John Adamson's House

John Adamson's House

Chemistry,Photography

A blue plaque on site, in memory of Dr John Adamson and his contribution to photography and public health, marks his life here from 1848 to 1865. This house became the main post office of St Andrews from 1907, and in 2012 was renovated into a local restaurant: The Adamson, named after him. Dr John Adamson (1809-1870), educated at the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh, was a physician and a pioneer to early photography. Through his close friend Sir David Brewster, he became heavily involved with studying the calotype, an early photographic process introduced by William Henry Fox Talbot. He made significant contribution by managing to “control a process that remained remarkably difficult” and was credited with taking the first calotype portrait in Scotland in 1840-1842. He also educated his younger brother Robert Adamson about the calotype technique, who later became a pioneering photographer.

To see more information on Dr John Adamson, click here.

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1848

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127 South St, St Andrews KY16 9UH

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1865