The history of flash photography has been researched and reported many times within the literature. In the following paragraphs can be read various accounts, not all of which agree precisely with each other, though the overall story remains much the same.

Practical Photography magazine, in their November 1960 issue, gave a full account of flash photography from the earliest days and continued it up to late 1960. The article was written by Jeremy Lumley.
To read the whole Practical Photography article, download it as a pdf file here.

The first few paragraphs of the Practical Photography article read as follows:
"How it all started: The small sleek flashbulb you purchase for 8d. (8 old pence in 1960 = 3.3p) does not seem to have much connection with the 1850s, though that in fact is when it really started. In 1851, Fox Talbot, sometimes known as the father of photography, first photographed a moving object by using an electric spark. His method was more of academic interest than practical use, but it was the true beginning of flash photography. Unfortunately, his interest lapsed, and no more was thought of artificial light photography until 1859 when R.Bunsen discovered that magnesium wire, and later magnesium ribbon, burned with an intense white light and reduced the lengthy exposures to a reasonable amount for indoor work. In 1865 Traill Taylor first used magnesium flash powder to obtain instantaneous exposures without any other light source.
The first flash bulb: Development was slow after this and it was not until 1898 and 1899 when Riesling, a German, and Smith, an Englishman, discovered the possibilities of burning a mixture of magnesium and aluminium in a glass bulb. A further development of this, and the immediate forefather of today's bulbs, was made by J.Ostermeier in 1929 who coiled up aluminium wire, then aluminium foil in an oxygen-filled bulb. Immediately after this, in 1930, Philips produced their first flashbulb, which used a magnesium and aluminium mixture in a gas-filled bulb, using carbon disulphide and nitrogen monoxide as the gas. Directly descended from this was the original Photoflux bulb first produced in 1934."

Amateur Photographer (AP) magazine of 27th November 1935, contained a short article entitled "Magnesium Ribbon, Age 72 Years" (hence referring to 1863).
Now that so many photographers can take portraits at night by the aid of artificial light, thanks mainly to improved sensitive materials and electric lighting, a correspondent recalls the fact that one day this week is the seventy-second anniversary of the introduction of magnesium ribbon or wire. In 1863 the manufacture of magnesium was commenced in Manchester, and during the last week of November of that year, at a Manchester scientific society, Professor H. E. Roscoe exhibited the light emitted by burning a piece of magnesium ribbon or wire 1 mm. in diameter and 10 ft. long. Mr. A. Brothers, who was at the meeting, secured a piece of the
wire and a few days later reported some experiments he had made with it, chief of which was the copying of an engraving by the light given out by the wire. At that time the price of the wire was half-a-crown per foot (to-day (=Nov 1937) it is from 1s. 9d. to 2s. per ounce (=£1 for 0.3kg)), and only small quantities were obtainable. Early in 1864, three photographers working together managed to get a good negative in the Blue John Mine in Derbyshire by the light from magnesium, and in May of the same year it was used to make a portrait of Dr. Faraday at the Royal Institution in London. Since these historical initial efforts, magnesium in the form of wire or powder has been widely used by photographers. But we move quickly, and now magnesium lighting is becoming displaced in favour of flood-lamps and flash bulbs used in conjunction with modern high-speed plates and films.

Another historical account of flash photography was contained within the Editor's Viewpoint column of the October 1958 issue of Modern Camera Magazine (MCM). This magazine also contained an article entitled 'The Fundamentals of Flash'. Both were by the same author, Percy W Harris, FIBP, Hon.FRPS, FPSA.
"Flashlight photography began almost a hundred years ago (written in 1958). In 1859 William Crookes (later Sir William Crookes) employed the brilliant light obtained by burning magnesium to take photographs, and in 1865 Traill Taylor, whose name is perpetuated in the Royal Photographic Society's Traill Taylor Memorial Lectures, made a rapidly-burning flashlight powder from magnesium, potassium chlorate, sulphur and antimony sulphide. E. A. Kenyon followed in 1883 with experiments employing mixtures of magnesium powder with pure potassium chlorate, and took portraits by this means. The resultant smoke, however, caused so much trouble that he gave it up.

Because the early powders were very dangerous, considerable popularity was obtained for special flashlamps in which pure powdered magnesium was blown through a spirit flame which gave plenty of light (and smoke!) but was free from the risk of explosion. Later, other workers produced better powder formulations which were safer than the early compounds. These could be placed in a little pile and ignited either by a slow burning fuse or a taper. Still later, clockwork devices, which were used by spinning a steel wheel against the "flint" of a cigarette lighter, set off the powder at the right moment when the trigger was pressed.

But the trouble with all flash powder was that it remained intrinsically dangerous. Its use could cause nasty burns if the powder was accidentally ignited, and the result of the flash powder burning so rapidly was to produce a cloud of white smoke which drifted upwards to the ceiling and a few minutes later descended again, depositing a fine white powder on everybody. Knowing the nuisance the descending white powder would cause, professional photographers at banquets took good care to pack up and get well away before the problem was noticed. In fact, so much trouble was caused, and so many cases of ignited curtains occurred, that flashlight photography was frequently forbidden.

A big step forward came with the introduction of a device known as the 'Sashalight' (around 1930, see below). This looked much like an electric light bulb, inside which was a crumpled sheet of metal foil, enclosed in an atmosphere of oxygen. In the position where the filament of a conventional light bulb would be, there was a small fuse. When the bulb was connected to an ordinary torch battery, the fuse ignited and set fire to the foil, which burnt rapidly and very brilliantly. A lot of these early bulbs gave trouble and sometimes exploded, but these difficulties were soon overcome.

A further improvement, with a big increase in reliability and constancy of light output, came with the introduction of a mass of very fine wire as the ignition material in place of the finely shredded foil. In a few cases, a special paste was moulded to the fuse, something like the head of a large match. This burnt just as quickly and brilliantly as the foil or wire. The 'pre-flash' pressure of oxygen in these bulbs was very low since, if it were ordinary atmospheric pressure, the heat generated would bring about such an expansive pressure increase that the bulb would inevitably burst. The 'pre-flash' pressure was therefore kept quite low, although there was still adequate oxygen to provide complete ignition. Occasionally faulty or cracked bulbs might burst if air had entered and raised the internal 'pre-flash' pressure, but the user was safeguarded by manufacturers coating their bulbs with a sort of elastic varnish which prevented fragments of glass envelope being scattered, even if it burst. Flashguns were eventually equipped with transparent guards as further protection.

When flashbulbs were first used it was necessary for the user to open the camera shutter, manually trigger the firing of the flash bulb, and then close the shutter again, all as rapidly as possible. This technique was known as 'open flash'.

Press photographers took to flash bulbs like ducks to water. The fire risk was negligible, there was no smoke and they were no longer prevented from taking flash photographs at banquets and other internal functions where for some time flash powder had been banned. It soon became evident, however, that the procedure of opening the shutter, firing the flash bulb, and closing the shutter again was very awkward as, in many cases, it involved two people, one to handle the camera and the other to fire the flash.

