49
his fi rst important photographic job photographing the
American/Canadian border for the US government and
on his return in late 1840 or early 1841 he opened his
fi rst daguerreotype studio where he also sold daguer-
reian supplies.
During the 1840s Anthony formed numerous busi-
ness partnerships and continued to expand his studio and
retailing activities. Between December 1846 and 1848
Anthony undertook correspondence with William Henry
Fox Talbot to encourage Talbot to patent his calotype
process in the United States and license it with Anthony
acting as agent. This failed and Talbot fi nally sold the
US rights to Langenheim in May 1849.
In late 1847 Anthony moved to 205 Broadway, to
focus on photographic manufacturing, wholesaling,
importing and publishing. Increased competition from
the Scovill Manufacturing Company, which had entered
photographic manufacturing in late 1839, during the
1850s forced him to start making daguerreotype cases
and he began expanding his manufacturing base. A sub-
stantial new factory was opened in early 1853 making
cameras, tripods and equipment and photograph cases.
It made use of production line methods which allowed
prices to be kept low.
In 1852 with the need for more capital his brother
Henry T. Anthony (1814–1884) joined Edward as an
active partner in the fi rm with responsibility for the
manufacturing and technical side of the business. In
1853 sales had reached $250,000. The fi rm changed
its name to E&HT Anthony & Co in 1862 refl ecting
the increased role of Henry within the business. The
company was the largest producer of photographic
chemicals and new photographic processes during the
decade offered signifi cant new opportunities to expand
the business.
Stereography played an important role in the com-
pany’s product lines from around 1859 when it began
producing sets of stereocards supported by an extensive
distribution and retail network. By the early 1870s up to
11,000 views were offered, both retail and wholesale.
Anthony published Mathew Brady’s Civil War views
from 1862 with over 2000 images from Brady and
others eventually being offered for sale. In the 1870s
W.H. Jackson’s views of Yellowstone were one of the
most popular series and views by other well-regarded
photographers such a Timothy O’Sullivan and Thomas
C Roche, who had a long business relationship with
the company, were also being published. As interest
in stereography waned the last sets were published in
1880 and the fi rm moved into magic lantern manufac-
turing and began to publish extensive series of lantern
slide sets.
The period from 1865 to 1880 saw further enlarge-
ment of the business with wet collodion equipment
and sensitized materials being manufactured and the
fi rm putting considerable efforts into expanding sales
throughout the United States and in Europe. A new
factory was opened in 1860 for manufacturing albumen
paper and the albumen paper manufacturing facilities of
Chapman and Wilcox were acquired making Anthony
the principal maker of albumen paper in the United
States. In 1863 it was estimated that Anthony purchasedAnthony, Edwards and Henry Tiebout. C. S. Soldier killed in the Trenches, at the storming of Petersburgh, VA., April... The wound
is in the head caused by a Shell, by Timothy H. O’Sullivan.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © The J. Paul Getty Museum.