Richard Beard
Encyclopedia
Richard Beard was an English
entrepreneur
and photographer who vigorously protected his photographic business by litigation over his photographic patent
s and helped to establish professional photography in the UK.
, the second son of Richard Bowden Beard (1773–1840) and his wife, Elizabeth (1775–1818). Beard's father was a grocer
and Beard joined the family business, marrying Elizabeth Branscombe (born 1798) on 12 March 1825. After Beard became manager of the business it thrived, acquiring other local concerns. Beard moved to London
in the early 1830s and, in 1833, invested in a coal
merchant
s, again expanding it with his entrepreneurial skill and vigour. Beard's business interests were broad. In 1839, he filed a patent
for colour printing of fabric
.
and William Fox Talbot
. In early 1840, Beard was contacted by patent agent William Carpmael (1804–1867, who was also Talbot's agent). Carpmael brokered a meeting between Beard and an American, William S. Johnson who was marketing
a photographic camera
on behalf of his son, John, and Alexander Wolcott, an instrument maker
. The camera performed poorly but Beard grasped the business potential of photography so entered into a commercial agreement with Johnson and Wolcott, secured a patent on the camera and recruited chemist
John Frederick Goddard
to industrialise the process and improve quality and reliability.
In 1841 with the assistance of the inventor John Johnson, Beard opened England
's first professional photography studio at the Royal Polytechnic Institution
. He purchased a monopoly
on the patent of the Daguerreotype
process in England
and spent £20,000 in establishing a chain of photographic studios in London and selling licenses for studios in the provinces, Goddard acting as technical adviser. He explored the possibility of licensing Fox Talbot's calotype
process but the two could not agree terms.
Though Beard was describing himself in 1851 as a "photographic artist" and exhibited at The Great Exhibition
, there is little evidence that he was himself an extensive practitioner. The surviving Daguerreotypes attributed to him are largely the works of others.
".
Beard died in Hampstead
and was buried at Hampstead Cemetery
.
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...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and photographer who vigorously protected his photographic business by litigation over his photographic 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....
s and helped to establish professional photography in the UK.
Early life
Beard was born at East Stonehouse, DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, the second son of Richard Bowden Beard (1773–1840) and his wife, Elizabeth (1775–1818). Beard's father was a grocer
Grocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
and Beard joined the family business, marrying Elizabeth Branscombe (born 1798) on 12 March 1825. After Beard became manager of the business it thrived, acquiring other local concerns. Beard moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the early 1830s and, in 1833, invested in a coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
s, again expanding it with his entrepreneurial skill and vigour. Beard's business interests were broad. In 1839, he filed a 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....
for colour printing of fabric
Fabric
A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...
.
Photography
In 1839, Beard took an interest in the frenzy of public excitement over the first announcements of practical photographic processes by Louis DaguerreLouis Daguerre
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and physicist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography.- Biography :...
and 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...
. In early 1840, Beard was contacted by patent agent William Carpmael (1804–1867, who was also Talbot's agent). Carpmael brokered a meeting between Beard and an American, William S. Johnson who was marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
a photographic camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
on behalf of his son, John, and Alexander Wolcott, an instrument maker
Measuring instrument
In the physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the process of measurement gives a number relating the item...
. The camera performed poorly but Beard grasped the business potential of photography so entered into a commercial agreement with Johnson and Wolcott, secured a patent on the camera and recruited chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
John Frederick Goddard
John Frederick Goddard
John Frederick Goddard was an English chemist who made important contributions to the early development of photography, in particular in his work for Richard Beard.-External links:* with William Fox Talbot...
to industrialise the process and improve quality and reliability.
In 1841 with the assistance of the inventor John Johnson, Beard opened England
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...
's first professional photography studio at the Royal Polytechnic Institution
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
. He purchased a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
on the patent of the 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....
process in England
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...
and spent £20,000 in establishing a chain of photographic studios in London and selling licenses for studios in the provinces, Goddard acting as technical adviser. He explored the possibility of licensing Fox Talbot's 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'....
process but the two could not agree terms.
Though Beard was describing himself in 1851 as a "photographic artist" and 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...
, there is little evidence that he was himself an extensive practitioner. The surviving Daguerreotypes attributed to him are largely the works of others.
Litigation and disillusion
Beard was a robust defender of his commercial interests, engaging in many legal actions, including against Antoine Claudet and most famously Beard v. Egerton. This long and complicated case seems ultimately to have exhausted his appetite for litigation. Though he was declared bankrupt in 1849, this seems likely to have been a mere commercial device and there is no evidence that he was impoverished, his son Richard having gradually acquired the running of the business.Later life
Beard's interest in photography declined and by 1861 he was describing himself as a "coal merchant". In the 1860s, Beard briefly established himself as a "medical galvanistElectrotherapy
Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment In medicine, the term electrotherapy can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disease. The term has also been applied specifically to the use of...
".
Beard died in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
and was buried at Hampstead Cemetery
Hampstead Cemetery
Hampstead Cemetery is a historic cemetery in West Hampstead, London, located at the upper extremity of the NW6 district. Despite the name, the cemetery is three-quarters of a mile from Hampstead Village, and bears a different postcode...
.
External links
- America and the Daguerreotype Portrait: Wolcott and Johnson at About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....