Early Colour Photography and its Contexts in Britain, 1890 to 1935

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When colour photography emerged in industrialised societies in the late nineteenth century it attracted both scientific and aesthetic interest. Over the course of nearly fifty years, from 1890 until 1935, the accessibility of colour photography changed dramatically, culminating in the widespread uptake of Eastman Kodak's Kodachrome colour reversal technology in the late 1930s. Kodachrome redefined the photographic industry. It was celebrated as the solution to nearly one hundred years of research and development concentrated on finding a way to make affordable and practical colour pictures, and was so successful that by the early 1940s it had usurped the majority of competing colour processes.This research challenges the prevailing notion that the flourishing industry for colour photography before Kodachrome resulted from continuous developments in science. It shows how transformations in capitalism and changing cultural ideas about colour contributed to the conception and delivery of colour photographic products during this period. Although most nascent colour photography enterprises failed, the sheer volume and technological diversity of processes introduced suggests an enormous amount of creative vitality on the part of a wide range of stakeholders. Through consideration of the meaning of colour in contemporary British society, and the economic and social networks that underpinned the industry, this thesis aims to establish a stronger understanding of the competitive and dynamic market for early colour photography between 1890 and 1935.