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Photograph

19th century (made)

19thC; Dillwyn Llewelyn John, "A Gypsy party"

Object details

Object type
Photograph
Brief description
19thC; Dillwyn Llewelyn John, "A Gypsy party"
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.4cm
  • Width: 15.2cm
Gallery label
Making It Up: Photographic Fictions (2018)

Many nineteenth-century amateur staged photographs feature members of the upper classes play-acting at positions of lower social status. The models in this scene are the photographer’s children. One girl reads the other’s palm, while the boy reclines next to a fake campfire. Llewelyn learned about photography from his cousin-in-law, William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the calotype, or paper negative, process.

Marta Weiss
Label for 'Making It Up: Photographic Fictions' (3 May 2013 - 12 January 2014):

John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810–82)
A Gypsy party
About 1853

This is a very early example of a narrative scene staged for the camera. The models are the photographer’s children. One girl reads the other’s palm while the boy reclines next to a fake campfire. J.D. Llewelyn learned about photography from William Henry Fox Talbot, his cousin-in-law and inventor of the calotype, or paper negative, process.

Salted paper print
Museum no. Ph.250-1984
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
PH.250-1984

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1059068/photograph/
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