A Coprolitic Vision - Henry De La Beche
Theme : Art and Culture

A print entitled A Coprolitic Vision drawn and etched by Henry Thomas De La Beche (1796-1855). Coprolite is the petrified dung of extinct vertebrates which can form phosphatic rock which can then be mined for fertilizer. In the nineteenth-century, it was fashionable to convert fossil finds and matters such as William Buckland's advocacy of coprology, into satirical cartoons. Buckland is recognisable here in his Oxford University gown. Both men had strong links with Swansea - William Buckland through the discovery of the 'Red Lady of Paviland', and Henry De La Beche involved not only with public health in the town but also with the geological survey of the area as well as being father-in-law to Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn, Swansea's Liberal M.P. from 1855 to 1892.

This Item is located at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in the Permanent Collection