James Hollingworth Mann
G.W. Wilson was both a painter and pioneer photographer. Born in 1823 near Banff in Aberdeenshire, Wilson studied art in Edinburgh and elsewhere and worked as a painter of portrait miniatures. In the process he learned about the recently invented calotype photographic process and in 1852 set up a portrait photography studio in Aberdeen which became hugely successful. His portable darkroom also allowed him to take landscape photographs around the country and overseas.
George Washington Wilson (1850s - Self portrait)
By the 1880s, his firm was one of the largest and most famous photographic publishers in the world. So much so that he employed various photographers over the world to work on his behalf something which often makes it hard to tell exactly who took any particular photograph accredited to G.W.Wilson and Co.
This is true of Gibraltar where it is more than certain that the man who was actually behind the camera was James Hollingworth Mann. (See LINK)
It is well known that Mann never worked for anybody but for himself. His work has found its way into Wilson's collection simply because the company eventually bought the selling rights from Mann. A large number of these glass negatives are held by the University of Aberdeen. Many of them were probably taken around 1866 but they are still among the most beautiful photographs ever taken of Gibraltar (see LINK) and the Campo area in Spain. (See LINK)
Casemates - Gibraltar
Plaza Alta - Algeciras