Born into a Baptist family on 17 September 1813, at Chamber Hall, near Oldham in the county of Lancashire, his birth name was registered as Jabez Meal.

[2] Gernsheim describes Mayall as "the earliest exponent of fine art photography," in advance of Oscar Rejlander and Julia-Margaret Cameron, on the basis of his production in Philadelphia of ten daguerreotype in 1845 to illustrate The Lord's Prayer and his later, larger (24" x 15"; 61cm x 38 cm) "daguerreotype pictures to illustrate poetry and sentiment."

These were shown in 1851 at the Great Exhibition; The Soldier's Dream, The Venerable Bede blessing a child, and Bacchus and Ariadne.

A year after exhibiting at the Crystal Palace he limited remarks to the verisimilitude, rather than the artistry, of the daguerreotype;Viewed through an ordinary magnifying-glass, the resemblance of the portrait is perfectly staggering–the features stand forth as though moulded in wax–not a blemish escapes, nor is a beauty lost [ ... ] All hail to the fertile genius of man!

Independently of the wonders of daguerreotyping, there is something very benign and gratifying in its application –the memory of the absent or the dead is faithfully treasured in the possession of one of these beautiful little specimens.

In August 1860, the cartes were released in the form of a Royal Album, consisting of 14 small portraits of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children.

On 18 July 1864, he opened his new photographic portrait studio at 90-91 Kings Road,[6] close to the recently built Grand Hotel.

Id., to creditors in the form of mortgages on various freehold properties, which he was unable to rent or sell without a loss, and also shares in the Albert Palace Company, and in the ship Brighton, which he valued at £600.

[11] In April 1888 his business was bought out for £34,000 by H. S. King and the Artistic Works Association Ltd. through which he became Managing Director of Mayall and Company on a 5-year contract and a fixed salary.