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Creator

Bates Ferguson, William Biography Biography
W.B. (William Bates) Ferguson was born in Manchester and took a degree at Oxford in 1874 in Natural Science. In 1882 he was called to the Bar and made Queen's Counsel in 1900 but had to retire shortly afterwards because of his wife's ill health. He joined the Royal Photographic Society in 1895 and was made a Fellow in 1900 following the publication of his paper on copper toning. For the sake of his wife's health Ferguson moved to Switzerland and established a small laboratory in Arosa to study photographic development times. He published his first paper on this subject in 1905 "Control of the Development Factor at Various Temperatures". After his return to England in 1906 he became interested in the measurement of photographic density and developed the Ferguson Read reflection density meter in 1934. He was involved in the British National Committee for standardisatin of Photographic Sensitometry and was invited to produce the Hurter and Driffeld memorial volume of the Journal of the Royal Photographic Society.

Scope and Content
This collection contains material relating to the personal life and career of W.B. (William Bates) Ferguson, photographic pioneer and scientist. The collection includes correspondence and notes on the Ferguson density meter, Ferguson's slide rules for calculating times of development for photographic negatives; correspondence, notes and minutes of meetings of the British National Committee for standardisation of Photographic Sensitometry; reports and communications of the British Photographic Research Association; correspondence and articles relating to the Hurter and Driffield memorial volume and their work on photographic sensitometry.
Extent
Three archive boxes
Language
English
Archival history
These papers were originally donated to the Science Museum and transferred to their library in 1982. They were transferred to the National Media Museum in 2005.
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
National Science and Media Museum, Bradford

Associated people and organisations

Subject
Photography
Sensitometry
Conditions governing access
Access is given in accordance with the NMeM access policy. Material from this collection is available to researchers through the museum’s Insight facility.
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied of items in the collection, provided that the copying process used does not damage the item or is not detrimental to its preservation. Copies will be supplied in accordance with the NMeM’s terms and conditions for the supply and reproduction of copies, and the provisions of any relevant copyright legislation.
External document
Full catalogue
System of arrangement
A system of arrangement was established by the Science Museum upon accession into their library. This system of arrangement has been preserved by the cataloguing archivist at the National Media Museum. The collection breaks down into the following series': 1: W.B. Ferguson's Personal Correspondence and Family Papers 2: Ferguson's Work on Photography 3: Ferguson's Connection With The British Sensitometry Standardisation Committee 1925-1937 4: Ferguson's Connection With The British Photographic Research Association. 5: Hurter and Driffield Material 6: Miscellaneous Offprints Concerned With Various Aspects of Photography