Benjamin Joseph Edwards (1838–1914) was a pioneer in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

. Edwards worked on the construction and design of instantaneous shutters and originated the method of intensifying plates with

mercuric iodide Mercury(II) iodide is a chemical compound with the molecular formula Hg I2. It is typically produced synthetically but can also be found in nature as the extremely rare mineral coccinite. Unlike the related mercury(II) chloride it is hardly solub ...

. He was the first, in 1887, to make

orthochromatic In chemistry, orthochromasia is the property of a dye or stain to not change color on binding to a target, as opposed to metachromatic stains, which change color. The word is derived from the Greek '' orthos'' (correct, upright), and chromatic (c ...

plates in Britain. Edwards lived at Wistowe House in

Hayes, Middlesex Hayes is a town in west London, historically situated within the county of Middlesex, and now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded as 83,564 i ...

, which also housed the small factory where for a time he manufactured a special type of printing paper marketed as "Wisto". Edwards died just before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914. A photograph of Edwards may be found in the 1926 edition of the ''British Journal Photographic Almanac''. ''B. J. Edwards'' became a limited company in 1900. In the 1906 edition of the ''British Journal Photographic Almanac'', their advertisement states that Edwards himself once more had sole control of the company. The company was acquired by Leto Photo materials Co. (1905) Ltd. in 1909. The

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

works remained and ''Edwards'' became a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

name.earlyphotography.co.uk
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, BJ 1838 births 1914 deaths 19th-century English photographers Photographers from London