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| History |
The History of Autotype
The Autotype Company opened its doors in Brixton in 1868. The registered office was in the West End of London and the company's first logo was the rising sun - an appropriate emblem for a company which specialised in imaging technology at the dawn of photography.
The carbon method of reproducing images was patented first by Swan and subsequently perfected to become 'autotype'. This method was particularly appropriate for fine reproduction and provided permanent prints of outstanding tonality, much liked by the Victorians.
In its infancy Autotype was also a publishing house and by 1869 the Swan method had been further refined so that kits were sold with everything needed to reproduce hundreds of autotype prints. Some of the technology developed during that decade continued to be used well into the 20th century.
A new company was floated in 1870, also called Autotype Fine Art Company and its premises moved from Brixton to Ealing, in West London. It is worth remembering that Ealing was then a rural suburb of London and not yet integrated in the current sprawl of that metropolis.
Manufacture of carbon paper continued in Ealing well into the 20th century, though by 1872 Autotype had already diversified in a variety of other photographic processes, such as the photo-collographic one. This process was later adopted by the British Museum as their preferred method to reproduce ancient manuscripts. By the late 1870s the company had grown from a handful of employees to over 70 staff (including a large number of women).
From carbon papers, Autotype moved quickly into photogravure and by the first decade of the 20th century photogravure manufacturing represented over 25% of the company turnover.
Autotype had remained a family firm until then. However, when the son of the first founder died in action in the Great War the company passed into the hands of his executor, in whose hands it stayed for another 40 years.
Regardless of the recession of 1932 the company continued to invest in new technology, with a state-of-the-art coating machine purchased for £962 from a local engineering company. The period between the two wars was one of intense diversification with photogravure representing nearly 90% of all sales.
During the second war, Autotype undertook to do some work for the British government and one of the coating machines had to be dispatched to Canada for safe keeping, in case the factory in Ealing was bombed.
After 1946 Autotype expanded dramatically into the screen market (although stencil making products had been supplied since the early part of that century) and by the 1950s screen making materials were at the core of Autotype production.
From 1960 onwards progress proceeded at breakneck speed, in parallel with the technological development of the latter part of the 20th century.
By 1976 Ealing had become well and truly incorporated into the fabric of the metropolis and the Board saw it fit to move to larger premises, in order to expand production. By 1978 Autotype had moved to Wantage, south of Oxford. There are currently no traces of the old factory in Ealing as the site was used by the Ealing council to provide social housing.
The last decades of the 20th century saw another shift in technology, with Autotype moving into digital printing applications, materials for electronic and EL displays, IMD and precision nano-replication.
At the start of the 21st century precision coating, product durability and reliability are central to all our manufacturing processes, just as it was at the company's inception at the dawn of photography, almost 140 years ago.
On June 14th 2005 Autotype International was acquired by MacDermid Inc. of Denver, Colorado.
For further information on the history of Autotype, you can email, feedback@autotype.com
Did you know? You can view several Autotype prints produced in the XIX century and still in excellent conditions, at Killerton,
Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon (tel 01392 881345). Killerton is a National Trust property built in 1778, in delightful surroundings.
Additionally, a collection of Autotype Prints can also be viewed at the Manchester Central Library. The portfolios contain about 100 fine art prints, mostly on works by Raphael. For further information access www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries
Did you know? It is estimated that an Autotype print could last 500 years (or longer in appropriate conditions).
Interested in the history of Autotype? In September 2005 we published a comprehensive book on our history to celebrate our third Queen's Award. The book is available from Amazon or you can contact us for further information.
If you are interested in the autotype printing process, we have recently scanned the 1898 manual: 'The A B C to the Autotype Permanent Photography'. If you would like a copy of the electronic file in PDF format, please contact us. |
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