1272
Slingsby contributed a number of articles to the
British photographic press usually addressing portrai-
ture and matters of interest to the professional studio
photographer. In his 1873 piece entitled ‘A few notes
on portraiture,’ he described his method of sensitising
plates, his studio and posing methods and later pieces
commented on backgrounds and the need for an orderly
routine in the studio, all based on his own experiences.
He had two patents granted in 1875 and 1876 relating
to the use of skylights in photographic studios.
In 1880 H. Baden Pritchard visited Slingsby’s Lin-
coln studio and reported on the visit in detail for the
Photographic News. He noted that Slingsby’s photo-
graph Alone which had been exhibited at the Photo-
graphic Society’s exhibition had earned him £450 and
was continuing to sell. The article described Slingsby’s
studio and working methods in some detail.
Slingsby’s more important contribution to photog-
raphy was his work on the development of fl ash light
for photography. As early as 1869 he had a photograph
reproduced in the Illustrated London News that had been
produced using artifi cial light and between 1890 and
1891 he was granted four patents relating to the use of
magnesium for fl ash photography one of which related
to a shutter that could be synchronised to the discharge
of magnesium.
Robert Slingsby died in Lincoln on 16 August 1895
leaving an estate totalling £1552 13s 10d.
Michael Pritchard
SMEE, ALFRED (1818–1877)
The scientist, ophthalmic surgeon, and metallurgist
Alfred Smee was an important and prolifi c writer on
electricity and electro-biology, and was an early pioneer
in the understanding of the electrical stimulation of
nerves and muscles.
Smee, a fellow of the Royal Society, was co-founder
of the London Opthalmic Hospital, and ophthalmic
surgeon to the Bank of England, and a friend and col-
laborator with Charles Babbage. Recent researches
have confi rmed him as an early pioneer of the concept
of artifi cial intelligence.
He was also interested the potential value of batteries
in the electrolytic preparation of chemicals, and, in 1842,
supplied Sir John Herschel with some of the potassium
ferricyanide—a key chemical in Herschel’s cyanotype
process—which he had made from potassium ferrocya-
nide by what he termed ‘electrolytic oxidation.’ Several
surviving letters from Smee to Herschel attest to his wide
interest in the chemistry of early photography.
An article by Smee “Photogenic Drawing” was
published in The Literary Gazette and Journal of Belles
Lettres on May 18, 1839 (314–316). In that article Smee
recognised the future value to photography of gallic acid,
and also predicted the importance of iron proto-sulphate,
observing that “photogenic paper may be blackened” by
a dilute solution of the chemical. Iron proto-sulphate, or
ferrous sulphate, was later recognised, by Robert Hunt
in 1844 as a developer.
In his book Elements of Electro-Metallurgy (Long-
man, Brown, Green and Longman, 1841), Smee includ-
ed a chapter ‘On Multiplication of the Daguerreotype’
(134–135).
John HannavySMILLIE, THOMAS W. (1843–1917)
American photographer
Washington, D.C., photographer Thomas W. Smillie
served as the Smithsonian Institution’s fi rst photogra-
pher when hired part-time beginning in 1869. Educated
in chemistry, Smillie pursued his passion for photog-
raphy at the Institution while continuing to work as a
commercial stereo photographer. By 1871, Smillie’s
position was made full-time with responsibilities to
photograph and document museum collections, build-
ings, and scientifi c research. He developed traveling
exhibitions, the fi rst for the Ohio Valley Centennial
Exposition at Cincinnati in 1888. Smillie arranged for
this display by acquiring or borrowing historic and
contemporary photographs and camera equipment,
such as Samuel F. B. Morse’s daguerreotype camera
and accessories, and the 1888 No. 1 Kodak camera. He
continued to correspond with working professional and
amateur photographers, and manufacturers to record the
history of the science, technology and art of photog-
raphy. In 1896, Smillie was named the fi rst honorary
custodian of the newly formed Section of Photography
at the Smithsonian, the fi rst such unit in an American
museum. Smillie maintained an active collections and
exhibitions program while remaining staff photographer.
As a mentor, he taught photography to many apprentices
preparing them for work with U.S. government agencies.
In 1913, Smillie opened the fi rst Hall of Photography in
the Smithsonian’s U.S. National Museum. He remained
at the Smithsonian until his death in 1917. Today, this
important collection is housed in the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of American History, Photographic
History Collection.
Michelle Anne DelaneySMITH, BECK & BECK
The fi rm of Smith, Beck and Beck dates from 1857. Its
origins lie with James Smith (died 1870) an optician and
optical turner working from 1826–1847 who had made
the brass work for Joseph Jackson Lister’s (1786–1869)
achromatic microscope. Smith took Lister’s nephew