Ilfordhistorybooklet125years
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In 2004, ILFORD Imaging is celebrating 125 years of photographic manufacturing. From humble beginnings, when Alfred Hugh Harman began making Gelatine Dry Plates in the basement of his house in Cranbrook Road, Ilford, Essex, to today’s global manufacture of the world’s leading inkjet technology, imagery and photography have always been at the heart of the matter. Photography is apparent wherever we look. It is almost impossible to get through the day without some contact with a photographic world’s population. all of which have been captured image. The photo can be used to As we look around our world photographically and are part of a record everything from a personal today, there are so many familiar, heritage that ILFORD Imaging is record of our past to becoming an everyday items that we take for proud to be a major part of. Icon of an era. granted that simply would not have existed in 1879; the automobile, Did you know, for instance, that It is hard to imagine a world telephone and even the humble radio was invented and ‘on air’ a without images, but even harder to zipper were not to be full year before the first piece of believe that 125 years ago, imaginable for many years to music was broadcast? Did you in the formative years of come. also know that ILFORD is older photography, the electric light had than electricity, telephone, not been invented. Just as photography has become cars….you name it, and you will part of our everyday lives, so many probably find ILFORD is older than This made these early days of other items that we now take for it!! If you would like a copy of this Photography, quite literally, the granted have come into existence years ILFORD Calendar, which dark ages, with photographers in the past century and a quarter. reflects this booklet, visit ilford.com. relying on gaslight and natural sunlight to expose and process This booklet takes a look at some ILFORD will continue to be a leader their images. It would be several of these technological underdogs in Imaging and is looking forward years before electricity was and at many of the events that to the challenges to come over the available to even a minority of the have shaped the past 125 years, next 125 years. One of the modern wonders of the world started to take shape in 1880 as work commenced on the Panama Canal, a project that would take 23 years to complete. The first town in the USA was illuminated by electricity and by the end of the year, Broadway, known as “the Great White Way” was lit up. The construction of Cologne Cathedral was completed after 600 years and Henry Draper took the first photograph of the Orion Nebula. While the Earp Brothers were busy “shooting it out” at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, the first international telephone conversation was taking place in 1881. PT Barnum bought his world famous elephant, Jumbo, in 1882, the year that Queen Victoria dedicated Epping Forrest. Edison created the first string of Christmas Tree Lights, the first district in New York City was lit 1879–1890 by electricity and Harry W Sealy patented the Electric Iron. In 1879, as Alfred Hugh Electric Lights were in use, Harman was busy making James Ritty had invented After a Test Match in Sydney, Gelatine Dry Plates, using the Cash Register and the Australia, the English Cricket Team little more than a teapot in first of many stores had were presented with the Ashes of the basement of his Essex been opened by FW a Bail in 1883. Louis Waterman House, across the Atlantic, Woolworth. In the same began experiments to produce a Thomas Edison had been year a patent was issued “leak proof” fountain pen, which busy inventing the for the first Automatic he patented the following year incandescent light. By the Telephone Switching and the Orient Express set out on end of the year, the first System, a technology still in its maiden journey, linking Turkey commercially available its relative infancy. to Europe by rail. 3 With an explosive force of 1300 Queen Victoria celebrated her opened. The world’s first Megatons, Krakatoa erupted in Golden Jubilee in 1887, the year Dishwashing machine was 1883, killing 36,000 people. in which Adolf Fick invented the marketed, Bayer introduced Contact Lens and the first Aspirin in powder form and by Esperanto book was published. the end of the year, Thomas The publishing world would later Edison was showing his first hail the invention of the Monotype Motion Picture. type-casting machine, which was patented by Tolbert Lanston this John Hart, convicted of murder in year as the photographic world 1890, became the first to sit in the would hail Hannibal W Goodwin Electric Chair and Ellis Island, ALPHA PAPER circa 1884 for patenting Celluloid New