The claimant [Arthur Orton, Tichborne claimant], ca. 1871-1872 / photographer London Stereoscopic Company

SSV/131

fonds

ca. 1871-1872

Graphic Materials, Photographs

1074700

1 photographic print - cabinet, oval image - 16.5 x 10.8 cm

The Claimant was Arthur Orton, an Australian butcher who claimed the identity of Roger Tichborne, an English aristocrat who drowned off South America in 1829. Orton's claim to the Tichborne baronetcy became a scandal of the 1860's. He travelled to England in 1866 where he convinced Roger Tichborne's mother that he was the long-lost son. He began a life of debauchery and excess, cut short when the family took him to court in 1871-1872. Their civil case failed but laid the foundation for a criminal case of perjury in 1874, which led to him spending the next 10 years in gaol.

Several variant cartes-de-visite were produced to fund Orton's legal defence. The National Library of Australia holds a similar example entitled "The Claimant of the Tichborne Baronetcy who alleges he was saved from the Bella. Here Orton is photographed in a top hat with eyes closed (although the jacket, fob watch and waistcoat are identical).

Reference:
Hordern House catalogue number 311

Out of copyright: created before 1955
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Hordern House catalogue number 311/684

Photographer's stamp on the reverse and on the lower edge of the card

"The Claimant" -- in ink on an attached label, also in pencil on the lower edge of the card