Carpenter and Westley
Encyclopedia
Carpenter and Westley were a British optical, mathematical and scientific instrument
makers between 1808 and 1914. The company was founded by Philip Carpenter (18 November 1776, Kidderminster
– 20 April 1833, London
) and, after his death, was continued by his sister Mary Carpenter alongside former apprentice William Westley. The company's contribution to the development of magic lantern
s was significant and Philip Carpenter pioneered the use of copperplate
slide
s.
. They manufactured many instruments and devices that use lens
es. Over the years the company produced thermometer
s, microscopes
, sympiesometer
s, spectacles
, and Claude glass
es. Carpenter's expertise in optics allowed him to be a significant figure in the development of other devices and the company would become well known for a variety of products. He quickly became a leading figure in the production of achromatic lens
es, even supplying Peter Dollond
, a renowned developer of the lenses. He made instruments for various optician
s including John Benjamin Dancer
who would for a time help to make some for Carpenter's company. By 1815 he had outgrown these premises and moved his manufacturing to Bath Row with a shop on New Street
.
invented the kaleidoscope
and chose Carpenter as the manufacturer. This proved to be a massive success with two hundred thousand kaleidoscopes sold in London
and Paris
in just three months. Realising that the company could not meet this level of demand Brewster requested permission from Carpenter on 17 May 1818 for the device to be made by other manufacturers, to which he agreed.
and galanty shows, and became more publically available in the early 1800s. The lantern slides had to be individually hand painted, a time-consuming and costly process, until Carpenter developed a method to mass produce
them using a copper plate printing process. This enabled outline images to be repeatedly printed onto glass and thus create reproducable sets of slides. These outline images could be more easily and quickly hand painted ready for sale. The production of this imagery allowed people to look at magic lanterns in a new way, giving the potential for use in education and other fields. Popular topics included royalty
, flora
and fauna
, and geographical/man-made structures from around the world. The first known set was completed by 1823 showing a number of zoological
subjects, followed by astronomical
slides. These slides were for the day very good but Carpenter and Westley's slides would in time become highly regarded for their detail. To accompany the slide sets Carpenter produced detailed notes in script form allowing presenters to show the images while running through a prescribed text.
Carpenter focused on the manufacture of magic lanterns for several years and was successful enough to relocate the business. In 1826 he moved to Regent Street
and opened "The Microcosm", a public gallery and shop centred around microscopes.
. Carpenter and Westley ceased trading in 1914.
Scientific instrument
A scientific instrument can be any type of equipment, machine, apparatus or device as is specifically designed, constructed and often, through trial and error, ingeniously refined to apply utmost efficiency in the utilization of well proven physical principle, relationship or technology to...
makers between 1808 and 1914. The company was founded by Philip Carpenter (18 November 1776, Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
– 20 April 1833, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) and, after his death, was continued by his sister Mary Carpenter alongside former apprentice William Westley. The company's contribution to the development of magic lantern
Magic lantern
The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century.-Operation:The magic lantern has a concave mirror in front of a light source that gathers light and projects it through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The light rays cross an aperture , and...
s was significant and Philip Carpenter pioneered the use of copperplate
Copperplate
Copperplate may refer to:* any form of intaglio printing using a metal plate , or the plate itself** engraving** etching* Copperplate script, a style of handwriting and typefaces derived from it...
slide
Slide
-Fiction:*Slide, a fictional creature in the Sword of Truth book series-Music:*Slides , an album by Richard Harris *Slide , an album by Lisa Germano*Slide , a single by the Goo Goo Dolls...
s.
History
The company was founded in 1808 when Carpenter opened his first workshop on Inge Street in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. They manufactured many instruments and devices that use lens
Lens (optics)
A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
es. Over the years the company produced thermometer
Thermometer
Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
s, microscopes
Optical microscope
The optical microscope, often referred to as the "light microscope", is a type of microscope which uses visible light and a system of lenses to magnify images of small samples. Optical microscopes are the oldest design of microscope and were possibly designed in their present compound form in the...
