84
manufacturers began making special lamps from
1864 that would dispense magnesium ribbon using a
clockwork mechanism. This style of burner remained
popular throughout the century and simple hand-held
manual versions were used for amateur photography
into the 1920s.
It took more sensitive photographic emulsions from
the 1880s and a signifi cant reduction in the cost of
magnesium ribbon around 1886/87 to further encourage
the development of magnesium illuminants. Magnesium
fl ash powders were introduced in the late 1880s. The
powder was mixed with an oxidising agent to promote
combustion and this allowed the development of holders
that required no naked fl ame, although some devices
made use of magnesium powder which was blown into
a fl ame and ignited. Other methods included ignition
using a percussion cap, a struck match head, electric
fuse or spark from a fl int. Portable and hand-held de-
vices were produced, although there were signifi cant
risks associated with the handling of such an explosive
mixture. In 1890 Robert Slingsby a photographer from
Lincoln patented a device to synchronise a fl ash lamp
with a camera shutter. By the 1890s patents were being
issued for battery operated fl ash devices that could be
synchronised to a camera shutter.
Magnesium was never widely adopted for profes-
sional portraiture in a studio. It was unreliable, it gener-
ated signifi cant amounts of smoke and ash and it was
potentially hazardous especially when used large quanti-
ties. The development of the magnesium wire fl ashbulb
from 1925 which was successfully made commercially
available from 1929 brought magnesium into the studio
with the popular Vacublitz and Sashalite bulbs sold from
1929 and 1930 respectively.
In December 1841 Antoine Claudet patented (no.
9193 of 128 December) various methods of illumi-
nating the studio including burning coal in oxygen in
conjunction with a concave mirror to direct the light and
in 1852 Pierre Bernardet de Lucenay described (patent
no. 575 of 30 October) using a battery or ‘pyrotechnic
combustions’ to provide a light for the photographic
studio using a refl ector and blue glass. Other methods
of lighting were also trialled by photographers keen to
extend the time available to make studio pictures. Gas
illumination which was widely available from the 1840s
was one source, although the light was of limited use for
photography and generated heat. The development of
the gas mantle in 1885 eased these problems. Limelight
which was measured as eighty-three times brighter than
oil lamps was another, but it required constant attention
to keep the calcium carbonate trimmed.
The most popular of the early studio illuminants
was the blue-fl amed Bengal light. This was patented
in France for portrait photography in 1854 and John
Moule promoted its use for photography through his
1857 British patent (number 478 of 18 February). It was
adopted by portrait studios as it was strong in ‘actinic
light’ which collodion plates were most sensitive too.
During the winter of 1860 an estimated 30,000 portraits
were made in London. However, Bengal light was harsh
and it produced noxious fumes.
The topic of artifi cial lighting for studios was regu-
larly covered in the Photographic News in the 1870s
and 1880s. In February 1879 one writer described
using phosphorus and saltpetre which gave an ‘exceed-
ingly bright’ light but was ‘exceedingly hazardous.’
The Brock fi rework company supplied that writer with
other mixtures which, when combined with refl ectors
and a shade, were suitable for studio work, albeit with
excessive smoke.
Electricity offered more potential to illuminate
the studio in a safe, convenient and controllable way.
Gaspard Félix Tournachon in Paris began experiment-
ing with electric lighting in his studio from 1858 with
limited success. He later used battery operated arc
lighting to photograph below Paris in 1861 and 1862
where, despite great technical problems, he produced
seventy-three images from the catacombs and twenty-
three in the sewers.
Compared to other methods electric arc-lamps of-
fered great potential for studio lighting and the introduc-
tion of the dynamo assisted this. The fi rst studio to be
illuminated by electric light was claimed to be Henry
van der Weyde’s Regent Street studio in 1877 although
there is evidence that he was using electric lighting
before this at special demonstrations and he took out a
British patent for electric studio lighting in 1876. Van
der Weyde’s lighting in 1877 was powered by a gas dy-
namo and it reduced exposure times for carte-de-visite
to two to three seconds. Other photographers quickly
adopted electric lighting which was proudly noted in
their advertisements.
By the end of the nineteenth century electric lighting
was a fi rm part of the photographic studio and the use of
the magnesium fl ash part of the outdoor photographer’s
skills.
Michael Pritchard
See Also: Cartes-de-Visite; and Photographic News
(1858–1908).Further Reading
Coe, Brian. Cameras. From Daguerreotype to Instant Pictures.
London, Marshall Cavendish Editions, 1978.
Eder, J. M. (translated by Edward Epstean), History of Photog-
raphy, New York: Columbia University Press, 1945.
Howes, Chris. To Photograph Darkness. The history of un-
derground and fl ash photography, Gloucester, Alan Sutton
Publishing, 1989.
Bron, Pierre and Philip L Condax. The Photographic Flash. A
concise illustrated history, Allschwill, Bron Elektronik AG,
1998.