Weatherstone Collection

Weatherstone's works are distinguished for the wealth of their illustrations, which vividly bring to life the planter's working and living conditions. The collection consists of reproductions and originals of the nineteenth-century prints, postcards, early and modern photographs, and watercolours which feature in the two books.

John Weatherstone was born in Malaya in 1927, where his father was manager of the Pontian rubber estate. Like his father and grandfather, Weatherstone became a planter. In 1950, he travelled from England to Ceylon [Sri Lanka] to work on a tea estate located between Kandy and Matale, and then transferred to a rubber estate in the Southern Province. Weatherstone left planting and Ceylon in 1957, settling in Shanklin Old Village in the Isle of Wight, where he established a fine art gallery. He retired in 1987. Weatherstone's experience of planting inspired a life-long interest. This is reflected in the publication of two books which examine its history: 'The pioneers 1825-1900: the early British tea and coffee planters and their way of life' (1986) and 'Tea-a journey in time: pioneering and trials in the jungle' (2008). Together these studies document the many challenges confronting the early planters in establishing the tea industry in the North East frontier of India, and later in Ceylon following the decline of coffee cultivation.

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Donated by John Weatherstone in 2009.

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

good condition unless specified otherwise

This archival description was created by MJC.

Weatherstone, John, 1927-