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Photographs of colourful characters of Kerry, 1910-20

A collection of 29 photographs taken by John Wilkes Poundley (1873-1932) of the colourful characters of the Kerry district, Montgomeryshire, between 1910 and 1920.

Photographs of colourful characters of Kerry, 1910-20
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J. W. Poundley was one of the last in the line of one of the old families of Montgomeryshire. His grandfather John Wilkes Poundley (1807-1872) was County Surveyor. His father, John Edward Poundley (1839-1916) worked as land agent for a number of local estates including the Kerry and Dolfor estates.

J. W. Poundley himself trained as a solicitor but he had more interest in leading the life of a country squire than in office work and after the death of his father gave up his professional activities. He was one of the stalwarts of Kerry society and was the chairperson of the parish council and a county councillor for many years. His interest lay in country life; shooting and angling, and he revelled in the company of the many 'characters' who lived in the Kerry district.

He was also a keen amateur photographer, though we know virtually nothing of what drew him to photography. Two collections of his photographs are held in the National Library of Wales; the collection of photographs of Kerry characters shown here, and a photograph album containing over 150 photographs of the Kerry district. From looking at his photographs we see clearly the influence of the pictorialist movement. The pictorialist emphasised photography as a means of creating images with purely artistic quality rather than for any documentary or social interest. From these photographs we can see how successful J. W. Poundley was in his artistic achievement.

Source: National Library of Wales