Early Life and Photographic Beginnings Frank Walton, born in London on October 12th, 1840, embarked on a remarkably diverse life that intertwined the worlds of photography, showmanship, and ultimately, landscape painting. His early years were marked by familial shifts; his mother’s passing shortly after his birth and his father's subsequent remarriage shaped a childhood spent in Islington, Middlesex. While initially educated at St Mary’s School, Walton’s path diverged from conventional pursuits. He famously proclaimed himself “the oldest showman in England,” a title that hints at an early en…