| Abstract: | Abstract Arthur James Melhuish (d. 1895) makes his first appearanance in the photographic records in 1854. At that time the waxed-paper process was fashionable in England, used mainly for landscape and architectural photography. Such work could be arduous, and a number of attempts were made to lighten the cumbrous equipment required. In May 1854, Melhuish and J. B. Spencer patented a rollholder which carried the waxed paper wound onto a spool. This holder was made in several sizes, of which the largest took 12 pictures, each 12 × 15 ins. Frank Haes photographed animals in the London Zoo in 1855 and 1856 using a camera with this device1, It is interesting that Haes and Melhuish were linked again as partners in a carte-de-visite or cabinet photography cqmpany (at an unspecified date), a company whose title is listed sometimes as Mclean and Company, sometimes as Mclean, Melhuish and Haes, and sometimes as Mclean and Haes, with the address given always as 7 and 26 Haymarket2. |
