| Code | DS/UK/577 |
| Dates | 09/02/1838-02/07/1914 |
| Person Name | Stone; Sir; [John] Benjamin (09/02/1838-02/07/1914) |
| Surname | Stone |
| Forenames | [John] Benjamin |
| PreTitle | Sir |
| Activity | British Conservative politician, and noted photographer. |
| History | Son of a local glass manufacturer, succeeded to the business on the death of his father. Local Conservative politician, founder of the Birmingham Conservative Association and MP for Birmingham East (1895-1909); member of the Sutton Coldfield Corporation for many years; first Mayor of Birmingham (1886-1890); knighted (1892), appointed High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield (1902).
Prolific amateur photographer; he made 26,000 photographs and wrote books as he travelled to Spain, Norway, Japan and Brazil. He also made an invaluable record of the folk customs and traditions of the British Isles, which influenced later photographers of note, such as Tony Ray-Jones.
Founder and president of the National Photographic Record Association (1897); president of the Birmingham Photographic Society. His amateur career culminated in 1911 with his appointment as official photographer to the coronation of King George V.
He also has been Justice of the Peace, a member of the Society of Antiquaries, and a member of the Geological Society.
|
| Source | The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield - A Commemorative History, Douglas V. Jones, 1994, Westwood Press; James Peter, and Martin Barnes. A Record of England: Sir Benjamin Stone and the National Photographic Record Association 1897-1910 (2006); Colin Ford. Sir Benjamin Stone, 1838-1914: Victorian People, Places and Things Surveyed by a Master Photographer (1974); Bill Jay. Customs and Faces: Photographs of Sir Benjamin Stone (1972); Sir Benjamin Stone's Pictures volume 1: Festivals, Ceremonies and Customs (1906, re-issued 1951); 'John Benjamin Stone', URL: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Benjamin_Stone> [accessed 08/12/2010]. |
Show related catalogue records.