John Thomas (1838-1905) (original) (raw)

Ganed John Thomas yng Nghellan, Ceredigion, Cymru, yn fab i labrwr. Yn 1853 symudodd i Lerpwl i weithio mewn siop ddillad. Ar ddechrau'r 1860au bu'n rhaid iddo chwilio am waith yn yr awyr agored oherwydd rhesymau iechyd. Felly, aeth yn asiant teithiol i gwmni oedd yn gwerthu deunydd ysgrifennu a ffotograffau o bobl enwog. Roedd cyhoeddi a gwerthu ffotograffau bychain o enwogion (ffotograffau carte-de-visite) yn fusnes llewyrchus iawn yn y cyfnod, a phan sylweddolodd yntau cyn lleied o ffotograffau o enwogion Cymru oedd ganddo i'w gwerthu aeth ati ei hun i newid pethau.

Dysgodd elfennau ffotograffiaeth, ac yn 1863 dechreuodd dynnu ffotograffau o enwogion trwy wahodd nifer o bregethwyr adnabyddus i eistedd iddo. Bu'r fenter yn llwyddiant ac erbyn 1867 cychwynnodd ei fusnes ffotograffig ei hun, The Cambrian Gallery.

Teithiodd drwy'r rhan fwyaf o Gymru am bron 40 mlynedd gan dynnu lluniau o olygfeydd yn ogystal â phobl. Wedi iddo ymddeol prynodd Syr O M Edwards gasgliad o dros 3,000 o'i negyddion gorau ar gyfer darlunio'r cylchgrawn Cymru. Bu farw John Thomas ym mis Hydref 1905, ac erbyn heddiw y mae'r negyddion a brynwyd gan O M Edwards yn ffurfio rhan o gasgliad ffotograffau Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru.

Ceir rhagor o wybodaeth ar wefan y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol.

John Thomas was a labourer's son from Cellan, Ceredigion, Wales. In 1853 he moved to Liverpool to work in a draper's shop. In the early 1860s he was forced to find employment in the open air for health reasons. He became a traveller for a firm dealing in writing materials and photographs of famous people. At that time publishing and selling small photographs of celebrities (carte-de-visite photographs) was a very lucrative business. When he realised how few of the photographs he had to sell were of Welsh celebrities he undertook to change things himself.

He learnt the rudiments of photography and in 1863 he began taking photographs of the famous by inviting a number of well-known preachers to sit for their portraits. The enterprise was a success and by 1867 he established his own photographic business, The Cambrian Gallery. He travelled widely in north, mid and south Wales for nearly 40 years taking photographs of landscapes as well as people.

When he retired from business a collection of over 3,000 of his negatives was bought by Sir O M Edwards to illustrate the magazine Cymru. John Thomas died in October 1905, and today the negatives which O M Edwards bought from him form part of the photographic collection of the National Library of Wales.

More information about John Thomas can be found on the National Library of Wales's website.