About the Hub
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England was the first nation in the world to industrialize, and London, its capital, was the nexus of its industrial activity in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Advancements in paper production came with the wave of industrialization, along with a significant growth in paper mills. The bustling city was home to a number of notable photographic companies. In 1879, William Willis, Jr., began marketing Platinotype paper through the Platinotype Company of London and its sister company Willis & Clements, in Philadelphia, and went on to produce the finest Platinum, Palladium, and Silver-Platinum papers in the world. By 1891, Eastman Kodak, based in Rochester, New York, had offices in central London and factories in the northwest borough of Harrow.
Elsewhere in greater London, Wellington & Ward, located in Elstree, catered to the Pictorialists from 1895 until 1929, when the company was acquired by Ilford. Within two years, the Thomas Illingsworth Company, Imperial Dry Plate, and other photography manufacturers were also acquired by Ilford, which today is among the few remaining companies to produce silver gelatin paper.
—Lee Ann Daffner, Hanako Murata
Manufacturers
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1879–1937Platinotype CompanyWillis & Clements of Philadelphia were the sole U.S. representatives.
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1879–1976Ilford Ltd.Known as Britannia Works Company prior to 1901.
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1889–presentEastman Photographic Materials Company, Ltd. (known today as Kodak, Ltd.)
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1894–1930Wellington & Ward Ltd.Known as Wellington & Ward after 1922. The company was integrated into the Ilford group in 1930.
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1900–09B. J. Edwards Ltd.Manufactured "Wisto" paper. The company was acquired by Leto Photo materials Co. Ltd. in 1909.
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1900–30T. Illingworth & Co. LtdThe company was integrated into the Ilford group around 1930.
Walther Artists Who Used These Products
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Platinotype Company
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Alfred Stieglitz American 1864 -1946
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Paul Strand American 1890 -1976
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Edward Weston American 1886 -1958
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Ilford Ltd.
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El Lissitzky Russian 1890 -1941
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Eastman Photographic Materials Company, Ltd. (known today as Kodak, Ltd.)
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Herbert Bayer American 1900 -1985
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Claude Cahun (Lucy Schwob) French 1894 -1954
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Edmund Collein German 1906 -1992
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Hans Finsler Swiss 1891 -1972
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Jaromír Funke Czech 1896 -1945
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Florence Henri Swiss 1893 -1982
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József Pécsi Hungarian 1889 -1956
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Robert Petschow German 1888 -1945
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Friedrich Seidenstücker German 1882 -1966
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Yva (Else Simon) German 1900 -1942
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Wellington & Ward Ltd.
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George H. Seeley American 1880 -1955
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B. J. Edwards Ltd.
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Willi Ruge German 1882 -1961
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T. Illingworth & Co. Ltd
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Edward Weston American 1886 -1958
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