid.

As you see from the accompanying scans, there is the name of J B Fullarton in red ink by the picture of Sandra McPherson (and incidentally by Betty McBride down by the beach and Pat Laird in front of the same wallpaper as Sandra in the same issue), while by the photo of Jacqueline Blair in a very different room in a later publication is the attribution to a certain Shaw.

This to me says unequivocally that there were two Scottish snappers, not one. 

There is also no disputing Fullarton's interiors and choice of locations bore no resemblance to that of Shaw's. By the same token, the likes of Anne Scott, Ruth Cavendish, Jane Paul, Ros Stuart et al from the "Shaw period", including Helen Baxter, were photographed nowhere near Fullarton's more humble distinctive interior decoration on the Ayrshire coast, while the cream of J B's crop -- Sandra, Janette Goodman, the McGregor sisters, Helen Candlish, Jackie Leyton, Diane McCall, to name but a sprinkling -- were never seen in the kitchen, drawing room, landing, bathroom, bedroom and garage of the familiar detached house in a wealthy suburb of Glasgow (where the neighbourhood was occasionally visible through an upstairs window).

There were notable variances in technical proficiency too. And Shaw seemingly encouraged his models to reveal more than Fullarton did right from the get-go, obliged by the likes of Jane Rennie, Susan Ashford, Anne and Ruth behind the scenes, and Ros, but not it would appear Jane. Furthermore, Fullarton did not restrict his output just to Town and Country Publications, as this scan of his muse Janet Neill (un-named) in the February 1957 issue of Fiesta (some five years before Shaw came on the scene) reveals. 

How Fullarton gave way to Shaw I cannot illuminate. It also does seem extraordinary that one Scottish lensman should follow so quickly on the heels of another, both sourcing a bevy of local lovelies all happy to flash their stocking tops for a single stable of girlie mags. As Staples for whatever reason was reluctant to credit his photographers, perhaps it's therefore not surprising the contributions were assumed to be the work of a single individual from the same part of the world and not two.

Tocofan