Martin Laroche, born William Henry Silvester, (15 September 1814 – 10 November 1886) was an early English professional photographer who successfully challenged
William Fox Talbot's patent on the
calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. Paper texture effects in calotype photography limit the ability of this early process to record low ...
and effected a liberalisation in professional practice, research and development that catalysed the development of photography in the nineteenth century.
Life
Born in
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...
, he started work as a
jeweller. He married Angelique Samson, in the mid–1830s. By 1851 the couple had five children and Laroche had changed his name, occupying studios in
Oxford Street, London
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as o ...
and describing himself as a "
Daguerreotype
Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process.
Invented by Louis Daguerre a ...
artist". He exhibited at
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...
(1851) and is said to photographed
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
and actor
Charles Kean, though none of the photographs is extant.
[Wood (1975)]
''Talbot v. Laroche''
In 1854, Laroche deliberately fomented a conflict with Talbot by advertising that he was using
Frederick Scott Archer's
collodion process
The collodion process is an early photographic process. The collodion process, mostly synonymous with the "collodion wet plate process", requires the photographic material to be coated, sensitized, exposed, and developed within the span of about ...
which Talbot regarded as in breach of his own patent. There are some claims that Laroche had worked with Archer on its development.
Others believe the two were introduced by a common friend, photographer
William Peirce. Talbot brought a
legal action against Laroche for £5,000 but the claim failed. However, Laroche was left with
legal costs
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
of £400-£500 though these were raised by public subscription.
Later life
Laroche continued in Oxford Street until the early 1860s and then moved to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
where he died.
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Laroche, Martin
1814 births
1886 deaths
Pioneers of photography
19th-century English photographers
Photographers from London