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Sir John Benjamin Stone (9 February 1838 – 2 July 1914) was a BritishConservativepolitician and photographer.
Stone was born in Duddeston,Birmingham the son of a manager at a local glass works. The business passed into the hands of Stone, his father and a partner in 1860. It was later sold. By this time Stone had become a successful paper manufacturer.
Stone married Jane Parker (1 November 1848 – 6 July 1914) on 5 June 1867. Jane Parker was the daughter of Peter Parker, Esquire of Lothersdale, Yorkshire.
Stone was a local Conservative politician, founder of the Birmingham Conservative Association andMP forBirmingham East from 1895 to 1909. He was a member of theSutton Coldfield Corporation for many years and was the first Mayor of the town in 1886 when the newMunicipal Corporation was created; a post he held for four years. He wasknighted in 1892 and was appointedHigh Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield in 1902.
He was also a prolific amateurdocumentary photographer who travelled widely in pursuit of his hobby. He made 26,000 photographs and wrote books as he travelled toSpain,Norway,Japan andBrazil. Amongst his published works wereA Tour with Cook through Spain (1873),Children of Norway (1882), and a fairy tale calledThe Traveller's Joy. He also made an invaluable record of the folk customs and traditions of the British Isles, which influenced later photographers of note, includingHomer Sykes,Daniel Meadows,Anna Fox andTony Ray-Jones. Stone wrote of his purpose as being "to portray for the benefit of future generations the manners and customs, the festivals and pageants, the historic places and places of our times."[1]
Stone travelled with a scientific expedition to northernBrazil to see the1893 total solar eclipse.[2][3] Notable images taken by Stone include those of the deposition of governor José Clarindo de Queirós of the then province ofCeará in Brazil, in which he prevented the rebels from firing at the governor's palace until he had taken photographs of them beside their guns.[citation needed]
The Benjamin Stone Photographic Collection housed in theLibrary of Birmingham contains many thousands of examples of his work.[4] In 1897 he founded the National Photographic Record Association, of which he became president. TheNational Portrait Gallery holds 62 of his portraits and many photographs of people and places in and aroundWestminster. His amateur career culminated in 1911 with his appointment as official photographer to thecoronation of King George V and Queen Mary.
He became president of the Birmingham Photographic Society, aJustice of the Peace, and a member of theSociety of Antiquaries and of theGeological Society. He was admitted as an honorary member of theClothworkers' Company in February 1902.[5]
Stone died at his home, The Grange inErdington, on 2 July 1914. His wife, Jane, of nearly fifty years died on 5 July, just three days later. They were buried together in a double funeral in Sutton Coldfield on 7 July 1914. A rotund, bewhiskered man, Stone has been described by his biographer as quietly self-assured and contented in temperament. (Stephen Roberts, 'Sir Benjamin Stone 1838-1914: Photographer, Traveller and Politician' (2014).
Stone's photography was juxtaposed to that of later Birmingham photographers in the 1993 exhibitionFrom Negative Stereotype to Positive Image.[6]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBirmingham East 1895–Jan. 1910 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Chairman of theNational Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations 1898 | Succeeded by |