A view of Swansea in Edwardian times
How Swansea used to look a century or so ago
Over the course of a summer, around 1905, a photographer set out to take a series of photographs of Swansea.
His intention seems to have been to show the town at its best, so he concentrated on iconic buildings and prosperous streets. He stayed well away from the railway lines, works, and any derelict or squalid housing. In the course of his project, he captured images of local people, some of them taking their chance to pose for the camera, but the majority just going about their business.
We rediscovered these photographs scattered among our photograph collections, and they present a charming picture of the town as it used to be. We don't know what the photographs were intended for, or why exactly it was done, but we have made this exhibition to show how the town (or at least, parts of it) used to look a century or so ago, before the outbreak of the First World War.