Mary Dillwyn

• Name — Mary Dillwyn • Born — 1816 • Birthplace — Wales • Died — December 1906 (aged 89 or 90) • Place of death — Arthog, Meirionnydd, Wales • Occupation — photographer and wife • Known for — pioneering photography • Spouse — Reverend Montague Earle Welby • Parents — Lewis Weston Dillwyn Mary Adams (cy) • Illustration — The Snowman No. 2 • Illustration — 'Willy' smiling, 1853

Mary Dillwyn was the daughter of Lewis Weston Dillwyn (1778–1855) and Mary Adams (1776–1865), the natural daughter of Colonel John Llewelyn of Penllergaer and Ynysygerwn. She was one of four children, the younger sister of photographer John Dillwyn Llewelyn (1810–1882), who developed new photographic techniques, and Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn, father of the novelist and industrialist Amy Dillwyn and the lepidopterist Mary De la Beche "Minnie" Nicholl. The Dillwyn Llewelyn family was also related to William Henry Fox Talbot, who claimed to discover photography in 1839, through the marriage of Emma Thomasina Talbot to John Dillwyn Llewelyn. Dillwyn was ahead of her time for her interest in the new revolutionary technology. Most of the photographs taken by Dillwyn are small calotypes from the 1840s and 1850s, making her the first female photographer in Wales. Unlike her male counterparts, Dillwyn preferred a small camera which, as it only needed short exposure times, provided her with the opportunity to take more spontaneous photographs that captured the intimate moments of her family and friends in Victorian life. Because of this, her work appeared as more natural than those of other photographers of the period. Her interest in photography appears to have ended in 1857 when she married Reverend Montague Earle Welby. Mary Dillwyn died at Arthog, Meirionnydd in December 1906.

The authorities additionally record the headings Mrs Montague Earle Welby, Mary Welby and Mary Dillwyn. She was the child of Lewis Weston Dillwyn and Mary Adams. She married Montague Earle Welby. Other recorded relations include Thereza Dillwyn Llewelyn.