Public Monuments and Sculpture in Stoke-on-Trent & Newcastle-under-Lyme
Public Monuments and Sculpture in Stoke-on-Trent & Newcastle-under-Lyme
 

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Thomas Wedgwood Memorial Plaque  
at Etruria Park
 

Location: Medallion, set in brick wall to right of Etruria Road entrance to Etruria Park
Date of unveiling
: unveiled 11 June 1953
Ceramicist: Eric Owen
Commissioned by: Society of Staffordshire Photographers
 

 

Inscriptions:

(above head)               

THOMAS WEDGWOOD 1771-1805

(below head)

PIONEER OF PHOTOGRAPHY

(on small bronze plaque underneath medallion)

THIS PLAQUE ERECTED
BY THE SOCIETY OF
STAFFORDSHIRE PHOTOGRAPHERS
TO COMMEMORATE THE WORK OF
THOMAS WEDGWOOD
OF ETRURIA HALL
PIONEER OF PHOTOGRAPHY
UNVEILED 11TH JUNE 1953
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE
ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

 

Signatures: (on base of relief) Eric Owen 1953, also stamped WEDGWOOD/BARLASTON

Description:

The circular medallion showing Thomas Wedgwood's head in profile was taken from a contemporary chalk drawing by an unknown artist that had survived in the ownership of the Wedgwood family.

Background:

The Society of Staffordshire Photographers was formed in 1951. The plaque was made and presented to them by the directors of Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd of Barlaston. It was unveiled by Bertram Sinkinson, the President of the Royal Photographic Society.
 

About the subject:

Thomas Wedgwood is best known as a pioneer of photography. He attended Edinburgh University from 1787 to 1789, but was forced to leave due to persistent ill health.
Although prevented from working in his father's potteries by constant headaches, he nevertheless conducted a series of scientific experiments, presenting two papers to the Royal Society in 1791 and 1792 on the equal temperature of red-hot objects.
In 1802, he presented a paper on his discovery of a method of copying objects by exposing paper soaked in silver nitrate to the sun. When the objects were removed, their silhouettes would appear on those parts of the paper which had not been exposed to the light.
However, he could not find a means to fix his pictures (known as photograms), which prevented his method from becoming popular.
Nevertheless, his photograms, if kept in the dark, would last easily for sixty years or more.



 


Photos: 2000

 

   

Materials:

Part of work

Material

Dimensions

Medallion

Basalt 75cm diameter

 

 

 

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questions/comments/contributions? email: Steve Birks

24 February 2006