The Universal Colliery, 1962
The Universal Colliery as it looked in 1962. The back of this print shows a fascinating montage of scribbled notes and rubber stamps typical of photographs that have been used and re-used through years in the archives of newspapers. The earliest date, in pencil, is October 7, 1962, so my best guess is that was taken around the time. It is easily one of my favorite photographs from Senghenydd. It is a beautiful fiber-based print (although now a little dog-eared) which appears to have been taken in the soft light of early morning with the mist softening the mountains in the background. It is a photograph of such compositional excellence that I feel could comfortably reside on the walls of any fine art museum the world.
Photograph by Glyn Davies, courtesy of Media Wales Archives