WAY BACK WEDNESDAY: William Hudson

September 23, 2026 Submitted By Geri Duff

Here is one of Hingham’s early photographers, William Hudson, who lived on North Street. He started out using glass plates for his work until the late 1880s. After that he used a small camera which after you took your pictures on a roll of film, you would send the entire camera to Rochester NY where the film would be developed and prints made.

Then the camera would be reloaded with blank film and sent back with the prints. He is shown here with one of these cameras. After his death, the small building he used as a studio and stored the glass negatives, had a fire and all the materials inside were thrown out.

Firefighter Albert Kimball Sr. brought some of the undamaged glass plates home. Over time these were given to the Hingham Historical Society by his family and now comprise the Kimball Family Photograph Collection.