An ingenious press man in New York (possibly this is a reference to Samuel Mendelsohn who patented a range of Speedguns sold from 1932-1951) made a little attachment for his camera, consisting of the magnet from an electric bell, and one or two other oddments so arranged that when a button was pressed the current from the battery flowed through the windings of the electromagnet and drew down an armature at the same time that it fired the flash bulbs; the moving armature was arranged that it depressed the shutter release. In this way the necessity for a second person was obviated; one touch of the button would operate both the shutter and ignite the flash bulb. The name of a 'synchroniser' was soon given to this device and, before long, a number of them with sundry improvements appeared on the market. They were not very satisfactory at first, for two reasons. Up to that time the flash bulb manufacturers had not taken any particular trouble to standardise the firing time of their bulbs i.e.the interval between switching on the igniting current, and the maximum light emission being obtained, varied. The second point was that, if switching on the current took place at the same moment as the shutter release was depressed, the shutter would operate virtually instantaneously, but there would be a delay, maybe as long as l/50th second, before the bulb ignited and reached iuts maximum light emission. The ideal conditions required that the shutter should open just as the bulb started to burn, so that the peak light of the bulb would occur at the middle of the shutter-opening time. When this was realised, the manufacturers of the synchronisers introduced a slight delaying mechanism, so that when the gun release was pressed the current was immediately switched on, but the shutter was not operated until a small fraction of a second later, this fact being adjusted to suit the delay in the bulb. Later, the firing delay of the bulb became standardised, with bulbs being classified under the headings of F, M, S and FP. The "time to peak" of the F type was not exceeding 12msecs; the M type 20msecs; the S type 30msecs and the FP type having a delay from 30 to 40msecs. The special feature of FP bulbs is that they give a long flash of fairly level intensity throughout the 'slit' travel of a focal plane shutter.

The early synchronised flashguns usually had the delay mechanism inbuilt, e.g. by a train of gears or by the rotation of a fairly heavy flywheel, and the delay was adjustable. On some press cameras a solenoid was fitted, similar to the earlier improvised synchronisers, so that the actual mechanical movement of the shutter release was performed electrically. One of the best and most reliable synchronised flashguns produced in the UK was the Burvin in 1934, which was designed by Colonel W. M. Burden, R.E., a skilled engineer who was also a keen amateur photographer, together with Lancelot Vining the well-known press photographer. This collaboration of the engineer and the experienced press man was an admirable one, for Vining knew all of the "snags" of the existing American flashguns, and particularly those of the solenoid type. The action of the Burvin was mechanical throughout and the delay was accurately adjustable. However, such external (to the camera shutter) synchronisers became unnecessary as shutters appeared (1940-1950 and subsequently) with built-in flash synchronisation."

Using an electrical discharge as a flash light pre-dates the above use of flash powder, Brian Coe, in his book entitled "Cameras" (printed in 1980), includes the following information:
"The first flash photograph was taken by (William Henry) Fox Talbot on 14th June, 1851. Talbot attached a newspaper (claimed, but without proof, to have been The Times) to a disc, which could be rotated rapidly. In a darkened room he then used a spark from a set of charged Leyden jars to illuminate the rapidly moving disc, which was set in front of the uncovered lens of a camera containing an albumen plate. The flash probably lasted little more than 1/100,000 second, so the image on the plate was perfectly sharp. Talbot said of the experiment, "It is in our power to obtain pictures of all moving objects, no matter in how rapid motion they may be, provided we have the means of sufficiently illuminating them with a sudden electric flash." It was not until the 1930s and the development of high-speed, electronic flash, apparatus that Talbot's prophecy was completely fulfilled."

My thanks to Doug McKee for sending me this extract that deals not only with the earliest recorded use of artificial flashlight to enable a photograph to be taken, but also introduces the modern technology of electronic flash equipment, which eliminated the use of flashbulbs.

Percy Harris, in Modern Camera Magazine for October 1958, expressed the above information in the following paragraphs:
"Electronic Flash has both advantages and disadvantages but, on balance, the advantages have it. It differs from the consumable bulb flash in important aspects. Instead of creating light by burning up in an atmosphere containing oxygen, a consumable material (each bulb being used therefore only once), it produces a brilliant incandescent by discharging a current for a brief instant through a rarified gas, usually xenon. The gas glows every time the discharge is made through it but it is not consumed, so that many thousands of flashes are obtainable from a single tube, which helps to offset the much higher cost of the initial apparatus.

Although electronic flash has come into prominence only during the last two or three years (mid-1950s), Fox Talbot took out a patent as long ago as 1851, covering the use of an electric spark for instantaneous photography, and he gave a remarkable demonstration by producing a perfectly sharp image of a whirling disc on which had been pasted a sheet of newspaper. In the developed film every letter was pin sharp! Nothing, however, came of this interesting scientific experiment because, at the time, his light sensitive material was exceedingly slow, and no real progress was made until Professor Harold E. Edgerton, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published the result of his investigational work in 1928. Instead of using an electric spark, which has a comparatively small light output, Edgerton found that by charging up large capacitors to a high voltage, and then suddenly discharging the energy through such gases as xenon a very brilliant luminescence was obtained. One of the important characteristics of this form of flash tube was that it was virtually a perfect insulator up to a certain high voltage, but when this voltage was exceeded it became almost a perfect conductor, so that the whole energy stored in the capacitors was discharged in what might be a few millionths of a second. The actual time of discharge was dependent upon the electrical characteristics of the circuit, but here we had an entirely new weapon in photographic research, it being possible with the high speed emulsions (then) available to "freeze" movements which occurred in so short a time that, previously, they had never been either observed by the human eye or even photographed. Edgerton's work, together with that of his associates, aroused tremendous interest everywhere, and some very remarkable pictures were produced.

Much development of electronic flash technology occurred during World War 2, when its short duration enabled sharp pictures to be taken of fast moving objects.
In a 1958 article in MCM magazine, entitled "Portraiture By Electronic Flash" by Donald S. Herbert, F.I.B.P; F.R.P.S., he introduced his topic by saying:
"During the early part of the last war (WW2) I was very much involved in a large number of experiments in research into the action of ships' propellers under water. The behaviour of the propellers was studied from high-speed pictures taken under many varied conditions. Initially the photographs were taken by means of a hefty electric spark which was made by packing high (and dangerous) voltages into large condensers, producing a bright and instantaneous spark when the condensers were discharged. We were very glad to end this method when we managed to get hold of a xenon gas-filled tube which was my first introduction to electronic flash as we know it today. I immediately realized that this light source had tremendous possibilities for professional use. I still have some of the photographs I took with this first tube to astound my colleagues i.e. people and things which were at the moment of exposure moving very rapidly. The very short duration of the flash had stopped all movement."

