D. C. Harries and sons with cameras

A hundred years ago every town had at least one high street photographer. D. C. Harries was one such photographer in Llandeilo. Later he opened studios in Ammanford and Llandovery. He started his business in about 1888 and died in 1940 aged 75.

D. C. Harries’ studio portraits with their painted backdrops and props, give an interesting insight into the work of a high street photographer at this time. It is not for these photographs that he is remembered however, but for those taken in and around Llandeilo. These photographs record everyday life in a small town and its rural surroundings prior to the Second World War.

Although confined to a small geographical area the quality of D. C. Harries’ work gives his images a greater significance. The pride of the owner posing behind the wheel of a new car, or the faces of the miners emerging after their shift, are images with universal appeal. Likewise the numerous photographs of cosy, whitewashed, thatched cottages hint at a way of life long gone.