Contemporary Biographies (1901)

I've just added 341 biographies of the leading inhabitants of the county in 1901 to my Nottinghamshire History website. The profiles and photographs were originally published in a lavishly produced book called Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire at the Opening of the Twentieth Century; [and] Contemporary Biographies and provide a fascinating insight into the movers and shakers of Nottinghamshire in the final year of Queen Victoria's reign.
The biographies start with what the book's editors considered to be the elite members of county society (the 6th Duke of Portland, the Bishop of Southwell, the High Sherriff, the Mayor of Nottingham and Members of Parliament) and includes the nobility and gentry, the professions (military, clergy, doctors and dentists, lawyers, architects, engineers, stockbrokers and accountants), businessmen and industrialists, and sportsmen.
Facial hair was extremely fashionable at the time and the portraits show an impressively wide range of styles!

• Nottinghamshire History website