A selection of Alan Villiers famous photos appears on the Royal Museum Greenwich’s wonderful Flickr Photostream.
Villiers seems to have been a naturally talented photographer, but I’m also struck by the sharpness and contrast of the images he was able to take using large format film on his Box Brownie camera.
Re Alan Villiers :-
I have written a 5000 word essay on Villiers which I propose to submit to the Royal Victorian Historical Society for publication in its journal.
I am also planning to reduce my article to 1500 words to submit to Forty South, a lifestyle magazine based in Hobart. Villiers spent 5 years on the staff of The Mercury, Hobart’s newspaper. There he learnt to write, and resuming his seagoing career documented it all as you know.
For this project I need photographs free of copyright restrictions – of Villiers himself, and of ships he sailed on – such as Mayflower replica, Grace Harwar, Herzogen Cecilie, Parma, Joseph Conrad.
I would be very pleased if you could assist.
It is of interest that the last ship on which Conrad sailed, and which he commanded, the Otago, lies upriver from Hobart, only the keel and a few ribs left. But this can also be a point in my article.
I had an article published in Forty South in March this year, about Alex Lithgow, Band music Composer – the Souza of the South as the
Americans call him, who worked in Launceston for 30
years. Famous once but not now, like Villiers ! There was no problem with photos, Lithgow family assisted.
I am John Mathew, a retired physician, and relevant details are below. I should add that I am not working for monetary gain.
Email –
admin@drjohnmathew.com.au
0408322738