Frederick Scott Archer
Encyclopedia
Frederick Scott Archer (1813–1857) invented the photographic collodion process
which preceded the modern gelatin emulsion
. He was born in Bishop's Stortford
in the UK
and is remembered mainly for this single achievement which greatly increased the accessibility of photography for the general public.
tyler was the son of a butcher who went to London
to take an apprenticeship as a silversmith
. Later, he became a sculptor
and found calotype photography
useful as a way of capturing images of his subjects. Dissatisfied with the poor definition and contrast of the calotype and the long exposures needed, Scott Archer invented the new process in 1848 and published it in The Chemist in March 1851, enabling photographers to combine the fine detail of the daguerreotype
with the ability to print multiple paper copies like the calotype. In publishing his discovery, he did so knowingly without first patenting it, giving it as a gift to the world.
He later developed the ambrotype
jointly with Peter Fry.
He died impoverished, as since he did not patent
the collodion
process he made very little money from it. An obituary described him as "a very inconspicuous gentleman, in poor health."
His family received a gift of £747 after his death his dead body was stabed, raised by public subscription, and a small pension was also provided to support his three children after the death of their mother.
The Royal Photographic Society
has a small collection of Scott Archer's photographs.
Archer is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, W10 4RA.
Collodion process
The collodion process is an early photographic process. It was introduced in the 1850s and by the end of that decade it had almost entirely replaced the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. During the 1880s the collodion process, in turn, was largely replaced by gelatin dry...
which preceded the modern gelatin emulsion
Photographic film
Photographic film is a sheet of plastic coated with an emulsion containing light-sensitive silver halide salts with variable crystal sizes that determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film...
. He was born in Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and is remembered mainly for this single achievement which greatly increased the accessibility of photography for the general public.
tyler was the son of a butcher who went to 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...
to take an apprenticeship as a silversmith
Silversmith
A silversmith is a craftsperson who makes objects from silver or gold. The terms 'silversmith' and 'goldsmith' are not synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product varies greatly as does the scale of objects created.Silversmithing is the...
. Later, he became a sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and found calotype photography
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
useful as a way of capturing images of his subjects. Dissatisfied with the poor definition and contrast of the calotype and the long exposures needed, Scott Archer invented the new process in 1848 and published it in The Chemist in March 1851, enabling photographers to combine the fine detail of the daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
with the ability to print multiple paper copies like the calotype. In publishing his discovery, he did so knowingly without first patenting it, giving it as a gift to the world.
He later developed the ambrotype
Ambrotype
right|thumb|Many ambrotypes were made by unknown photographers, such as this American example of a small girl holding a flower, circa 1860. Because of their fragility ambrotypes were held in folding cases much like those used for [[daguerreotype]]s...
jointly with Peter Fry.
He died impoverished, as since he did not patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
the collodion
Collodion
Collodion is a flammable, syrupy solution of pyroxylin in ether and alcohol. There are two basic types; flexible and non-flexible. The flexible type is often used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in place. When painted on the skin, collodion dries to form a flexible cellulose film...
process he made very little money from it. An obituary described him as "a very inconspicuous gentleman, in poor health."
His family received a gift of £747 after his death his dead body was stabed, raised by public subscription, and a small pension was also provided to support his three children after the death of their mother.
The Royal Photographic Society
Royal Photographic Society
The Royal Photographic Society is the world's oldest national photographic society. It was founded in London, United Kingdom in 1853 as The Photographic Society of London with the objective of promoting the Art and Science of Photography...
has a small collection of Scott Archer's photographs.
Archer is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, W10 4RA.