Evening star., 1954-07-11
Comero Angles

captains OF industry, and a
comparative few true humane
tarianS. Rare indeed is the
individual worthy of receiving
the triple accolade. Such a
man was George Eastman,
who has been called the father
of modern photography.
Tomorrow marks the cen-
tennial Of the birth of George
Eastman, who contributed
more to the advancement Of
photography than any other
single individual. Mr.. East
man did not invent the CAM
era nor did he perfect the in
itial Photographic process. He
did take photography out of
the morass of glass plates,
time-consuming processes and
cumbersome equipment and
gave it to the world in the form
of a little box that even a child
could operate successfully. His
slogan was, "You press the but
ton, we do the rest"
Income $500 q Yeor at 20
The Eastman story is not
one of quick and easy success.
His parents had no wealth to
aid him. On the contrary. his
father died when the boy was
=, leaving the family virtually
penniless. His mother sup
ported the family (Mr. East
man had two sisters) for years
by taking in boarders. Their
financial difficulties caused the
youth to leave school at the
age Of Is to seek employment.
His first job, as messenger to
an insurance firm, paid the
munificent salary Of So per
week. In 1874. now aged 20, he
was hired by the Rochester
Savings Bank at an annual
income of $500.
Eastman became interested
In photography in 1877 as a
result of q planned trip to
Santo Domingo. Although the
trip was never made he be-
came fascinated with his
hobby. His first camera was
one of those large bulky affairs
that had to be mounted on a
heavy tripod. Glass wet plates
were the "film" of the day and
O photographer, by necessity,
had to carry a large dark tent
with him to sensitize and de-
velop the plates. He had to
spread the emulsion over the
surface of the plate, rush 1t
out in it's dark slide to the
camera before it had time to
dry out and lose its sensltlvity
and make the exposure. Then
the plate had to be taken back
inside the tent and processed.
All this mess and bother
connected with taking pictures
set the young man to think
ing of a more practical way.
He knew Of the Indifferent
success of attempts at making
dry plates and turned his
spare time to experimenting
in his mothers kitchen at per-
fecting q dry plate that would
save him from having to carry
his darkroom wherever he took
the camera.
Storted Business in 1880
Eastman's plates were so
successful he decided to COM
mercialize them, launching a
dry plate business in Rochester,
N. Y, in 1880. Already he had
displayed a genius for inven-
ton. In 1879 he had received
q patent for a plate coater.
This was a simple device con-
sisting of a roller suspended in
q trough of emulsion. The
glass plate was quickly drawn
across the roller, picking up an
even coat of emulsion as it
VENT
The young company pros
pered because of the excellence
of its products and it was not
long until the proprietor
turned his thoughts toward
further simplificatioli of pho
Biography to the end that it
could be used by any one with
the will to take pictures.
Realizing that glass plates,
wet or dry, we're Impractical
for extensive amateur use,
Eastman turned his attention
toward discovering a flexible
substitute. BY 1884 he had hit
upon the idea of coating a
strip of paper with emulsion.
This worked but was soon dis
carded as impractical because
the grain of the paper showed
in the prints. Later in the
same year he produced a strip
ping film which used the paper
only as a temporary support
for the emulsion which was
stripped away from the paper
after development of the neg
ative.
Rolled Negative Greeted
Eastman the inventor was
really to hit his stride in this
memorable year Of 1884. Al
though the film was for use as
. substitute for glass plates,
Eastman was quick to see the
need for reducing it to more
practical use. He and an as
eociate, William H. Walker, de-
signed a roll holder which used
negatives in rolls and could
be used as an accessory to a
plate camera. Eastman also
designed a machine that same
year which coated emulsion on
paper.
AS soon as it became ap-
parent that the general public
did not take to the roll-holder
equipped plate cameras in suf-
f1cient numbers. Eastman de-
cided to make a new kind Of