1330
and the reproducibility of results. This was an ideal and
fertile ground for a chemist to delve into. Spiller was
one such chemist, and a year ahead of him at the RCC
was another, William Crookes, with whom Spiller was
to forge a deep friendship. They both appear to have
devoted much of the summer of 1852 experimenting at
home with the waxed paper process. In 1853 Spiller’s
emphasis switched to the wet collodion process, and
he had his fi rst “Letter to the Editor” published in the
Journal of the Photographic Society (JPS). It concerned
the use of the pronitrate of iron for developing collodion
images.
In May 1854, Spiller and Crookes published a pa-
per in the Philosophical Magazine (Phil Mag), which
really brought Spiller’s name before the photographic
community. It was on a method for extending the “life”
of wet collodion plates well beyond the normal few
hours. This necessitated the retention of a moist surface,
which they achieved by putting the sensitised plate into
a bath of fused zinc nitrate for about fi ve minutes and
then drying. The plate showed no sign of deterioration
in sensitivity after a week. They had searched for a
deliquescent material that would maintain the plate in
its “pappy” state. It seemed a neat chemical solution to
the problem. The method attracted much attention but
had limited success. A few months later another paper in
the JPS and the Phil Mag proposed using fused nitrate
of magnesia. Further experimentation was promised and
was revealed, in 1856, in a third paper in the Phil Mag
(see Further Reading). The possibility of using glycerine
was raised in the fi rst article. Now they claimed priority
for the suggestion, and developed a workable process.
They also looked into other deliquescent materials, but
still recommended glycerine. This was fi ne work by the
two young chemists, but it was overtaken by the inven-
tion of the dry collodion plate.
During 1856 Dr. Percy invited Spiller on a photo-
graphic holiday in Devon. Percy was an active pho-
tographer who participated in the Exchange within the
Photographic Society of London, (PSL), which produced
the Photographic Albums for 1854 and 1857. The latter
Album contains the photograph entitled “The New Mill
near Lynton North Devon” by Percy and Spiller, taken,
(not surprisingly), on collodion, September 1856. It is
the only known published photograph by Spiller.
It was in 1856 that Spiller left the RSM and joined
Woolwich Arsenal as an assistant chemist. In 1861
Spiller founded the Photographic Department there and
lectured on photography at the Royal Artillery Institute
and the Royal Military Repository. He continued to pro-
duce an impressive stream of articles on the chemistry of
photography, and became well known as a knowledgable
practitioner, particularly on collodion. He also devised
Spiller’s Reducer, using copper chloride to thin down
negatives. Some of the articles owed their existence to
his continuing close friendship with Crookes. Crookes
was successively editor of three photographic journals,
and at times he was glad to have a friend he could turn
to for an article to publish. In 1860 Spiller and Crookes
were able to join forces to photograph the partial solar
eclipse of the sun, using the telescope at Woolwich. They
produced a good set of photographs, of which Spiller
was especially proud. Spiller also took pride in being
something of a champion of the Woodburytype process.
He had been at the fi rst demonstration of the process
in London in 1865. At a British Association meeting in
Dundee in 1867, he devoted most of a paper about new
processes in photography to the Woodburytype.
In 1868, at the invitation of his brother, Spiller left
Woolwich and joined the fi rm of Brooke, Simpson and
Spiller as Chief Chemist. They were manufacturers of
synthetic dyes, and Spiller was to remain with them for
the next twenty years. Spiller’s interest in photography
remained undiminished, as the fl ow of articles, mainly
on the chemistry of photography, testifi es. Of particular
signifi cance was a paper, “On the action of chloride
of gold upon certain salts of silver” in 1869. This has
been regarded as the true invention of the self-toning
principle. Spiller himself acknowledged that, although
he proposed the idea independently, he was not the fi rst.
Surprisingly, he did not join the PSL until 1867, but
eventually he occupied, at various times, every offi ce.
He was President in 1874–75 at a time of great crisis,
when a separate Society might well have been formed.
Spiller played a great part in holding the PSL together.
Alas, the friendship with Crookes did not hold together.
Crookes had become interested in spiritualism and
Spiller attended a séance with him. They had different
versions of events, which led to a spectacular row in the
press in 1871 and the end of their friendship. However,
Spiller attended the Golden Wedding celebrations of
Sir William and Lady Crookes in 1906, having been
their “best man.” Spiller remained a member of the,
by then, Royal Photographic Society, until his death in
1921, aged 88.
John SawkillBiography
John Spiller was born in London on 20 June 1833, the
son of an architect. He attended the City of London
School and then moved to the Royal College of Chemis-
try in 1849. He transferred to the Royal School of Mines
in 1853 and analysed British iron ores. He then became
an assistant chemist at Woolwich Arsenal in 1856, set-
ting up the Photographic Department there. After twelve
years at Woolwich, and at the invitation of his brother,
Spiller joined the fi rm of Brooke, Simpson and Spiller
as Chief Chemist. They manufactured colour dyes and
Spiller was to stay with them for twenty years. In 1859