John Falconer, British Library
A Biographical Dictionary of 19th Century Photographers in South and South-East Asia |
Amateur, India
Proposed for membership of Bengal Photographic Society Nov 1861. At a meeting in Feb 1862 he ‘exhibited a choice and interesting collection of large sized portraits and landscapes...A most successful operator, reflecting considerable cedit on his artistic taste and skill’[1] Report in Friend of India on Bengal Photographic Society Exhibition of 1862: ‘In Mr P. Nichol's [sic] contributions we think we can discover another Photographer who will take a lead. We congratulate him on No. 396, which forms as complete and as good a landscape picture as any in the room. It is a view taken in the Botanical Gardens and is full of detail finely rendered and well subordinated. There is a happy balance in the composition of this picture, but the tone of the print might be improved. Cattle Group No. 397 with the light glinting off the backs of the cows, showing bone and form, is an effective picture; and the huts, on which the light falls very favorably, makes a good back-ground.This picture would be improved by cutting off 1- inches of the ground, which is confused and of no value. We also congratulate Mr Nichol on his No. 380 ‘Detail in light and shade’ which is very fine Photograph and exhibits in a grand way the plastered architecture of a common Bengalee Temple. His ‘View in Calcutta’ No. 381 has an admirable effect of sun-light on the houses. The plastered wall in the foreground is greatly magnified, and the picture would have been better without it.’[2]
His Calcutta drainage works at Kotrung, steam brick-making shops, and five other views of the works were displayed the London International Exhibition of 1862.
Footnotes
- Λ Journal of the Bengal Photographic Society, vol.1, no.1, 1 May 1862.
- Λ Reproduced in Journal of the Bengal Photographic Society, vol 1, no. 2, 1 Sep 1862, p.47.
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