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Ludlow Castle, from the Tiltyard
Turner, Benjamin Brecknell, born 1815 - died 1894 - Enlarge image
Ludlow Castle, from the Tiltyard
- Object:
Photograph
- Place of origin:
Ludlow, England (photographed)
- Date:
1852-1854 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Turner, Benjamin Brecknell, born 1815 - died 1894 (photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Albumen print from calotype negative
- Museum number:
PH.27-1982
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case X, shelf 354, box D
Benjamin Turner was one of the first, and remains one of the greatest, British amateur photographers. He began practising photography in 1849 according to the technique patented in 1841 by the British inventor W. H. Fox Talbot (1800-1877). Turner's photographs were 'contact' printed from paper negatives (known as calotypes) of the same size as the print. He printed them on albumen paper, which is paper that has been floated on an emulsion of egg white containing light-sensitive silver salts. Between 1852 and 1854 Turner compiled 60 of his own photographs, including this one, in what is believed to be a unique album, 'Photographic Views from Nature'. It might have been a sample book, a convenient method for presenting photographs for personal pleasure, and for showing to colleagues or potential exhibitors. It remained in the Turner family until it was bought by the Museum.
This is one of several general views and details photographed by Turner at Ludlow Castle in Shropshire. A tiltyard was an enclosed area for the medieval sport of tilting, or jousting, a contest between two men on horseback armed with lances.
