Martin Laroche
Encyclopedia
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
and effected a liberalisation in professional practice, research and development that catalysed the development of photography in the nineteenth century.
, 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 and describing himself as a "Daguerreotype
artist". He exhibited at The Great Exhibition
(1851) and is said to photographed Queen Victoria and actor
Charles Kean
, though none of the photographs is extant.
's collodion process
which Talbot regarded as in breach if his own patent. There are some claims that Laroche had worked with Archer on its development. Others believe the two were introduced bt 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 of £400-£500 though these were raised by public subscription.
where he died.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional photographer who successfully challenged William Fox Talbot
William Fox Talbot
William Henry Fox Talbot was a British inventor and a pioneer of photography. He was the inventor of calotype process, the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was also a noted photographer who made major contributions to the development of photography as an...
's patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on the calotype
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
and effected a liberalisation in professional practice, research and development that catalysed the development of photography in the nineteenth century.
Life
Born LambethLambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
, 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 and describing himself as a "Daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
artist". He exhibited at The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
(1851) and is said to photographed Queen Victoria and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Charles Kean
Charles Kean
Charles John Kean , was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of the actor Edmund Kean.After preparatory education at Worplesdon and at Greenford, near Harrow, he was sent to Eton College, where he remained three years...
, though none of the photographs is extant.
Talbot v. Laroche
In 1854, Laroche deliberately fomented a conflict with Talbot by advertising that he was using Frederick Scott ArcherFrederick Scott Archer
Frederick Scott Archer invented the photographic collodion process which preceded the modern gelatin emulsion. He was born in Bishop's Stortford in the UK and is remembered mainly for this single achievement which greatly increased the accessibility of photography for the general public.tyler was...
's collodion process
Collodion process
The collodion process is an early photographic process. It was introduced in the 1850s and by the end of that decade it had almost entirely replaced the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. During the 1880s the collodion process, in turn, was largely replaced by gelatin dry...
which Talbot regarded as in breach if his own patent. There are some claims that Laroche had worked with Archer on its development. Others believe the two were introduced bt 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 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 BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
where he died.