Subsequent to WW2, electronic flash equipment became available commercially, though at first it was so large and heavy its use was confined to the photographic studio. By 1950 semi-portable electronic flash units had become available and the size of such equipment diminished throughout the decade, but mostly still needing a hefty shoulder slung separate battery pack.

Camera World magazine, for May 1956, suggested the typical cost for a small electronic flash (flash factor around 50 with a 100ASA 'post-1960' film speed) might be £10-£15 (the equivalent of around £350 to £500 in 2014 by comparison of typical wages). But the magazine emphasised the long term economy compared to using flash bulbs by predicting the probability of getting over 25,000 flashes from the original flash tube. The accompanying power source was thought likely to be either two 90volt 'portable radio set' type batteries, or eight 30volt 'deaf-aid hearing set' types. Such batteries were suggested might (in total) cost between £1 and £1.25p, but could provide up to 500 flashes.

The same Camera World article went on to say "There is also the possibility of using an electronic flash powered by accumulators (rechargeable lead-acid batteries). In this case, a vibrator driven by the accumulators interrupts the current, so that a transformer can be used to give the high voltage needed to make the tube flash. But the disadvantage is that the accumulators have to be recharged from time to time and need careful attention all the time. And since the vibrator is a moving part, it may wear out - you can hear it buzzing away merrily when the flash unit is switched on. The professional who needs the extra power which can be obtained by using this kind of circuit is prepared to deal with accumulator recharging and the possible vibrator troubles. He also doesn't mind the extra cost, if he wants these special advantages. If he requires much more power, he uses an electronic flash set which draws its power from the electric light mains".

Below are text and examples of electronic flashguns, taken from Amateur Photographer magazine, 8th December 1954.

The application of transistors into electronic flashguns by 1960 enabled highly portable, lightweight, low powered and moderately priced units to be designed, such that by the 1970s electronic flash had largely displaced the use of consumable flash bulbs.

A reply to a reader's question in PhotoGuide Magazine for December 1961, suggested the following formula for estimating the likely flash Guide Number for an electronic unit with a flash power output in Joules.
Guide Number = 1.25 x Square Root of (Joules x film speed in ASA or ISO). So, for a film speed of 125ASA (ISO) and a electronic flas output power of 30 Joules, the approximate Guide Number would be 1.25 x 61.2 = 76.

Around 1964, the Voiglander Vitrona 35mm camera (scroll down to the bottom of this page) became the first to have built-in electronic flash. By 1980 such a facility had become commonplace and is now (post-2000) universally included within the design of compact digital cameras.

The earliest flash photography used magnesium ribbon or powder, ignited on a tray, to provide a brief flash of bright light, for about 1/10th of a second. The technique was not without its obvious dangers and it also released a lot of smoke, smell and a fall-out of white ash.

Flash pictures had to be taken by mounting the camera on a tripod, opening the shutter, igniting the ribbon or powder, and then reclosing the shutter. The advert (left) was taken from Amateur Photographer magazine for 30th November 1949, showing how the technique, albeit using flash powder (see below), was still in use up to the 1950s.

The Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer magazine for November 27th 1935 contains an interesting article (p508 'Topics of the Week') entitled "Magnesium Ribbon, Age 72 Years" (implying 1863; but also see the MCM article, above). The AP article reads:

"Now that so many photographers can take portraits at night by the aid of artificial light, thanks mainly to improved sensitive materials and electric lighting, a correspondent recalls the fact that one day this week is the seventy-second anniversary of the introduction of magnesium ribbon or wire. In 1863 the manufacture of magnesium was commenced in Manchester, and during the last week of November of that year, at a Manchester scientific society, Professor H.E.Roscoe exhibited the light emitted by burning a piece of magnesium ribbon or wire 1mm in diameter and 10ft long.

Mr.A.Brothers, who was at the meeting, secured a piece of the wire and a few days later reported some experiments he had made with it, chief of which was the copying of an engraving by the light given out by the wire. At that time the price of the wire was half-a-crown (i.e. 2s.6d; 12.5new pence) per foot, and only small quantities were obtainable. 'To-day' (1935) it is from 1s. 9d. to 2s. per ounce. Early in 1864, three photographers working together managed to get a good negative in the Blue John Mine in Derbyshire by the light from magnesium, and in May of the same year it was used to make a portrait of Dr.Faraday at the Royal Institution in London. Since these historical initial efforts, magnesium in the form of wire or powder has been widely used by photographers.

Alongside is further information from David Pederson. A Johnson & Sons advertisement for their flash powder which appeared in the 1925 book "The N.P Handbook: No. 4
Flashlight For the Amateur Photographer; 1925; By John J. Curtis"; Made and printed in Great britain by The Garden City Press Ltd.; price 1 shilling.

A 1/- (1 shilling =1s) box of flash powder enabled "several exposures". The price of 1/- means 5p in modern UK decimal currency, equivalent to about £3 in 2020.

David Pederson also says "In Chapter XIII, Commercial Flashlight Photography, encouraging photographers to go "Pro". This caught my eye -
"One enterprising Coal Company has a series of photographs showing their men at work underground".

As David comments, this must have been in a particularly safe mine, no doubt referring to the possibility of explosive methane in coal mines that the flash powder could have ignited.

Kevin MacDonnell, in Photography magazine for January 1981, describes using flash powder "...an explosive mixture of magnesium powder, potassium chlorate and antimony sulphide, which scared me stiff no matter how often I used it." He continued "Supplied in two bottles, the technique was to first of all pour some of the magnesium powder from its container onto a folded sheet of paper. You then replaced the cork tightly in the bottle and put it well to one side. Next you poured some of the 'igniting compound', consisting of the other two chemicals, out of their bottle onto the magnesium lying on the paper and again replaced the cork tightly. The two powders were then shaken together gently. Now came the exciting part ! You had a flashgun complete with a metal tray with a handle and some form of ignition. The one I used had a hammer like that of a shotgun which, when released, fell on a huge explosive cap, while another worked like an old wheel lock pistol, a spring driven steel wheel revolving against a flint. You cocked the flashgun, poured the contents of the folded paper onto the tray, held the gun above your head, uncapped the lens, uttered a short but devout prayer and pulled the trigger. If all went well a sheet of white flame was produced, varying in height from 6" to a foot (12" = 300mm), depending upon the amount of powder. If you were unlucky, however, one of two things could happen. In damp or humid weather, of if the bottles had not been tightly corked, the powder could 'cake' and then, instead of a flash, you got a genuine explosion like that of a small hand grenade which, if you had been generous with the amount of powder, could blow off your fingers! Alternatively, when you pressed the trigger nothing at all happened and the natural reaction was to lower the gun and look into the tray. The action would disturb the powder and it could go off as you looked at it. Everyone had some horrifying story to tell about flash powder."

Paul Godfrey has sent me an extract about flash powder from an ancient edition of "The ILFORD Manual of Photography", numbered the 310,000th copy (a number which suggests it was published around the mid-1920s). The extract can be read here.

