Joseph Bancroft Reade
Encyclopedia
Rev. Joseph Bancroft Reade FRS (5 April 1801 - 12 December 1870) was an English
clergyman, amateur scientist
and pioneer of photography
.
, he was the eldest of six sons and two daughters. His father, Thomas Shaw Bancroft (1776–1841), was a merchant
and Christian
pamphlet
eer who actively supported the British and Foreign Bible Society
. His mother, Sarah née Paley (d. 1825), was a relative of William Paley
. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School
, Trinity College, Cambridge
and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
, graduating
in 1825.
a deacon
in the Church of England
and became curate
of Kegworth
, Leicestershire
. He married Charlotte Dorothy Farish (1796–1882), niece of William Farish
in 1882. and the couple parented three children, none of whom lived beyond 21 years of age. Reade was ordained priest
in 1826 and took his master's degree
in 1828.
In 1829, Reade became curate of Halifax Parish Church
where he befriended amateur meteorologist John Waterhouse, who would later invent the Waterhouse stop
. In 1832 he took a part-time curacy at Harrow Weald
, and in 1834 became proprietor of a school in Peckham
.
John Lee
and the Royal Astronomical Society
jointly owned the advowson
of the parish of Stone, Buckinghamshire
and they appointed Reade vicar
in 1839. In his 20 years as incumbent, Reade established a school and an astronomical observatory
.
In 1859, Reade became vicar of Ellesborough
, Buckinghamshire
, and from 1863 until his death, rector
of Bishopsbourne
, near Canterbury
.Towards the end of his life, Reade suffered from cancer
and died from jaundice
at the Bishopsbourne rectory
. He was buried at St Mary's Church.
and, in particular, microscopy
. His first scientific paper in 1836 was on the use of a pair of convex lens
es to focus light
on a microscopic specimen without overheating. Reade was interested in chemistry
and botany
, performing microscopic investigations of various specimens including microfossils. His knowledge of metal
salt
s led to an 1846 ink
patent
. A design for a telescope
eyepiece
won a medal at The Great Exhibition
in 1851, and he designed a condenser
, known as "Reade's kettledrum" (1861), and a novel prism
(1869).
to hear William Fox Talbot
's first presentations on photography
in February 1839 and immediately started to experiment himself. Reade was also at the Royal Society on 14 March to hear Sir John Herschel
’s seminal paper on photography in which Herschel proposed sodium hyposulfite as a fixer
. Herschel also made some observations on the light sensitivity of silver carbonate
, nitrate
and acetate
as being superior to silver chloride
.
Reade began experimenting with light-sensitive substances and soon discovered that he could get much better results when the silver salt was applied not to paper but to tanned leather
. Allegedly, he used his wife's mittens for experiments. Reade conjectured that the difference in sensitivity was caused by gallic acid
used for tanning
, and indeed by treating paper with gallic acid before soaking it in silver nitrate solution, he could drastically increase the sensitivity.
In 1854, Reade testified at the Talbot v. Laroche
trial
, where Laroche tried to prove that Talbot's calotype
patent was invalid because the use of gallic acid was first discovered by Reade, from whom Talbot learned it. In his testimony, however, Reade upheld Talbot's originality explaining that while he had used gallic acid for preprocessing the light-sensitive paper, Talbot was the first to discover that gallic acid can reveal the latent image
in an already exposed paper, i.e. he was the first to develop a photographic material.
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...
clergyman, amateur scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and pioneer of photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
.
Early life
Born LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, he was the eldest of six sons and two daughters. His father, Thomas Shaw Bancroft (1776–1841), was a 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...
and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
eer who actively supported the British and Foreign Bible Society
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....
. His mother, Sarah née Paley (d. 1825), was a relative of William Paley
William Paley
William Paley was a British Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work Natural Theology, which made use of the watchmaker analogy .-Life:Paley was Born in Peterborough, England, and was...
. He was educated at Leeds Grammar School
Leeds Grammar School
Leeds Grammar School was an independent school in Leeds established in 1552. In August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically united in September 2008....
, Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
, graduating
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
in 1825.
Clerical career
Reade was ordainedOrdination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
and became curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of Kegworth
Kegworth
Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
. He married Charlotte Dorothy Farish (1796–1882), niece of William Farish
William Farish
William Farish may refer to:* William Farish , tutor at the University of Cambridge* William Stamps Farish I * William Stamps Farish II , Standard Oil president...
in 1882. and the couple parented three children, none of whom lived beyond 21 years of age. Reade was ordained priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1826 and took his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1828.
In 1829, Reade became curate of Halifax Parish Church
Halifax Parish Church
Halifax Minster in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England is dedicated to St John the Baptist. It is only one of two Minsters in West Yorkshire.-A brief history:...
where he befriended amateur meteorologist John Waterhouse, who would later invent the Waterhouse stop
Waterhouse stop
The Waterhouse stop or Waterhouse diaphragm is an interchangeable diaphragm with an aperture for controlling the entry of light into a camera. A thin piece of metal is drilled with a hole ; a set of these with varying hole sizes makes up a set of Waterhouse stops, corresponding to what today we...
. In 1832 he took a part-time curacy at Harrow Weald
Harrow Weald
Harrow Weald is an area in north-west London, England. It includes a suburban development and forms part of the London Borough of Harrow.-Locale, geography and history:...
, and in 1834 became proprietor of a school in Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
.
