Images in the National Library of Jamaica, go back to the origins of photography in Jamaica.
Niepce, in 1826, made the world’s first photograph in a camera. Daguerre, his colleague, invented the Daguerreotype process, which produced a positive photograph on a silver plated copper sheet. The highlights were milky white on a silver background. NLJ has some of these in its collection. Production of a Daguerreotype was a bit involved. The 6 ½”x8 ½” silver plated copper sheet had to be sensitized in the darkroom, placed in the camera, then after the photograph was taken it was developed and ‘fixed’ to make the image permanent. Daguerreotypes had to be viewed at the correct ‘angle’ for maximum clarity.
The new invention spread rapidly – barber shops were used as studios initially in about 1839. It possible that some persons were using this system in Jamaica but copies were difficult to come by. As a direct positive/process there were no negatives to make extra copies. The Negative/Positive process invented by Fox Talbot replaced it. The ‘wet’ plate collodion process came in 1851 of glass plates coated with light sensitive chemicals inserted in the camera, exposed, then processed while still wet. Matthew Brady, the US Civil War photographer, traveled with a portable darkroom.
In Jamaica, the Duperly Brothers must have used this process. Later on, ‘Dry’ sensitized glass plates were used in 1876. A short step from the glass negatives, usually 4”x5”, from which many prints could be made on photographic paper was the positive ‘lantern slide’ which was also printed on glass 3 ¼“x4 ¼”, with a clear glass sheet bound with it to protect the emulsion. Lecturers used these lantern slides in their presentations – most slides were black and white, some sepia toned. NLJ has many Lantern slides and 4”x5” Glass Negatives and advertising theatre slides used in Motion Picture Theatres in Jamaica from about 1930-1980.
These were made locally from Jamaican scenes and ‘pack’ shots of the products and carefully hand-coloured. Before ‘colour’ photography came on the scene in the mid to late 1930s many people elevated the hand-coloured black and white photograph to a fine art. NLJ has many examples of hand-coloured photographs.
The next important development on the photographic scene was Rev. Hannibal Goodwin’s proposal to put the photographic emulsion on cellulose. (Celluloid Nitrate). This paved the way for the motion picture industry, ‘roll’ film, cut film, film packs etc. NLJ also has collections of these.
George Eastman’s ‘Kodak’ Company came up with the Kodak ‘Box’ camera. This was a moderately priced camera with a simple cheap lens which could be used to take ‘snap’ shots of people, places and things. In Jamaica, one of the earliest ‘Kodak’ agents was A.F. Dunett, in Kingston. Professional photographers were not alarmed by this flood of cameras in the hands of people all over the world, they knew that the quality and clarity of a photograph taken in a studio was far superior to a simple box camera ‘snapshot’.
Some of Kingston’s early photographers were Cleary and Elliott, WG Morais, DK Corinaldi, and later on, HM Bryan and Sons, Wally Allen, Allan Lambert, Amador Packer, Maria La Yacona, Ken Ramsay, Brian Rosen, Headley Samuels, Jack Biscoe (Aerials), Ernest DeSousa and many others – in addition to a host of ‘Amateur’ photographers whose abilities and successes established them on the world scene with respect to photography. NLJ has photographs from most of these photographers and Ivanhoe ‘skit’ Williams, press photographer donated his negatives.
The motion picture industry in Jamaica is promising. In the 1940s DK Corinaldi made a news film ‘Jamaica Prepares’ using 35 mm black and white motion picture film which he loaded on wooden rotatable racks and processed the film in large trays – final printing and finishing was done in Miami.
Before TV came to Jamaica, Palace Amusement Company showed foreign films at several theatres in Kingston and in the rural areas as well. Show prices were cheap and the theatres were always crowded. This lasted from the 1920s to 1960s.
After the 1930s celluloid, due to its inflammable properties, was replaced by ‘safety film’ cellulose acetate.
In 1963, the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation were the first to process black and white 16 mm motion picture film for news and documentaries. Martin Rennalls, formally with the Ministry of Education, and later with A.E.T. Henry and the Government Public Relations Organization, set up the Jamaica Film Unit to make documentaries in 35mm. He is now head of the Jamaica Information Service. Rennalls tried using the JBC’s 16mm black and white processing facilities but felt that the JIS would be better off having its own 16mm black and white processing and printing laboratory.
By 1966 Frank Knight from Central Office of Information, London, came to Jamaica through a World Bank Loan and supervised and set up a 16mm processing and printing Laboratory, leaving years later after local staff had been trained. Martin Rennalls was a cinematographer who expounded to all on the visual language of film, the magic of combining sound with picture, and the importance of inspired editing to complete the final presentation. His team of cinematographers included ‘Chappie’ St. Juste, Cynthia Wimot, Trevor Welsh – Editors, Dudley Harrison, Pat LaFayette, Hopeton Fullwood, Photographers, Garth Morgan and Errol Harvey and many others.
The JIS made full length documentaries. Producers from outside the JIS included Carey Robinson, Donat Bucknor, and others. The operation endec when video emerged on the scene. NLJ holds negatives and prints of all 16mm black and white footage owned by JIS and JBC and private companies such as Harvey Film Productions,who also donated film material. Independent Film Producers such as Perry Henzell and others, have completed full length feature films all shot in Jamaica.
Today's archival digital prints – carbon prints, will last for 500 years or more providing equipment to read them is maintained.
A Scene at the Falmouth Market circa the 1820s, Daguerreotyped by A. Duperly.
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