ALSO, an extract from a Kodak Magazine dated November 1926 (being a complimentary copy from Wallace Heaton) that has an article about flash photograph. Paul scanned this article from a magazine owned by Jim Fisk.

Thanks to Brian Rees, I now have experience of using flash powder. Brian donated the 4oz tin of Johnson(s of Hendon) No.2 FlashPowder shown alongside.

Jon Pippard, son of 'Pip' Pippard, has told me (March 2016) that the huge explosion at the end of the 1966 WW1 fighter pilot film ‘Blue Max’, was several tens of pounds of Johnson’s flash powder. 'Pip' was very concerned when he heard that the studio had ordered such a large amount. Its believed the Powder was delivered in several small brown paper bags which were carried by separate vehicles and assembled on site.

The original instructions for using the No.2 FlashPowder can be viewed here. An experiment to see if the powder would still produce a FLASH is described here.

Paul Godfrey describes his experiences with a Johnsons flash powder 'flashlamp' (identical to the Magney Powder Flashgun shown at the top of this page) and some 'do-it-yourself' flashpowder here. Johnson's Flashpowder adverts, scanned by Paul from 1930s AP magazines can be viewed here.

With reference to the picture above, right, the smaller tin contained a white powder and the large tin contained a dark grey/purple powder. Strips of white 'touch-paper' were contained in the small brown envelope.

Despite its claimed non-deliquescent properties, over the 40+years since the mixture was manufactured the grey powder (especially) had caked into a firm mass but could still be crumbled into fine particles.

Johnsons supplied two types of flash powder. The No.1 was called Professional and gave a flash of very high actinic value with a minimum of smoke and dust, a combination claimed to make it more suitable for use in banquets and theatrical parties and for large groups and interiors. It was sold in 1oz, 4oz and 8oz bottles, priced 3s.9d (19p), 9s (45p) and 14s.3d (71p) respectively.

The No.2 was recommended for amateur use, and in all circumstances where the smoke produced would not be judged unacceptable e.g. outdoors using a small charge of Flashpowder to augment daylight or inside factories. This flash powder was supplied in 1oz, 4oz (see above) and 8oz tins, priced 3s (15p), 7s.6d (38p) and 13s.6d (68p) respectively.

Another version of the above 1oz (28.4gm) size of Johnsons of Hendon No.2 Flash Powder, but packaged differently from above (again, donated by Brian Rees).

Instead of a small tin inside the outer tin, this packaging has the white powder (to be mixed with the grey powder in the main tin) in a small plastic capped glass bottle. The lid of the glass bottle was apparently secured for transit by sticky tape (as can be seen in the picture - left). The 'touch paper' and the instruction leaflet are missing from this example.

The glass bottle must have been less robust than a small tin, so perhaps the use of a small tin, inserted inside the outer tin (as above), was a later (improved) packaging compared to the arrangement shown left.

A small box (7.5x4.5x2.5cm) of flashpowder, as sold by Johnson & Sons, Manufacturing Chemists, from 23, Cross Street, Finsbury, London, E.C; their address pre-1927.

The instructions read:
"Add the contents of the smaller tube to the powder in the larger tube. Shake thoroughly. Use on a tin lid. Place the mixture in a heap or a 'train' on the tin lid. Place a piece of the Touch Paper vertically in it and light the top. For an ordinary portrait use 10grains (0.65gram). For small groups use 30-40grains".

To the left is a 1oz (28.4gm) version of the Johnson & Sons No.2 flashpowder (this example donated by Brian Rees).

Although the company name is still Johnson & Sons, the address is now the more familiar "Hendon, London, N.W.4", so this example post-dates the packaging immediately above, but pre-dates the other packagings shown further above. I suspect it dates to the mid-1940s. Instructions on the tin read:
"Add the white powder to the gey in the tin. Replace the lid and shake until the powders are thoroughly mixed. The powder is now ready for use as a Flash Powder, but must not be used in any enclosed receptacle.
For Portraits, use about 10grains (0.65gramme)
For Small Groups, use about 20grains (1.3gramme)
For Large Groups, use about 90grains (5.8gramme).

In the example shown left, the only powder is grey in colour and is all contained within the glass, cork stoppered, container shown alongside the tin. The glass container fits neatly within the tin, protected by a corrugated cardboard liner. There doesn't seem to be room in the tin for a separate container of white powder, but that must have been the case, since on the glass container there are instructions reading:
"Add the contents of the smaller tube to this powder & shake thoroughly. The flash powder is then ready for use, but must be kept well corked."
From this, it seems likely that the two powders, in the example here, have already been mixed together by the original user.

10grms of "Agfa" Flashlight powder.

The cardboard tube shown to the immediate left contained the two tins (to the left of the cardboard tube), one with a screw cap (the lower one) and the other (with the blue label) with a push-on lid, plus the red packet of 'Salpeterpapier' (i.e. touch paper).

Inside the screw capped tin is grey powder, looking very much the same as the Johnsons flash powder.
Agfa, however, made claims for its superiority here in:
THE "AGFA"-BOOK OF Photographic Formulae, Edited by GEORGE L. BARROWS Published by BERLIN ANILINE WORKS:
"Agfa"-Blitzlicht is a scientific combination of chemicals of a different composition than the usual Magnesium and Potassium Chlorate mixture and possess the follow-
ing undisputed advantages:

1. Minimum smoke development.
2. Maximum amount of light.
3. The most rapid flash.
4. Silent discharge.
5. No danger of explosion.
6. Convenient packing.
7. Economy in use.

Inside the blue labelled tin (see picture to the far right) is a roll of corrugated cardboard, protecting a small glass bottle, closed by a cork bung, plus a small metal scoop, which the instructions on the screw capped bottle suggest has a capacity of ½grm when it holds a level scoop full.

Instructions on this blue label tin say (in less than good English !):
"Mix the contents of the small bottle, enclosed herein, with the Magnesium, by shaking well and keep the mixture well closed, especially while exposing. If the contents of the small bottle are no more dry as a powder, do not mix but return to us the glass to get a fesh one."
Made in Germany

Quantities to use, as shown on the label around the main cardboard packaging tube, are:
For portraits, about ¼grm
Small groups, about 1grm
Large groups, about 2-3grms
Very large groups, about 4-6grms.

1 level measure spoonful equals ½gramme.

Instructions and pictures sent by Gavin Ritchie for using The "Kodak" Amateur Flashlight Outfit.

The pages below have been scanned from a booklet entiteld "Picture-Making with the Nos. 2 and 2A Brownies". The No 2 Brownie was produced from 1901 to 1935 and the No 2A Brownie from 1907 to 1933. The booklet has a printer's reference K,W,200226 which probably means it was printed in February 1926.

The horizontal tray that held the flash powder was supplied packed within the outer tube. It had to be withdrawn from that tube and then push-fit attached onto the top of the outer tube, so that the outer tube became a handle with which to hold the complete flashlight. As well as the tray, the outfit included (packed within the outer tube) a glass phial with a stopper at each end. This phial contained, and kept separate, two powders. These two powders had to be mixed together before use. Thereafter, a small quantity was placed in the tray. The total mixed powder quantity was sufficient for 20 to 25 exposures. A glass phial of the powders could be purchased separately, to restock the outfit (which is believed to be the source of the second phial in two of the pictures below).

