HUGH OWEN

[Manuel Magalhaes]

Someone knows some biographical facts about Hugh Owen. He lived in Oporto, Portugal?

Thank you!

MANUEL MAGALHAES

[Ian Sumner]

Dear Manuel,

 

Re your enquiry about Hugh Owen (1808-1897). Owen worked as chief cashier of the Great Western Railway in Bristol (built by Brunel) in the mid 1850s. He was making Daguerreotypes before 1845 and from around 1846 started making negatives by Talbot's calotype process.

He was Bristol's best photographer and supplied around half of the photographs to the 1851 Reports of the Juries' volumes (with Ferrier) that illustrated the Great Exhibition exhibits. He used paper negatives almost exclusively but later experimented with wet-plate photography. 

He was considered an expert in ceramics and left his collection to Bristol Museum. 

He probably visited Portugal in 1853 or 1854. He exhibited some of his photographs from Portugal in 1854/5.They are listed in Photographs Exhibited in Britain 1839-1865. National Gallery of Canada. & online.

I have one photograph of his ( a salt print from a paper neg) almost certainly taken in Portugal. It shows a ruined farmhouse and a tree.

Please contact me if you would like further information.

 

There is an entry about Owen in the Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography.Routledge. 2008. & online.

 

Best wishes

 

Ian Sumner

 

[Ian Sumner]

Ian Sumner said:

Dear Manuel,

 

Re your enquiry about Hugh Owen (1808-1897). Owen worked as chief cashier of the Great Western Railway in Bristol (built by Brunel) in the mid 1850s. He was making Daguerreotypes before 1845 and from around 1846 started making negatives by Talbot's calotype process.

He was Bristol's best photographer and supplied around half of the photographs to the 1851 Reports of the Juries' volumes (with Ferrier) that illustrated the Great Exhibition exhibits. He used paper negatives almost exclusively but later experimented with wet-plate photography. 

He was considered an expert in ceramics and left his collection to Bristol Museum. 

He probably visited Portugal in 1853 or 1854. He exhibited some of his photographs from Portugal in 1854/5.They are listed in Photographs Exhibited in Britain 1839-1865. National Gallery of Canada. & online.

I have one photograph of his ( a salt print from a paper neg) almost certainly taken in Portugal. It shows a ruined farmhouse and a tree.

Please contact me if you would like further information.

 

There is an entry about Owen in the Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography.Routledge. 2008. & online.

 

Best wishes

 

Ian Sumner

 

[Manuel Magalhaes]

Hi

Tradução de Português para Inglês

First, sorry but my English is not very good and I have difficulty writing, but I read it and understand it fairly well. Thanks for the info on Hugh Owen. I think he lived in Porto and made some photos here. Should be a friend of James Joseph Forester, big businessman in Port wine and photographer who lived in Porto and was drowned in the River Douro. There is another photographer, English, this time in Porto Frederik William Flower, which was also negative on paper, calotypes and worked as a businessman in Port. I think everyone should know, because the Port was and is a small town and then to Porto knew the whole society together.
there are a few photos of Hugh Owen in http://www.earlyphotography.nl/home.htm. Search "OWEN"
I already knew "Photographs Exhibited in Britain 1839-1865, National Gallery of Canada, & online.
I have several blogs http://fotohist.blogspot.com (about the history of photography)
http://albuminasetc.blogspot.com, (some of my photos collection) http://mmagalhaesfotografia.blogspot.com (about me and my work the photographer, curriculum, etc.)
Best regards and again thanks for the info 

Manuel Magalhaes

[Nuno de Avelar Pinheiro]

Caro Manuel Magalhães

Infelizmente não disponho da informação de que necessita, no entanto é um prazer encontrá-lo e estabelecer contacto consigo, somos tão poucos a trabalhar nesta área am Portugal.

Deixo-lhe o meu email [e-mail]

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Nuno Pinheiro