, sympiesometer
Sympiesometer
A sympiesometer is a compact and lightweight type of barometer that was widely used on ships in the 19th century.The sympiesometer consists of two parts. One is a traditional mercury thermometer that is needed to calculate the expansion or contraction of the fluid in the barometer proper...
s, spectacles
Glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
, and Claude glass
Claude glass
A Claude glass is a small mirror, slightly convex in shape, with its surface tinted a dark colour. Bound up like a pocket-book or in a carrying case, black mirrors were used by artists, travellers and connoisseurs of landscape and landscape painting...
es. Carpenter's expertise in optics allowed him to be a significant figure in the development of other devices and the company would become well known for a variety of products. He quickly became a leading figure in the production of achromatic lens
Achromatic lens
An achromatic lens or achromat is a lens that is designed to limit the effects of chromatic and spherical aberration. Achromatic lenses are corrected to bring two wavelengths into focus in the same plane....
es, even supplying Peter Dollond
Peter Dollond
Peter Dollond was an English maker of optical instruments, the son of John Dollond. He is known for his successful optics business, and for the invention of the apochromat.-Biography:...
, a renowned developer of the lenses. He made instruments for various optician
Optician
An optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...
s including John Benjamin Dancer
John Benjamin Dancer
John Benjamin Dancer was a scientific instrument maker and inventor of microphotography. He also pioneered stereography. By 1835, he controlled his father's instrument making business. He was responsible for various inventions, but did not patent many of his ideas. In 1852, he invented the...
who would for a time help to make some for Carpenter's company. By 1815 he had outgrown these premises and moved his manufacturing to Bath Row with a shop on New Street
New Street, Birmingham
New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...
.
The kaleidoscope
In 1817 Sir David BrewsterDavid Brewster
Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA FSSA MICE was a Scottish physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, writer and university principal.-Early life:...
invented the kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope is a circle of mirrors containing loose, colored objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other end creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off the mirrors...
and chose Carpenter as the manufacturer. This proved to be a massive success with two hundred thousand kaleidoscopes sold in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in just three months. Realising that the company could not meet this level of demand Brewster requested permission from Carpenter on 17 May 1818 for the device to be made by other manufacturers, to which he agreed.
Magic lantern developments
Magic lanterns had widely been used for entertainment towards the end of the 18th Century, particularly in phantasmagoriaPhantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria can refer to:* Phantasmagoria, a type of show using an optical device to display moving images* Phantasmagoria, a video game* Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh, a video game sequel to Phantasmagoria...
and galanty shows, and became more publically available in the early 1800s. The lantern slides had to be individually hand painted, a time-consuming and costly process, until Carpenter developed a method to mass produce
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
them using a copper plate printing process. This enabled outline images to be repeatedly printed onto glass and thus create reproducable sets of slides. These outline images could be more easily and quickly hand painted ready for sale. The production of this imagery allowed people to look at magic lanterns in a new way, giving the potential for use in education and other fields. Popular topics included royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
, flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
, and geographical/man-made structures from around the world. The first known set was completed by 1823 showing a number of zoological
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
subjects, followed by astronomical
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
slides. These slides were for the day very good but Carpenter and Westley's slides would in time become highly regarded for their detail. To accompany the slide sets Carpenter produced detailed notes in script form allowing presenters to show the images while running through a prescribed text.
Carpenter focused on the manufacture of magic lanterns for several years and was successful enough to relocate the business. In 1826 he moved to Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
and opened "The Microcosm", a public gallery and shop centred around microscopes.
Formation of Carpenter and Westley
Philip Carpenter died on 20 April 1833. His sister Mary Carpenter continued the business alongside her husband, Philip's former apprentice William Westley, and the company was renamed "Carpenter and Westley" in 1835. By the 1850s the company's focus had moved more towards sale rather than manufacture, with much of the stock coming from Negretti and ZambraNegretti and Zambra
The firm Negretti and Zambra was a producer of scientific and optical instruments and also operated a photographic studio based in London, England...
. Carpenter and Westley ceased trading in 1914.