Although not obvious in the pictures, there is a small slot with a tin 'barb' at one end of the tray, designed to impale or wedge a burning matchstick or other lighted taper. To cause the flash, you tilted the tray forward, causing the powder to be ignited by the flaming match (see the scanned diagram below).

Flash Bulbs ~ History

I understand from Brian Wilkinson (PCCGB Member) that the modern form of Flash Bulb was patented in 1925 by Dr Paul Vierkotter in Germany, though flash bulbs using magnesium ribbon date back to around 1900. Wikipedia says "The flash-lamp was invented by Joshua Cohen (a.k.a. Joshua Lionel Cowen of the Lionel toy train fame) in 1899. It was granted U.S. patent number 636,492."

Amateur Photographer magazine for 10th September 1930 contains a report (page 244) on the 'Sashalite' flashbulb:

"According to the 'Morning Post', flashpowder is likely to be superseded for photographic purposes. The British rights in a new invention have been acquired by Mr. Alexander Stewart, a professional photographer carrying on business under the name of Sasha- hence the word coined for the lamp - 'Sashalite'.
This lamp is an oxygen-filled bulb in which aluminium foil is burned, ignition being accomplished by a 4-volt battery. No details are given as to whether bulbs will be available for charges of different capacity, but it is clear that no single charge of foil would be suitable for all conditions and circumstances.
It is claimed that the light, although powerful, is soft and diffused, less trying to the eyes than flashpowder, and that there is neither noise nor smoke when the charge is fired. As has been claimed, it will now be possible to take photographs in circumstances where the use of powder is out of the question-for example, in coal mines and operating theatres.
The 'Morning Post' published some exclusive photographs, taken with the 'Sashalite' of the engine-room and other compartments of a submarine. These were not only interesting as unusual subjects, but they indicated a high technical standard. The manufacture of the lamps has already commenced, and professional and commercial photographers particularly will await further information with considerable interest."

"Judging from the information given, the 'Sashalite' is strongly reminiscent of a lamp invented about 1900 by Mr.Smith of the Platinotype Co. An improved form, specially adapted for studio portraiture, was fully illustrated and described in the issue of "Photography" for March 7th, 1901, page 180, as follows:
"Inside a globe was an arrangement for carrying twelve strips of magnesium ribbon, each isolated so that it could be burnt without affecting the other strips. Oxygen was passed into the globe, and the ribbon was burnt by making electric contact which caused a fine wire to become white hot so that it ignited a small piece of touch-paper in contact with the ribbon. A single length of ribbon was sufficient for an ordinary portrait.
When all the strips of ribbon had been used it was an easy matter to recharge the globe. Provision was made for taking up, by means of a rubber bag, the products of combustion, and for refilling the globe with oxygen. The whole thing was highly effective for its purpose, but was not comparable with the compact equipment of the modern Press photographer. The "Sashalite" is therefore likely to become very popular for difficult subjects."

See also images relating to Sashalite here (from Charlie Kamerman) including (2nd image down), an instruction leaflet from the packaging of a 'Baby' Sashalite bulb (supplied by Brian Rees). To save this instruction leaflet as a pdf, click here.

Michael Langford in his book "The Story of Photography" agrees with the date of 1925 for the arrival of 'modern' flashbulbs, though Brian Coe and Paul Gates in their excellent book "The Snapshot Photograph - The rise of Popular Photography, 1888-1939" (ISBN 004069 14 1) tells us that the flashbulb was a development of the 1930s (probably referring to a time when flash bulbs became mass produced and entered general usage).

Flash bulbs were relatively expensive for the first two or more decades of their mass availability. It wasn't until the introduction of small capless bulbs in 1955 that their cost became acceptable to most ordinary amateurs. Hence the continued use of flash powder into the 1950s.

In the 'Readers Write' section of Amateur Photographer magazine for 2nd February 1966, a Mr.D.S.Smith admonishes a Mr.M.Russell for complaining that flash costs were still high in 1966 at 9d (4p) per bulb. Mr Smith writes:
"FLASH COSTS: YOU NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD.
Mr.M.Russell of Oxford complains about the cost of flashbulbs at 9d each. I beg to differ from him.
I started as an amateur in 1946, soon became interested in flash photography, and was pleased to obtain some Sashalite bulbs at 2s (10p) each. Remember, this was 20 years ago when a £1 was worth a £1, not 12s 6d (62.5p) or whatever it is now. These bulbs were the size of a l00w household lamp, and could not be used at faster than 1/25 sec as their time to peak was not consistent, the burning time being about 1/25 sec, give or take a few milliseconds!
I then graduated through Philips PF14s at, I believe, 1s.1d each (5.5p), PF25s at 1s.6d or 1s.9d (8p), PF24s at 2s each (10p) for focal plane use on my pre-war Leica purchased for £89.10s (£89 50p) in 1949 and Speed Midgets at 1s.3d (6p).
In 1951 I took the plunge and bought my first electronic flash. It weighed 171b (7.7kg), cost more than £60 and gave no more light than an A.G.1 Today's amateur never had it so good with all the moderate priced equipment available, with specifications never dreamt of at the price in my early days. If Mr. Russell still thinks flashbulbs are expensive, he should stop grousing and get one of the very moderately priced electronics (weight just a few ounces)." London, N.1. D.S.SMITH.

A Kobold advertisement in the February 1959 edition of PhotoGuide Magazine, claimed that in 1958 ~ 10,000,000 flash bulbs were used in Britain and 800,000,000 in the USA.

Various metals were used to provide the 'flash' in flash bulbs. According to "Artificial Light and Photography" by Riek and Verbeek (Philips Technical Library), the light output from various metals, expressed in lumens per milligram, are:
Zirconium = 441; Magnesium = 700; Aluminium = 750; Aluminium with 8% Magnesium = 850. (Ref: AP magazine, Readers Ask, 16th May 1962).

Flash Synchronisation

By the late 1930s manufacturers began to incorporate flash synchronisation into their cameras. Brian Coe & Paul Gates suggest "the first mass produced camera with this facility being the Falcon Press Flash in 1939. Other early flash cameras were the Agfa Shur-Flash and the Kodak Six-20 Flash Brownie box camera, both of 1940." Brian Wilkinson adds the Kine Exakta of 1936 to this list.

Post-WW2, over the next 10 years, it became the 'norm' for cameras to be equipped with flash synchronised shutters and the retro-fitting of such a facility to non-synchronised shutters was also available e.g. Wallace Heaton charged £4 in October 1952 and this cost had fallen to 'only' £2.18s (£2.90p) 'for most shutters' by December 1954. Alternatively, it was possible to fit an attachment to the cable release socket which fired the shutter and the flashgun together.

