Photographs by Arthur Brook (1886-1957)

Arthur Brook, born near Builth Wells, is considered one of the best natural history photographers of the first half of the 20th century. He served an apprenticeship in the watchmaking industry and began taking photographs of birds in 1909, a passion he then continued for the rest of his life. He photographed by day and night, using custom-made apparatus and is recognised as one of the pioneers in the development of flashlight devices for nocturnal wildlife photography.

His work was published widely, in the journals ‘British Birds’, ‘Country Life’ and ‘The Field’ along with publications of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. He also published ‘Secrets of Bird Life’ with H.A. Gilbert in 1926.