Swaminathar Kanagaratnam Lawton (1851–1919), known professionally as S. K. Lawton, was a well known and popular Ceylonese photographer who pioneered various photographic techniques in his home country of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

.Martyn's notes on Jaffna: chronological, historical, biographical
Martyn, John. He mainly worked and studied in his birthplace in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

where he established his photographic business S.K. Lawton & Co. in 1876.Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon: its history, people, commerce, industries and resources.
Wright, Arnold. Lawton wrote numerous times for the Penrose Pictorial Annual, a London-based review of graphic arts that was printed nearly annually from 1895 to 1982. He was granted a 14-year English patent for his work on preparing paper to prevent its injury during development of the photos. Lawton wrote about the use of fish glue in

The Penrose Annual ''The Penrose Annual'' was a London-based review of graphic arts, printed nearly annually from 1895 to 1982. ''Penrose'' began in 1895 as ''Process Work Yearbook – Penrose's Annual.'' Lund Humphries has printed the publication since 1897 and ...

where he discusses how its oxidation over time causes it to gradually make the enamel of the photographic paper tender.The Inland printer
Volume 38 He is also the father of Kalaiarasu Kanagaratnam Chornalingam who pioneered acting in Sri Lanka. Lawton married twice and is an ancestor of Russel Arnold, a former Sri Lankan cricket player.

Publications

Lawton, S. K. "Process experiences in Ceylon". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 2, 1896, pp. 44–45)Publications in the Penrose
Ebooks.com Lawton, S. K. "Deterioration of fish glue and its remedies". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 12, 1906–07, p. 96) Lawton, S. K. "A preservative bottle for platinotype paper". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 13, 1907–08, p. 64) Lawton, S. K. "Simplified colour photography". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 14, 1908–09, p. 64) Lawton, S. K. "A simple and expeditious method of making blocks". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 16, 1910–11, p. 109) Lawton, S. K. "Old negatives and their lessons". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 17, 1911–12, pp. 219–220) Lawton, S. K. "When was photography introduced into the East?" (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 18, 1912–13, pp. 132–134) Lawton, S. K. "On faded photographs". (In ''Penrose's Pictorial Annual'', Vol. 19, 1913–14, pp. 47–48)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, S. K. 1851 births 1919 deaths People from British Ceylon People from Manipay Sri Lankan photographers Sri Lankan Tamil people