Warren T. Thompson (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Warren T. Thompson was an American
photographer. Between 1840 and 1846 Thompson worked in Philadelphia
and in 1843 refined Daniel Davis Jr.
's electroplating
method for colouring daguerreotypes by using a gum tragacanth
resist
. With this technique colours could be built up in the manner of some types of printmaking. According to editor of the in an article in the 1892American Journal of photography by editor Julius S Sachse, Thompson traveled to Paris in 1845 from New York without speaking any French and with an introduction from the Russian Consul in New York to the Russian Vice-Consul in Paris who in turn arranged an introduction to Russian photographer Sergei Lvovich Levitsky
. Levitsky is quoted by Sachse as declaring Thompson's daguerreotypes were 'works of art'. Sachse further claims that Thompson influenced for the development of portrait daguerreotypes in Paris. From 1849-50 Thompson was listed as a photographer at at 14 boulevarde Poissonnière, rue rue Basse-du-Rempart in 1851, then 22 rue de Choiseul from 1853-59. Levitsky returned to Russia by 1849 but came back to Paris by 1859 where he took over Thompson's Choiseul address. This was also the premises for the French arts club.
Thompson (aka as surname 'Warren-Thompson'} produced daguerreotypes in Paris as well as very fine stereo daguerreotypes and a number of theatrical self portraits some of very large size, but his body of known work is scant. The skill of his surviving work suggests he may have trained as a painter. For a pioneer era photographer whose role appears to have been quite prominent in Paris in the 1840s and 50s, Thompson's career is poorly known.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer. Between 1840 and 1846 Thompson worked in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and in 1843 refined Daniel Davis Jr.
Daniel Davis Jr. (photographer)
Daniel Davis Jr. was an American photographer, daguerreotypist and ambrotypist.In 1842 Daniel Davis Jr. patented a method for colouring daguerreotypes through electroplating, and his work was refined by Warren Thompson the following year....
's electroplating
Electroplating
Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode. The process uses electrical current to reduce cations of a desired material from a solution and coat a conductive object with a thin layer of the material, such as a metal...
method for colouring daguerreotypes by using a gum tragacanth
Tragacanth
Tragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes of the genus Astragalus, including A. adscendens, A. gummifer, A. brachycalyx, and A. tragacanthus. Some of these species are known collectively under the common names "goat's thorn" and "locoweed"...
resist
Photoresist
A photoresist is a light-sensitive material used in several industrial processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving to form a patterned coating on a surface.-Tone:Photoresists are classified into two groups: positive resists and negative resists....
. With this technique colours could be built up in the manner of some types of printmaking. According to editor of the in an article in the 1892American Journal of photography by editor Julius S Sachse, Thompson traveled to Paris in 1845 from New York without speaking any French and with an introduction from the Russian Consul in New York to the Russian Vice-Consul in Paris who in turn arranged an introduction to Russian photographer Sergei Lvovich Levitsky
Sergei Lvovich Levitsky
Count Sergei Lvovich Levitsky , is considered one of the patriarchs of Russian photography and one of Europe's most important early photographic pioneers, inventors and innovators.- Early life :...
. Levitsky is quoted by Sachse as declaring Thompson's daguerreotypes were 'works of art'. Sachse further claims that Thompson influenced for the development of portrait daguerreotypes in Paris. From 1849-50 Thompson was listed as a photographer at at 14 boulevarde Poissonnière, rue rue Basse-du-Rempart in 1851, then 22 rue de Choiseul from 1853-59. Levitsky returned to Russia by 1849 but came back to Paris by 1859 where he took over Thompson's Choiseul address. This was also the premises for the French arts club.
Thompson (aka as surname 'Warren-Thompson'} produced daguerreotypes in Paris as well as very fine stereo daguerreotypes and a number of theatrical self portraits some of very large size, but his body of known work is scant. The skill of his surviving work suggests he may have trained as a painter. For a pioneer era photographer whose role appears to have been quite prominent in Paris in the 1840s and 50s, Thompson's career is poorly known.