瓦伦丁个人肖像



名称: Suzhou/苏州罗汉院双塔
类别: Glass Slide/玻璃底片
日期: 1870
尺寸: 9x11cm


 
名称: Ancient Pagoda in Suzhou/苏州古塔
类别: Albumen Print/蛋清照片 
日期: 1880
尺寸: 12x16cm 


James Valentine (June 12, 1815-June 19, 1879) was a renowned Scottish photographer who later became the head of the largest photographic publishing company in Britain. From a young age, Valentine was eager to learn and quickly gained recognition locally for his exceptional photographic skills. In the 1860s, leveraging his remarkable business acumen, he founded a photography production company in Dundee, the fifth-largest city in Scotland, which grew into one of Britain’s largest producers of photographic images.  

詹姆斯·瓦伦丁（James Valentine，1815年6月12日-1879年6月19日）是苏格兰著名摄影师，后来发展成为英国最大摄影图片制造商。瓦伦丁自幼好学，早年便以精湛的摄影技艺在当地赢得声誉。1860年代，他凭借卓越的经营才能在苏格兰第五大城市邓迪（Dundee）创办了摄影制作公司，将其发展成为英国最大的摄影图片生产企业之一。

Valentine is best known for documenting the Tay Bridge disaster in December 1879. A train traveling to Dundee tragically plunged into the river when the bridge collapsed, killing nearly a hundred people and shocking Scotland and the entire United Kingdom. The local court commissioned Valentine’s company to photograph the disaster site, and over fifty of his photographs were used as evidence during the trial. These images were widely circulated throughout Britain and Europe, bringing Valentine national fame and demonstrating the emerging role of photography in journalism and legal documentation.

In the following years, Valentine expanded his business, producing negatives, prints, and postcards distributed worldwide, including images of China. His works combine artistic merit with documentary significance, reflecting the technical advancements, compositional aesthetics, and commercial applications of 19th-century photography. Today, Valentine’s photographs are considered important historical and artistic records, with notable collections held by institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the National Museum of Scotland, and other international museums. These collections not only highlight Valentine’s artistic achievements but also provide invaluable visual resources for studying Victorian-era society, architecture, and historical events.

瓦伦丁最为人知的事件是1879年12月发生的泰桥（Tay Bridge）倒塌事故。事故导致一列火车从外地驶入邓迪途中坠桥，近百人罹难，震惊苏格兰及全英国。当时，当地法庭委托瓦伦丁的摄影公司拍摄事故现场，并在审理过程中使用其五十多张现场照片作为堂证。这些摄影作品迅速传播至英国及欧洲，使瓦伦丁声名大噪，也确立了摄影在新闻和法律证据中的重要地位。

在随后的数年里，瓦伦丁不断拓展业务，不仅制作底片和照片，还推出明信片，销往世界各地，其中包括中国影像。这些作品兼具艺术与纪实价值，体现了19世纪摄影的技术发展、构图美学以及商业应用能力。瓦伦丁的作品现被视为摄影史上重要资料，其精美影像收藏于英国维多利亚与阿尔伯特博物馆（Victoria and Albert Museum）、苏格兰国家博物馆（National Museum of Scotland）及其他国际博物馆。这些收藏不仅展示了瓦伦丁的艺术成就，也为研究维多利亚时期社会、建筑与交通事故提供了珍贵视觉资料。>>返回>>