Frederick Scott Archer
Inventor of the collodion process that made photography widely accessible.
Frederick Scott Archer was an English chemist, photographer, inventor, and sculptor. He is best known for inventing the photographic collodion process in 1851, which greatly increased the accessibility of photography for the general public by combining the fine detail of the daguerreotype with the ability to print multiple paper copies like the calotype.
- born
- 30 August 1814
- died
- 1 May 1857
- field
- Chemistry, photography, sculpture
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Inventing the photographic collodion process
Lore & Background
Frederick Scott Archer was born in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, the fifth son and sixth of seven children of Thomas Archer, a butcher, and Elizabeth Scott. He left Hertford for London to apprentice as a goldsmith and silversmith with Benjamin Massey. On the recommendation of Edward Hawkins, he trained at the Royal Academy Schools as a sculptor and found calotype photography useful for capturing images of his sculptures.
Reader's Guide
Dissatisfied with the poor definition and contrast of the calotype and its long exposures, Archer invented the collodion process in 1848 and published it in The Chemist in March 1851 without patenting it, giving it as a gift to the world. This invention enabled photographers to combine the fine detail of the daguerreotype with the ability to print multiple paper copies like the calotype. Archer died impoverished on 1 May 1857 of a hereditary cystic disease of the liver, having made little money from his unpatented process. After his death, a public subscription raised £747 for his family, and a small pension supported his three children. His photographs are held in the Royal Photographic Society and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Did You Know?
- Archer published his collodion process in The Chemist in March 1851 without patenting it.
- He trained as a sculptor at the Royal Academy Schools on the recommendation of Edward Hawkins.
- He died of a hereditary cystic disease of the liver.
- His family received a gift of £747 after his death, raised by public subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Frederick Scott Archer?
He was an English chemist, photographer, and sculptor born in 1814 who became one of the key figures in early photographic history. He died in 1857, just six years after his most famous breakthrough.
What did Frederick Scott Archer invent?
In 1851 he developed the collodion photographic process, a technique that merged the crisp detail of a daguerreotype with the calotype's ability to produce multiple paper prints from one negative.
Why is Frederick Scott Archer important to everyday photography?
His collodion method made taking and reproducing photographs far more practical and affordable, removing the need for unique, one-of-a-kind images and opening the medium up to a much wider public.
What was Frederick Scott Archer's background and field of work?
Working in England, he moved across chemistry, sculpture, and photography rather than staying in a single discipline. His interdisciplinary training in chemistry is what ultimately allowed him to formulate the collodion wet-plate process.
How did the collodion process change photography compared to earlier methods?
Before Archer's work, photographers were stuck choosing between the sharp but uncopyable daguerreotype and the reproducible but softer calotype. Collodion gave them both qualities at once, which is why it quickly became the dominant photographic process of the mid-nineteenth century.
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