John Lee
John Lee (astronomer)
John Lee LL.D , born John Fiott, was an English philanthropist, astronomer, mathematician, antiquarian and barrister.-Family:...
and the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
jointly owned the advowson
Advowson
Advowson is the right in English law of a patron to present or appoint a nominee to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a process known as presentation. In effect this means the right to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish...
of the parish of Stone, Buckinghamshire
Stone, Buckinghamshire
Stone is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located southwest of the town of Aylesbury, on the A418 road that links Aylesbury to Thame...
and they appointed Reade vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
in 1839. In his 20 years as incumbent, Reade established a school and an astronomical observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
.
In 1859, Reade became vicar of Ellesborough
Ellesborough
Ellesborough is a village and civil parish in Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. The village is at the foot of the Chiltern Hills just to the south of the Vale of Aylesbury, two miles from Wendover and five miles from Aylesbury. It lies between Wendover and the village of Little Kimble...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and from 1863 until his death, rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Bishopsbourne
Bishopsbourne
Bishopsbourne is a small village in Kent, England. It lies in the Nailbourne valley some from Canterbury and about from Dover. It has a public house, The Mermaid, built in 1861, and a church, St Mary's, with 14th-century wall paintings. Author Joseph Conrad lived here and his house, "Oswalds",...
, near Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
.Towards the end of his life, Reade suffered from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and died from jaundice
Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellowish pigmentation of the skin, the conjunctival membranes over the sclerae , and other mucous membranes caused by hyperbilirubinemia . This hyperbilirubinemia subsequently causes increased levels of bilirubin in the extracellular fluid...
at the Bishopsbourne rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
. He was buried at St Mary's Church.
Scientific work
Reade was an enthusiastic amateur scientist. His first work was in opticsOptics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
and, in particular, microscopy
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
. His first scientific paper in 1836 was on the use of a pair of convex lens
Lens (optics)
A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
es to focus light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
on a microscopic specimen without overheating. Reade was interested in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, performing microscopic investigations of various specimens including microfossils. His knowledge of metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
s led to an 1846 ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
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....
. A design for a telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
eyepiece
Eyepiece
An eyepiece, or ocular lens, is a type of lens that is attached to a variety of optical devices such as telescopes and microscopes. It is so named because it is usually the lens that is closest to the eye when someone looks through the device. The objective lens or mirror collects light and brings...
won a medal 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...
in 1851, and he designed a condenser
Condenser (optics)
A Condenser is an optical lens which renders a divergent beam from a point source into a parallel beam illuminating an object. It is an essential part of any imaging device, such as microscopes, slide projectors, and telescopes...
, known as "Reade's kettledrum" (1861), and a novel prism
Prism (optics)
In optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. The exact angles between the surfaces depend on the application. The traditional geometrical shape is that of a triangular prism with a triangular base and rectangular sides, and in colloquial use...
(1869).
Photography
Reade was present at the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
to hear 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 first presentations on photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
in February 1839 and immediately started to experiment himself. Reade was also at the Royal Society on 14 March to hear Sir John Herschel
John Herschel
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...
’s seminal paper on photography in which Herschel proposed sodium hyposulfite as a fixer
Photographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
. Herschel also made some observations on the light sensitivity of silver carbonate
Silver carbonate
Silver carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula Ag2CO3. Silver carbonate is yellow but typical samples are grayish due to the presence of elemental silver. It is poorly soluble in water, like most transition metal carbonates. Silver carbonate is used as a reagent in organic synthesis...
, nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
and acetate
Silver acetate
Silver acetate is a photosensitive, white crystalline substance commonly used as a pesticide. It also produces a repulsive taste when combined with cigarette smoke, so it is used in chewing gum and lozenges to aid the cessation of smoking.-Isolation:Silver acetate, the silver salt form of acetic...
as being superior to silver chloride
Silver chloride
Silver chloride is a chemical compound with the chemical formula AgCl. This white crystalline solid is well known for its low solubility in water . Upon illumination or heating, silver chloride converts to silver , which is signalled by greyish or purplish coloration to some samples...
.
Reade began experimenting with light-sensitive substances and soon discovered that he could get much better results when the silver salt was applied not to paper but to tanned leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
. Allegedly, he used his wife's mittens for experiments. Reade conjectured that the difference in sensitivity was caused by gallic acid
Gallic acid
Gallic acid is a trihydroxybenzoic acid, a type of phenolic acid, a type of organic acid, also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid, found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plants. The chemical formula is C6H23COOH. Gallic acid is found both free and as part of...
used for tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, and indeed by treating paper with gallic acid before soaking it in silver nitrate solution, he could drastically increase the sensitivity.
In 1854, Reade testified at the Talbot v. Laroche
Talbot v. Laroche
Talbot v. Laroche was a 1854 legal action, pivotal to the history of photography, by which William Fox Talbot sought to assert that Martin Laroche's use of the, unpatented, collodion process infringed his calotype patent.-Background:...
trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
, where Laroche tried to prove that 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'....
patent was invalid because the use of gallic acid was first discovered by Reade, from whom Talbot learned it. In his testimony, however, Reade upheld Talbot's originality explaining that while he had used gallic acid for preprocessing the light-sensitive paper, Talbot was the first to discover that gallic acid can reveal the latent image
Latent image
A latent image on photographic film is an invisible image produced by the exposure of the film to light. When the film is developed, the area that was exposed darkens and forms a visible image...
in an already exposed paper, i.e. he was the first to develop a photographic material.
Offices and honours
- Member of the British Association for the Advancement of ScienceBritish Association for the Advancement of Scienceframe|right|"The BA" logoThe British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formerly known as the BA, is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between...
, (1831); - Fellow of the Royal Society, {1838);
- Microscopical Society
- Founding member, (1839);
- President;
- Founding member of the British Meteorological Society (1850};
- Photographic Society
- Member, (1855);
- Vice-president.