York, opened it’s doors as a Photographic Film. US Immigration Depot. In 1884, ILFORD introduced its ALPHA paper. Coincidentally, the word alpha appeared in the first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, titled “A-Ant” which was published in the same year. The construction of Chicago’s first Sky Scraper began, the Statue of Liberty was presented to the USA, LeMarcus A Thompson invented the Roller Coaster, Dr John Harvey Kellogg patented his “flaked cereal” In 1888 the Wax Drinking Straw was patented by Marvin C Stone, 1891-1900 the National Geographic Society was founded in Washington DC, In 1891 Carnegie Hall the English Football League was opened in New York City established and the Eastman Film featuring Tchaikovsky as and George Eastman patented his Company became Eastman the guest conductor and “paper-strip” photographic film. Kodak, coinciding with the patent Britain was linked to the The following year, 1885, the of it’s “Box Camera”. Continent by Telephone for Eastman Film Company the first time. Travellers manufactures the first commercial Cheques were Motion Picture Film and as patented this the Statue of Liberty arrived year and Thomas in the USA, Gottlieb Edison was Daimler patented the particularly first Motorcycle. busy, patenting both the In 1886, the London Motion Times published the Picture world’s first “classified William Bundy Camera advert” and the first successful invented the “time-card” clock, and gasoline driven car was patented Theophilus von Kannel invented Radio. by Karl Benz. Horlicks was the Revolving Door, Vincent Van offered to the public this year, the Goch cuts off his ear and Jack the first Cremation took place in Ripper killed his last victim. England and John Pemberton, a Chemist, began to advertise Viewing Paris from a height of “Coca-Cola” (with Cocaine), a 300 metres became possible in “brain and nerve tonic”. 1889 as the Eiffel Tower officially 4 Jesse W Reno, George C In 1894 the Manchester Ship sparking the Gold Rush and the Blickensdorfer and Charles Brady Canal opened to traffic and 1895 Dial Telephone was invented. King are certainly not household turned out to be the year of the names, but respectively, they were Motion Picture. August and Louis “Cyrano de Bergerac” opened in responsible for patenting the Lumière showed their first movie to Paris, Candy Floss (Cotton Candy) Escalator, the Portable Typewriter an invited audience, the world’s was invented by William and the Pneumatic Hammer in first Cinema opened in Paris and Morrison and John C Wharton, 1892, the year that George the first commercial movie and the first Submarine with an Sampson patented the Clothes performance took place. internal combustion engine was Dryer and Scotsman Sir James This was also the year that demonstrated in 1897. The following year, the first Telephone message from a submerged Submarine was transmitted and could have been answered by the Answering Machine which was invented this year. Also in 1898 the Roller Coaster was patented, Pierre and Marie Curie discovered Radium, the Automobile speed record was Dewar invented the Vacuum Flask, Wilhelm von Roentgen discovered set at 39mph and the first car now known as the Thermos Flask. X-ray, Oscar Wilde’s “The insurance policy was issued in the American, John Froehlich invented Importance of being Ernest” was USA by the Travellers Insurance the Mechanical Tractor this year, first performed in London and the Company. the Pneumatic Automobile Tyre premiere of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan was invented and Sunday School Lake” took place. At the close of Teacher Lizzie Borden was the Century the Lawn Mower was arrested in Fall River, Massachusetts Dr Henry Smith took the first X-ray patented in 1899, the year that for the murder of her parents. photograph in the USA in 1896, Carnation processes it’s first can the year the Modern Olympics of evaporated milk and Conrad Edison completed his first movie in began in Athens. The Vitascope Hubert invented the Flashlight. 1893, “Record of a Sneeze”, System for Movie Projection was Henry Bliss became the world’s which was released in Theatres demonstrated, the Electric Stove first fatality of a car accident and across the US the following year. was invented by William the first Jukebox appeared in the The New York Stock Exchange Hadaway and Henry took his Palais Royal Hotel in crashed this year and Lizzie first Ford through the San Fransisco. Borden was found to be innocent. streets of Detroit. During Johann Vaaler, a The Crompton Company in a visit by the Chinese Norwegian Patent England made the first Electric Ambassador to New Clerk is probably Toaster and in France it became York City, his Chef best remembered necessary to take a Driving Test to invented Chop for his world acquire a license.