However, the (subsequently universal) 3mm (1/8") coaxial plug didn't become the UK standard means of attaching a flashgun until perhaps the mid-1950s. Even then, simple box cameras continued to use proprietary plug fittings into the early 1960s. The German camera industry standardised on the 3mm coaxial plug rather earlier, no doubt influenced by the Zeiss organisation with its shares in both Gauthier & Compur shutters. The BJPA for 1953 describes a new range of Gauthier shutters, the 'Vario', 'Pronto', 'Prontor-S' and 'Prontor SV', all fitted with a 3mm coaxial flash synchronisation socket. The Synchro-Compur shutter of 1951 also featured this synchronisation connector.

A very full set of flash lead converters was being advertised by Wallace Heaton even in the early 1960s. Their 1961-62 'Blue Book' lists the following converters to make your flashgun equipped with a 'standard' 3mm coaxial connector, fit the following cameras:
Semflex 9/3d (46p); Exakta 2-pin 5/9d (29p); Praktica 5/9d; Kodak A.S.A bayonet (presumably the American Standard) 3/9d (19p); Argus 5/9d; Old Prontor - 3.8mm 3/9d; Ensign bayonet 3/10d (19p); Leica M3 5/9d.

The A.S.A bayonet was (?) as illustrated left, fitted to a Kodak Dakon shutter on a Six-20 Folding Brownie, made in Gt.Britain between 1948 and 1954.

An attachment could convert a 3mm coaxial socket to receive a flashgun with an A.S.A bayonet plug, 5/9d. The illustration alongside, taken from Wallace Heaton's Blue Book, shows (LHS) the plug on the end of an A.S.A lead and (RHS) a converter to enable a shutter with a 3mm coaxial to use a an A.S.A flashgun.

Flashgun leads were also available to wire into a flashgun circuit and so change its shutter fitting. Leads to convert to:
Rollei 9/6d (47.5p); W.H. Compur type 5/- (25p); Reid 18/- (90p); Kodak A.S.A bayonet 6/- (30p); Agilux 6/6d (32.5p); Ilford Craftsman 5/4d (27p); Alpa 13/- (65p); Duolux 5/3d (26p).

The Ilford booklet advertising "Photographic Materials & Accessories" (around 1955) from which the advert below is taken, illustrates and describes three flashguns capable of attaching to a synchronised shutter, the Envoy 'Minor', the Envoy 'Major' and the Envoy 'Zing'. "The type of camera connection lead required i.e. Compur, B.S.S. (a 2-pin female to fit the Ilford Envoy) or Ilford (2-pin male, to fit the Ilford Advocate and Craftsman), should be stated when ordering."

The Standard fitting on an Envoy Flash Gun lead was the female Envoy 2-pin (as picture, above).

The BJPA 1955 review (pages 228-229) of the Envoy Major and Envoy Minor flashguns read:
ENVOY MAJOR AND MINOR FLASHGUNS (Photo Developments Ltd., Leonard Road, Birmingham, 19. Marketed by Ilford Ltd., Ilford, London)

These two flashguns are of exactly similar outward appearance, the difference between them being simply that the Major is of the battery-capacitor type and the Minor is a straight-forward battery-powered gun.

The body of the guns is a reasonably compact and rectangular black plastic moulding carrying the 5in. reflector on its front face. The size of the body is 3½ x 2¾ x 1.375in, and in the case of the Minor gun this just comfortably holds the 4½volt flat torch battery. The reflector is removable and is held in place on the front of the battery casing by a bayonet fitting. The guns are designed to accept only flashbulbs with an ASCC cap, and no bulb ejector is fitted.

The camera bracket is a light-alloy strip which has turned over edges as stiffening, and three camera-fixing screw positions are provided, the farthest from the battery casing giving a separation of 3¾in. A 9in. connecting lead is fitted, and this is supplied with either a 3mm co-axial connector or a B.S.S. 2pin socket. In the case of the Minor gun sent for review, the lead is not secured to the battery casing except at the point at which it makes contact by being clamped under a brass strip. In view of the light gauge of the conductor it would seem preferable to have a more secure clamp for the connecting cable, since as it stands a very light pull is liable to pull the connecting lead away from its anchorage.

An open-flash button is provided on the top of the battery casing, and the Minor may be converted into the Major gun by the addition of a capacitor unit which costs 11s. 3d. The price of the Minor gun is 15s. 0d. plus 4s. 11d. purchase tax. and the Major costs £1 1s. 0d. plus 6s. 10d. purchase tax.

The Envoy 'Zing' flashgun advert specifies "A battery is not supplied, and flash leads are extra."

There are also two flashguns for 'Open Flash' photography, where the shutter is opened on B(ulb), the flash is fired and then the shutter is closed. This facilitated flash photography for those with a camera that didn't have a flash synchronised shutter.

Ilford also distributed three electronic flashguns, manufactured by Clive Courtenay & Co. Ltd; of Horsham Road, Dorking, Surry. They are the 'Cub' at £15.15s.6d, batteries extra (£15.78p), the 'Litepak' at £21.6s.4d without batteries (£21.32p) and the 'Courier' Mark II, priced from £30.9s (£30.45p) to £41.19s.9d (£41.99p).

By the second half of the 1950s it seems even British flashgun manufacturers conceded that the German DIN 3mm coaxial PC lead was standard and units with other connectors disappeared.

An Ilford Junior flash gun, box and instruction leaflet (picture by David Muggleton).
It is an 'open' flashgun, meaning it doesn't have an electrical lead enabling it to be plugged into automatic flash synchronisation contacts on a camera shutter. In use, the camera shutter would be opened using the Bulb or Time setting, the flash fired and the shutter closed again. The camera would have been on a tripod or resting on a rigid surface. The subject would have needed to keep still, though in a dimly lit room the film would have been mainly exposed only by the short duration of the flash, so minor movement would have been 'frozen'.

It comprises a black plastic battery case, a white reflector and a diffusing cover (missing) and cost 6s/6d (33p). The battery would have been pressed through a hole in the base. When the terminals on the battery and bulb touched together, the bulb fired. It used bulbs having ASCC bayonet caps and required a GEC BA 6115 Photoflash Cell battery, price 9d (4p). The original instructions, dating from late 1956 (date code M56) can be read as a pdf file here.

By the late 1950s, even low cost cameras were manufactured with facility for automatic flash synchronisation, so that the 'open flash' technique (see above) was no longer required. The Prontor-Compur (PC) DIN flash plug and shutter socket connection had become standard. All the folllowing Ilford flashguns have a PC connector, though the flashgun for the Sportina (see below) also permits synchronisation via the camera's 'hot-shoe', which was the next stage of simplifying synchronsation by building the electrical contacts directly into the accessory shoe (by 1963)- thus avoiding the need for a connecting lead. The Ilfoflash, principally designed for the Ilfomatic camera range, only has the 'hot shoe' contact.

