ILFORD Companies acquired during c1920s


Paget Prize Plate Co. Ltd.

A paper envelope holding 22 sheets of 3½" x 2½" glossy self-toning Collodion paper
(Needs Fixing Only).
Price 1/- (5p) - worth about £10 in 2009
using average earnings as the comparative index,
or £2.50 on an inflationary scale.

   

Wellington & Ward Co. Ltd 

The 12th Edition of the Wellington Photographic Handbook, published in 1922 (see frontispiece, above right). The Preface states:
"Our Factories, ideally situated at Elstree Near London, are under the same management as heretofore, and have the benefit of the personal direction of Mr.J.B.B.Wellington (Scientific Partner), Mr.H.W.Hall (Managing Partner) and Mr.H.H.Ward (Engineering Partner).

"Never a day passes without our receiving gratifying testimony to the value of our goods, and it will always be our endeavour to maintain the fine reputation which the WELLINGTON Products have gained for themselves all over the world".

Paul Godfrey has made available a scan of the 15th edition of "The Wellington Photographic Handbook", which must date to the latter 1920s, as WELLINGTON & WARD, LTD..ELSTREE, HERTS had been assimilated into Ilford, Ltd by 1930.

   

The print envelope above is by Wellington & Ward and probably dates from the 1920s. It advertises daylight Seltona printing paper which 'The Wellington Photographic Handbook' (see above) describes as "a Collodion self toning paper, only needing fixing in hypo for the production of beautiful sepia tones. No medium is capable of producing prints of better quality or more artistic colour, yet it is the simplest paper to work".

S.C.P. Gaslight paper was a 'Slow Contact Paper' that could be exposed via the light of a gaslight or a low wattage electric bulb. Provided the paper was protected from the direct rays of such lights, it could be handled and subsequently developed and fixed in the same room as the one where the contact printing exposure took place, making possible the use of a room used for other purposes, with no need of a temporary darkroom.

Anti-Screen plates and roll films were 'isochromatic' light sensitive emulsions; seemingly a description of film with sufficient sensitivity to yellow and green light that there was no need for a speed depleting yellow filter to be fitted to the lens to control its otherwise excessive sensitivity to blue light.

My thanks to Brian Rees for the above print envelope.

   

The scan alongside came from Ian Grant who tells me his BJPA for 1928 seems probably one of the last with all the indenpendent companies like Illingworth's, Wellington & Ward etc. Also has A.P.M.

The advertisement alongside was scanned by Ian from a book on enlarging. "There's no date in the book but it's the 3rd Edition and 7 Editions were printed between 1910 & 1924". The cover is shown below.

The Wellington & Ward image left , plus the two below, were sent to me by "David". Thanks for the scans.

David says "The Cupid came from the back of one of the paper packs".

For a pdf leaflet giving directions for use of Wellington Bromide Papers (Platino, Ordinary, Carbon, Cream Crayon, Chamois and Enammo) click here. Courtesy of Brian Rees.

   

Illingworth & Co. Ltd.
   

Scan above from "David".
For a pdf instruction leaflet describing Illingworth's 'Slogas' Gaslight Paper and 'Enitone' Self-Toning Paper, click here.
Courtesy of Brian Rees.
The Ilford historical book 'Silver by the Ton', on page 94 relates:
"In the Japan-British Exhibition in London, 1910, IIlingworth won gold medals for its self toning papers and for its enlargements, but the main feature of an advertisement announcing these awards was the introduction of Slogas, hailed as 'a new epoch in
photographic development papers'. The name, implying a paper suitable for exposure to gaslight and slow enough not to need a proper darkroom, lasted over 20 years".
Slogas gaslight paper was still being advertised by Illingworth's in the 4th January 1933 Amateur Photographer, but within the 1933 BJPA the Slogas name appears only within the Ilford list of advertisement products.
Hence it seems that, by 1933, Illingworth's had been fully subsumed within Ilford, Limited.
   

Picture above by courtesy of Stuart Allen.
Illingworth 'Slogas' deveveloper, suited to papers, plates and films.
Possibly diluted in 4 fluid ounces of water for papers and 8 fluid ounces for plates and films.
Believed to be a Johnson & Sons M.Q. developer formulation.
From the information below the Slogas gaslight paper packet (above), this equivalent developer may have been on the market from 1910 to the end of 1932.

Amateur Photographer magazine dated 31st July 1934 carries a 'small ad' on page 8 of a 'supplement' which reads:
"Bankrupt and salvage stock. — 2/6 buys fifty sixpenny or twenty-five shilling packets
Illingworth Slogas, Enitone, Wellington, Seltona, Paget Self-toning - all sizes and surfaces.
Lloyd’s Photographic Supplies, 87, Lamb’s Conduit St., London, W.C.
   

Front & rear cover (above) and inside(below) of an Illingworth print envelope, probably sized to take contact prints from roll film negatives.
Notice Ilford's Selo Soldier brand mark, showing the formal connection between Illingworth and Ilford Ltd

   

The Imperial Dry Plate Co. Ltd.
The next four images are from Steve Jones. Imperial became part of Ilford from around 1919, so with the absence of any mention of Ilford on the packaging, it seems likely this box dates pre-1920.

   

Packaging note that accompanied the plates inside the box. The picture to the right is believed to date to the same time though maybe from a different box of plates.

   
Below are two boxes of 'Special Rapid' plates from The Imperial Dry Plate Co. Ltd. The boxes are owned by Simon Tainton. They were purchased (2022) from Simon's local antiques (house clearance) store for £5. There are 29 plates in total, "mostly holiday snaps and a few portraits". One of the images is shown below and contains a magazine that dates the picture to 1921.

 

   

Simon reports that the 2 boxes contained 29 processed plates, mostly holiday snaps and a few portraits.
One of the images (below) shows a child on a sandy beach, sitting on a copy of The Strand Magazine.
Simon has discovered that the date of that issue (see opposite) was April 1921.
It isn't possible to be sure these images are on the actual Imperial Plates that were in the above boxes, but the date of 1921 is reasonable.
Imperial Dry Plate joined with Ilford around 1918, but products would have continued being sold in earlier packaging for some time while the combined organisations were rationalised.

   

   

Image below courtesy of Nita Fenton. Box of Imperial Sovereign Glass Plates.

This page last updated: 20th September 2024 (previously 3rd August 2019)