Joseph Warren Zambra (1822-1897) was an Anglo-Italian photographer and maker of scientific instruments who with Henry Negretti (1818–1879) founded the firm

Negretti and Zambra Negretti and Zambra (active 1850 – c. 1985) was a company that produced scientific and optical instruments and also operated a photographic studio based in London. History Henry Negretti (1818–1879) and Joseph Zambra (1822–1897) for ...

Personal life

Zambra was born in 1822 in Saffron Walden, Essex, to Joseph Caesar (Cesare) and Phyllis Zambra. His father was a barometer maker and

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

who was born in Como, Italy. After an apprenticeship with his father, he travelled to London initially settling in the Anglo-Italian community around Leather Lane in Holborn. On the 9th February 1847 he married Sarah Sophia Potts (1825-1867) and they had four children, Joseph Caesar (born 22 Nov 1847, died 24 Sept 1892), Marcus Warren (born 28 Mar 1849), Sarah Phillis (born 10 Nov 1850) and Julius James George (born in 1859). On the 29th August 1867 his wife died instantly in tragic circumstances when she was thrown from a carriage at Arreton on the Isle of Wight. In 1869 Joseph remarried Sarah Tongue. He died aged 75 on 23 December 1897 at his home, “Walden”, 80 Fitzjohn's Avenue,

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

and is buried with his second wife Sarah (14 July 1823 – 15 December 1901) in Highgate Cemetery (west side). The grave has been listed Grade II both for its 'artistic interest as an imposing, architecturally treated monument with good-quality relief sculpture of archetypically mid-Victorian character' and its 'historic interest commemorating a pioneering C19 photographer and scientific instrument maker.'

Career

Fellow craftsmen Henry Negretti and Joseph Zambra formed a partnership in 1850. The following year at they exhibited their

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

instruments at the

1851 Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

at Hyde Park and were the only English instrument makers to receive a prize medal in their category. The partnership went on to patent several key improvements in the design of barometers and thermometers, producing models capable of functioning under extremes of pressure and movement. Their company

was subsequently appointed opticians and scientific instrument makers to Her Majesty Queen Victoria,

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

and King Edward VII, the Royal Observatory, the

British Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...

and the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

. In its field, the firm became one of the biggest in London, with workshops in Hatton Garden and Cornhill and a retail outlet on

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

, as well as a specialist photographic equipment emporium at the Crystal Palace, which the partners had been commissioned to photograph when it was re-erected in Sydenham in 1853.

Gallery

Family grave of Joseph Warren Zambra in Highgate Cemetery.jpg, Family grave of Joseph Warren Zambra in Highgate Cemetery (west side) Family grave of Joseph Caesar Zambra in Highgate Cemetery.jpg, Family grave of Joseph Caesar Zambra in Highgate Cemetery (west side) Grave of Joseph Caesar and Phillis Zambra in Highgate Cemetery.jpg, Grave of Joseph Warren Zambra's parents, Joseph Caesar and Phillis Zambra in Highgate Cemetery (west side) Negretti zambra telescope 1.jpg, Negretti Zambra Telescope issued by the British military, date unknown Negretti zambra telescope 3 logo.jpg, Detail from Negretti Zambra Telescope issued by the British military, date unknown

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zambra, Joseph 1822 births 1897 deaths Architectural photographers Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from Saffron Walden Photographic studios 19th-century English photographers 1850 establishments in England Photography companies of the United Kingdom Photographers from London