W.H. Smith

A carte-de-visite portrait of William Henry Smith (1825-1891), bookseller and newsagent of the family firm W.H. Smith, who successfully expanded the business and introduced the practice of selling books and newspapers at railway stations. He was elected a Member of Parliament in 1868 and rose to the position of First Lord of the Admiralty less than ten years later. Because of his lack of naval experience, he was perceived as a model for the character Sir Joseph Porter in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. In the mid-1880s, he was twice Secretary of State for War, and later First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons, among other posts.

Photographed by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company.