Ilford brought out two flashguns contemporary with their Sportsman & Sporti camera range. The Sportslite instructions suggest March 1959 (coincident with the Style 2 Sportsman) - my thanks to Peter Williams for this date information. Both flashguns are included in Amateur Photographer's 'Lighting & Flash Guide' October 1960, which suggest they were contemporary; the advert (left) is dated 5th October 1960.

Simon Cooper has e-mailed to tell me his Sportilux instruction leaflet has 'A61' as a footnote, indicating it wasn't printed until January 1961. But this might simply be that the original leaflet got reprinted.

A new version of the Sportilux was announced in April 1961 (Ref: Cameras & Equipment magazine, April 14th 1961) fitted with a 3.5" reflector. By turning the reflector in a clockwise direction, both the capacitor and battery chambers become accessible for inspection. Complete with a plastic zip case, it cost £1.2s.6d (£1.13p).

Both take 'capless' bulbs, as introduced in 1955 e.g the Philips P.F.1 (8d each =3p) and the blue (for daylight balanced colour slide film) P.F.1B (9d each =4p).

The Ilford Sportilux was perhaps intended to compliment the simpler Sporti camera range. It has a non-folding reflector, but nontheless has a compact shape. With its simpler construction it was of lower cost than the Sportslite, £1.2s.6d =£1.13p including a zip-fastened case. It takes a 22.5v B122 battery. For calculating the exposure, the instructions direct the user to 'the handy exposure guide printed on the flashgun carton'.

To insert the 22.5v B122 battery the Sportilux reflector is twisted slightly anti-clockwise so that it can be removed from the central bulb holder. The battery plus & minus contacts must then be orientated to match + / - marks moulded into the plastic beneath the capacitor. The flash connector plug is a PC (Prontor Compur) which was standard by 1960.

The Sportslite has an unusual folding reflector which extends out of the central 'stem' when the surround to the bulb socket is rotated. The mechanism is constructed on similar principles to a lens iris diaphragm.

In October 1960 it cost £1.18s.10d = £1.94p in a zipped case (excluding the battery). This flashgun runs off a 22.5v B122 battery (see below). It has 'push-button bulb ejection' and is "supplied with 10 inches of cable with co-axial plug." A useful flash exposure guide is moulded into the cream plastic body.

The Sportslite was reviewed in the BJPA for 1960 (pages167-168).
SPORTSLITE FLASHGUN (Ilford Limited, Ilford, Essex)
Incorporating a very original design of fan reflector, this is a most attractive little battery/capacitor unit for capless bulbs. The case is made from cream plastic, and measures only 3½x1¾x7/8in with an integrally moulded 2½in diameter frontal extension to take the reflector. Total weight is 2½oz.

The back of the casing clips in and gives immediate access to the battery (22½volt B122 type) and capacitor (100 mfd)-both units merely being slipped between strong spring terminals permanently marked for polarity. A 9in lead with integral co-axial plug, a moulded plastic accessory foot and a push-button bulb ejector complete the casing equipment. A table showing aperture settings at various distances for PF1 and PF5 bulbs used with Ilford FP3, HP3 and Colour F films is moulded on the back of the lid.

Coming to the reflector, this is best described by comparing it with the iris diaphragm of a lens, with the action from the centre instead of from the perimeter. It is made up from eight crescent-shaped stainless steel leaves and an inner disc bearing two projections. A few degrees clockwise turn of the disc by means of the projections opens the reflector up to a 3¾in diameter cup of about ¾in depth; the reverse action closes it. It would be difficult to imagine a neater or quicker action than this, and in its closed position the reflector is well protected by the plastic disc already mentioned.
Price of the Sportslite flashgun (in 1959), complete with plastic zip pouch, is £1 3s 3d plus 6s 6d purchase tax (£1.64p).

The reflector hinges upwards for use. There is a moulded accessory shoe for fitting the flashgun to a camera and a standard 3mm DIN coaxial flash synchronisation lead.

The second picture shows the Ilfolite with the lower front cover removed, showing the smaller (than the B122) B154 15volt battery and the capacitor circuit which had become a standard feature of most all flashguns by this date. It ensured more certain firing of the flashbulb.

The Ilfolux was a compact capacitor circuit flashgun and included a built-in test lamp. It had a rotary exposure calculator on the rear, calibrated in ASA and DIN film speeds.

The 'iris' type reflector, which opens out by a small twist of the central disc surrounding the bulb fitting, is reminiscent of the Sportslite. It opens to 3.75" (95mm) diameter. When closed, the reflector is 2.6" (66mm) diameter.

The overall size of the folded unit is 3.5"x2.6"x1.3", fitting into a plastic 'zip up' case. It was priced at £1.17s.6d. (£1.88). My thanks to Peter Williams for information on the Ilfolux.

The Ilfolux was no longer available by Nov.1967.

The battery is a 15Volt Ever Ready type B154 (see below). The capacitor is rated at 150µF.

At the top of the enclosure, above the flashbulb socket, is a test lamp, being an ordinary torch type screw fitting bulb rated at 3.8Volt, 0.07Amp. A small white sprung press button, to the right of the bulb in the picture, closes the test circuit. A 2,000ohm resistor limits the current flow through the flash bulb during charging of the capacitor but enables the test bulb to glow visibly through the small green plastic 'dome' on top of the enclosure. When the camera shutter is fired, the full 15Volt potential is available via the capacitor to fire the flash bulb.

Right is shown the flash exposure calculator on the rear of the Ilfolux. By setting the arrow to point to the film speed e.g. 100ASA, the correct aperture can be read off for a range of distances e.g f8 at 3m. The same Guide No. (approx. 24 in metres with 100ASA film) is applied to AG1, PF1 and PFB bulbs.

AG1 miniature capless flashbulbs, enabling even more compact flashguns.

"Cameras & Equipment" magazine carried a page long article in their January 6th 1961 edition, entitled "America's Wonder Bulb - The AG1". It read:

