One cardboard box meant for holding dry plates manufactured by the Stanley Co. Box contained one dozen plates and ranked a No. 50 on the sensitometer. Box bears a logo with a man on a horse saying "On Stanley, On."
F.E. Stanley developed his own dry plate formulation and then eventually began selling plates to other photographers. The venture proved so successful that he and his twin brother, F. O. Stanley, became partners in the Stanley Dry Plate Company in 1884. Their coating machine, patented in 1886, accelerated the dry plate process, coating plates at a speed of one plate per second. The twins ultimately sold the Stanley Dry Plate Company to George Eastman of Eastman Kodak, who used the Stanley innovation to build his photography empire.
The Gelatin or Dry Plate photographic process was invented in 1871 by Dr. Richard L Maddox. This involved the coating of glass photographic plates with a light sensitive gelatin emulsion and allowing them to dry prior to use. This made for a much more practical process than the wet plate process as the plate could be transported, exposed and then processed at a later date rather than having to coat, expose and process the plate in one sitting. The gelatin dry plate process technique was developed and eventually led to the roll film process.
Stanley Co.
