Swansea University Archives Blog

Nature sur la Côte d’Azur

The Dillwyn family were pioneers in science, culture, politics and industry during the nineteenth century. Many members of the Dillwyn (and their extended) family had a passion for nature, which they captured in numerous ways through their work, including literature, photographs and art.
Here at the Richard Burton Archives, Swansea University, we are fortunate to hold some of the watercolour paintings created by members of the Dillwyn family, including an album of paintings from their trip to western Europe in 1862/63, whereby John Dillwyn Llewellyn, along with his wife Emma Thomasina and daughters Emma Charlotte, Elinor Amy and Lucy Caroline went on a 6-month tour of France, Italy and Switzerland.

The family’s travels are captured in their watercolour paintings, but also these wonderful scenes of Mediterranean nature are brought to life in a series of letters written by the family to Mary Dillwyn (John’s mother, and grandmother to Emma, Elinor and Lucy). This blog features a selection of these paintings and letters relating to the family’s visit to the French Riviera.

“We went for a charming walking expedition the other day…it was a lovely walk but we lost our way several times! The party were intending in their way back to go by an anemone bank but oddly enough we arrived there first – in fact we stumbled upon it by accident – it was the most beautiful spot a little valley with a torrent and a little green. I found such beautiful maiden hair fronds and one olive terrace was blue with anemones…the anemones seem to be the beginning of the spring flowers.”

Extract from a letter from Elinor Dillwyn Llewellyn to Grandmama (Les Grottes, Sunday c.November 1862)
Transcribed by Richard Morris, 1992
RBA reference: 2022/26/1

“The weather has been so bad and papa so unwell that we have only been able to make two expeditions – one to Cap S. Martin and one to Castellar – at the latter place, we got our hands quite full of purple anemones, growing profusely in olive terraces…We kept a comical little buff coloured lizard for a little time, but soon got rid of it, for one day, the sun enlivening it, it sprang frantically out of its box, and dashed like mad about the room – and having once achieved re-catching it, we soon turned him out.“

Extract from letter from Lucy Catherine Llewellyn to Grandmamma, Les Grottes – Menton, c.1862
Transcribed by Richard Morris, 1992
RBA reference: 2022/26/1

“From Cape Martin the views are I think the finest, and they may well challenge competition with anything of the rest of Europe. I’ll try a sketch from X looking back. Imagine first a forest of Pinus halepensis, the trees of which with gnarled stems and heads like stone pines, grow in very picturesque form – imagine too the scene quite wild without a house near and the views appearing in natural glades through the forest and between the old trees of under them – the undergrowth is myrtle, arbutus, shrubby cistus lavender, rosemary and 1000 other beautiful shrubs – growing down to the very edge of the sea.”

John Dillwyn Llewellyn to his Mother, Mentone, Sunday morning
Transcribed by Richard Morris, 1992
RBA reference: 2022/26/1

“We found plenty of plants, and wild bay trees and chestnuts and the great reed…then we crossed over the bed of the river on our donkies (sic) which had come to meet us, and rode back to the town by the side of great orange trees loaded with fruit and growing under very large old olive trees! We saw a group of people sitting out in their gardens rasping bitter oranges as you see apples in the cider countries – and orange peels in quarters strewn about the pebble stones in part of the bed of the river where they were fully exposed to the sunshine to dry them.”

John Dillwyn Llewellyn to his Mother, Les Grottes, Mentone (Jan 29 1863)
Transcribed by Richard Morris, 1992
RBA reference: 2022/26/1

Emily Hewitt
Assistant Archivist

All archival material courtesy of Susan Morris