John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810-1882) was a prominent figure in Victorian Society, and a pioneer of technology, science and photography.
A founder Council Member of the Photographic Society of London (now the Royal Photographic Society), he exhibited at all their early exhibitions and at Paris in 1855 winning a Silver Medal.
He tried all the known processes, initially using Talbot’s Photogenic drawing, Daguerre’s Daguerrotype on silvered copper, Talbot’s newer Calotype process, the Wet Collodion process and his own variant of the latter, the Oxymel process, which was pronounced by the Illustrated London News of July 1856 to be of ‘extreme importance and benefit to photographers’.
He has left a large archive of material, principally to be found in Swansea Museum, the National Library of Wales and the National Museum of Wales that is considered central to the development and spirit of photography. His work includes pictures of Scotland, Yorkshire; visits to Cornwall and Bristol; and of friends and places in and around Swansea; but it is the photographs he took of the landscape and gardens at Penllergare and of his young growing family that possibly remain his most evocative, showing a particular passion for his own
Penllergare Valley Woods is a community woodland managed by local charity, The Penllergare Trust and can be visited. The house is no longer there but a Victorian observatory in the grounds and the landscaped gardens are open to the public. More details on the website https://penllergare.org
The book 'The Photographer of Penllergare' by Noel Chanan can be purchased for £30 plus P&P. Please phone 01792 344224 to speak to the team in the office or email contact@penllergare.org All proceeds from the sale of the book will go directly to the Penllergare Trust. Please mention that you heard about this offer on the RPS South Wales Region website.
TITLE: The Photographer of Penllergare
AUTHOR: Noel Chanan
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2013
BOOK SIZE: 255 x 290 mm
PAGES: 276
ISBN 9780957540507