Benjamin Brecknell Turner

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Benjamin Brecknell Turner

Benjamin Brecknell Turner (born May 12, 1815 in City of Westminster , London , † April 29, 1894 in London Borough of Lambeth ) was one of the first photographers in Great Britain and a founding member of the Photographic Society of London, which was founded in 1853. His pictures were based on the traditional “picturesque” styles and motifs of the generation of watercolors before him.

Origin and life

Turner was one of eight siblings and the eldest son of Samuel and Lucy Turner. The family lived above their tallow equipment shop, which also made and sold candles and saddle soaps . When he was sixteen, Benjamin began an apprenticeship with his father. He joined the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers in 1837 and was named Freeman of the City of London in 1838 .

In 1849 Turner acquired the license to practice photography on paper negative, calotype or talbotype from the British inventor William Henry Fox Talbot . He quickly mastered this form of photography and produced numerous pictures in the 1850s and participated in numerous photo exhibitions during this time. He joined the Photographic Society, later the Royal Photographic Society , and was listed as a member from 1854 to 1870 and again from 1883 to 1893. Brecknell's personal album from the Photographic Club, an association of members of the Photographic Society, is in the collection of the Royal Photographic Society at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford .

Members of the Photographic Society in July 1856, right Benjamin Brecknell Turner

Between 1852 and 1854, Turner compiled 60 of his own photographs in what is believed to be a unique album called "Photographic Views from Nature". It could have been a sample book, a convenient way to display photographs for personal enjoyment and to show them to colleagues or potential exhibitors. It remained in the Turner family's possession until the Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquired it. Almost a third of the photographs in Turners album shows scenes in the county of Worcestershire in the West Midlands in England . The village of Bredicot was home to Turner's father-in-law, who bought Bredicot Court when he retired from the china- making business , a trade that made him wealthy.

From the mid-1850s he worked in a glass house atelier above his London office. He created many portraits here , although he never seems to have exhibited them. Although Turner is best known for his rural and architectural images, he has also filmed portraits with his family and business as subjects . He often used glass negatives for these images , as they had shorter exposure times that allowed a higher level of detail.

family

Agnes Turner and her brother Humphrey Chamberlain about 1850 by Benjamin Brecknell Turner

Turner was since August 17, 1847 with Agnes Chamberlain Turner (1828-1887), a member of the family of the English porcelain manufacturer Royal Worcester , married. The couple had four children together:

  • Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1848-1929)
  • Francis Chamberlain Turner (1853-1893)
  • Rose Ellen Turner (1855-1958)
  • Arthur Tilt Turner (1859-1865).

literature

Web links

Commons : Benjamin Brecknell Turner  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Benjamin Brecknell Turner & Amsterdam, In: britishphotohistory.ning.com (English)
  2. ^ Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Members of the Royal Photographic Society, 1853-1901, In: rpsmembers.dmu.ac.uk
  3. ↑ Portrait of the photographer's wife Agnes Turner with her brother Humphrey Chamberlain, Photo: Turner, Benjamin Brecknell, In: collections.vam.ac.uk (English)
  4. ^ Benjamin Brecknell Turner (1848-1929), In: findagrave.com
personal data
SURNAME Brecknell Turner, Benjamin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English photographer
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1815
PLACE OF BIRTH City of Westminster , London
DATE OF DEATH April 29, 1894
Place of death London Borough of Lambeth