After years of tantalising announcements by the manufacturers, American photographers are now rapidly changing over to the new 'jelly bean' flashbulb, the AGl. Almost half the size of the smallest bulbs used in this country (i.e. the UK), being the capless No.1 and PF1, the AGl gives practically the same effective light output.
The AGl is the first capless bulb to be produced in America. However for the time being it will not completely replace the pinless base M2 bulb which has been the "standard" for several years and which gives a practically identical light output. The reason for this is that the AGl requires a much smaller reflector than either the M2, or our own PF1 and No.1, and so in order to utilise the light output effectively, a 2" or 3" polished reflector is recommended. By using the standard 4" or 5" reflector recommended for PF1, No.1, or M2 bulbs, the effective light output drops by about a stop. Therefore most AGl converters available in the States include not just a base adaptor, but also a new reflector.
Compact and Baseless
Several reasons contributed to the decision by manufacturers to introduce the AGl in competition with the well established M2 bulbs. Compact size was only one of the reasons. Just as important was the fact that the bulb is baseless. Baseless bulbs are cheaper to produce since the cost of the metal base, and the extra step needed to attach it to the bulb, is eliminated.
Because the bulbs are so small, design engineers realised that it would be possible to make magazine loading, repeater flashguns. Here they had a real sales gimmick, for the ability to run through a magazine of flashbulbs at the rate of a shot a second could not be equalled by most electronic flashunits. And of course, with the small bulb size, a flashgun and bulbs takes up less space than the smallest electronic flashes on the market.
Flashgun manufacturers co-operated in designing single shot flashguns that were smaller, more compact and efficient than had ever been known before. Many types of repeater flashguns were also produced, most no larger than the one-shot units designed for M2 bulbs.
For many years the AGl was just something photographers had been hearing about - but were never seen. Introduction of the bulbs on the market had been delayed by manufacturing problems caused by squeezing so much power into such a small space. The bulbs use zirconium wire, as do our PFl's, but the small size necessitates using very high oxygen pressure inside the bulb-about double the pressure that had formerly been considered "standard."
As a result, early production bulbs were exploding during use at a rate considered intolerable. They were taken off the market as production technicians sought for ways to beat the problem. They succeeded and now the AGl's are pouring out of the factories and are becoming an increasing proportion of the 750,000,000 flashbulbs sold in America every year.
AGl's are being imported into the UK in limited quantities and sell for 1s each. Since this is 4d more than PF1 or No.1, it is unlikely that the imported bulbs will achieve much popularity, except among photographers requiring the "rapid fire" feature.
But at the same time there are very strong rumours that several of the largest electrical firms in this country are gearing up to manufacture AGl bulbs, and that in about a year British made bulbs will be on sale at about 6d.

By January 27th 1961, Cameras & Equipment announced:
"More News of the AG1"
AG-1 flashbulbs are to be imported into the UK under the name Mazdaflash and distributed by Photo-Science Ltd; 165, Wandsworth Bridge Road, Fulham, London, S.W.6.
The bulbs will retail at 10s (50p) per dozen, with the blue bulbs (AG-1/B) at 11s (55p) per dozen.

The AG1 design of bulb is believed to have been first announced in 1959, though the article above suggests they were not readily available in the UK until early 1961. Their size is some 12mm diameter x 34mm long. The AG1B (blue) produced 5500 lumen seconds of light; Guide Number of 110 in feet, 33 in metres, for ISO 100 film @ 1/30sec. This was largely superceded by the AG3B (as the pack illustrated) which gave out 7500 lumens seconds, the same as a blue PF1B and the same as the original clear AG1.

"Silent1", writing on this webpage, suggests that AG stood for "All Glass" -- as opposed to prior bulbs that had metal bases. He says "Eliminating both the base and the multiple manufacturing steps to attach it, electrically and mechanically, to the glass envelope, cut the cost of these bulbs substantially compared to the larger M series. There was a larger version of the AG-1, called the AG-3, which had about the same light output as an M3 capped bulb, but the AG-1 was always the baseless (capless) standard, since by the time the AG-1 appeared, most photographers were using film fast enough that they didn't need the greater light output of the larger bulbs".

Now, in February 2021, Bill Rudersdorf (in Houston, Texas) says "As a budding chemist, I remember that the AG-3 flashbulbs had a rarely mentioned feature. They had a short production life, soon to be replaced by flashcubes for the amateur market and strobes (electronic flashguns) for the more advanced photographers. The novelty of AG-3 bulbs was that the final metal they used – for the ultimate micro flashbulb – was not magnesium, nor zirconium, but hafnium. Also, the bulbs used a heavier glass envelope and higher pressure oxygen. But hafnium was the main innovation in trying to squeeze the last bit of light from that tiny bulb! See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafnium.

More flash innovation followed by the 1970s, one being the 'Flip Flash'. An interesting article on these flash bulbs, with illustrations, can be read here. My thanks to the site author, the 'Evil Mad Scientist', and also to Gavin Ritchie for pointing this article out to me.

When Ilford introduced the Sportina Rapid camera range in 1965 they introduced a complimentary styled flashgun especially for this camera.

By the time of the October 1969 AP 'Lighting & Flash Guide', none of the above flashguns are listed. Ilford are only promoting the miniature Ilfoflash to compliment their Ilfomatic cameras, or those Ilfomatics without in-built flash facility, namely the Ilfomatic Compact and Universal 50. It was made in Macau (a Portugese colony at the time of the Ilfoflash manufacture, west of Hong Kong, but returned to Chinese rule in Dec 1999).

The Ilfoflash is barely 60mm tall, including its attachment 'shoe' which has a centre electrical contact (hot shoe). The Ilfoflash width is some 40mm and its depth some 25mm. It takes AG type miniature flashbulbs.

The battery is a 15v Ever Ready B154 or similar and fires bulbs via a capacitor circuit. The battery is accessible by prising off the front reflector.

It cost 17s.9d (89p) in 1969 (or 13s.9d=69p in Nov.1967). The box in the photographs (left) is marked 16s.4d (81.5p).

On the rear of the gun is a simple flash exposure calculator for AG1B bulbs. The black disc above the calculator table is the bulb eject button.

Johnsons, both under their own brand and as distributors, sold many flash outfits throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

During the early 1950s these were a mixture of 'Open Flash' systems for firing flash bulbs by people possessing only simple, non flash synchronised, cameras, together with more sophisticated, and ever more compact, capacitor flash bulb firing outfits for use with synchronised shutters.

The advertisement alongside, maybe 1952, shows what was possibly the earliest of the Johnson capacitor flash guns. Like the 'Open Flash' systems above, this early capacitor unit seems to have been based upon a conventional flashlight torch body.

This design seems to have been refined during the next 12months into the Johnson Capacitor Flashgun Model 0, becoming much more the compact shape that became the standard 'look' for all such designs (see below). Peter Davies has been good enough to provide me with a pdf of the instructions for this early, compact format, bulb flashgun, named, in December 1953, the Model 0. Click here, on on the image, to down load these.

By the mid-1950s the first electronic flash systems appeared alongside the bulb flash units. Over the next decade, bulb flash was largely superceded by electronic flash, as electronic flash units became cheaper, smaller and lighter.

Johnsons of Hendon claimed (1965) that the world's first camera with a built-in electronic flashgun was Voigtländer's Vitrona. I believe the camera first appeared in 1964. Similar to the contemporary Vito C, the addition of the electronic flashgun more than doubled the Vito C's price of £20.18s (£20.90p) with f2.8 Lanthar lens.

The electronic flash tube and reflector were housed in the top of the camera and the 'flash ready' light was visible in the viewfinder as well as on top of the camera. The 'quickly detachable' pistol grip housed the batteries and capacitor. The Guide Number was 60 with 50ASA colour film. The user had only to set the camera-subject distance and the correct aperture was set automatically. The lens was a Lanthar f2.8 50mm in a Prontor 250 shutter.

Price in 1965, including batteries, was £57.5s.1d (£57.25p), ever ready case another £5.5s.3d (£5.26p).