Figure 1.---This is a carte de visite self portrait taken by William Friese-Greene at his Bath studio on Cay Street. Note the imaginative posing, unlike most CDVs at the time. He is with his wife and daughter Ethel. e are not sure when the portrait was taken, probably during the 1880s. Friese Greene was an inventor who is most associated with the history of motion pictures.

William Edward Green was born in Bristol (1855). He later changed his name to William Friese-Greene. In Britain this is an affectation of people interested in status. Affter an appreticeshipn and working in a studio he fell out with the owner and set up his own studio. He developed a reputation for compsure and artfully taken portraits. We do not know much about his career, but a HBC reader tells us that he shot many images of London children. He is probably best known for his work with early efforts of motion pictures and color photography. After receiving a commission to produce magic lantern slides he became interested in the idea of moving pictures. He was a tinkerer as well as a photograher and made some important advances. He encounteted, however, all kinds of financial and legal problems. Much of his work was carried out in the late-19th century. After the turn-of the-20th century he and his son was involved in intractable legal battles the nature of which partially explain whu England lagged behind in both motion pictures and color photography. Friese-Greene's life cstory was made into a movie released in 1962--'The Magic Box'. One of the most unteresting aspect of Friese-Greene's work with motion pictures was his development of the additive color film process which he called called Biocolour. Unfortunately, legal difficulties over copytights impaired his efforts. William's son Claude became an important British movie director and continued to work with the development of color in the movies.

Parents

William was the son of a Bristol metalworker in part explaining his interest in mechanical devices.

Childhood

William Edward Green was born in Bristol (1855). We know nothing about his childhood at this time.

Education

William was was educated in Bristol at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital. England at the time did not have a national school system. The hospital schools were establishments where bright (the Britah woukd say 'clever') boys from modest circumstances could receive a solid education. William left school at age 14 years, not uncommon for working-class children at the time. He then started an appreticeship in the photographic studio of Maurice Guttenberg, a photographer of Queens Road in Bath (1869). By the time he began, they would have been doing CDVs. William was fascinated with photography from the very befginning.

British Photography

The photographic industry was slow to grow in Britain. Daguerre and Fox announced their invention n(1939). Even so, one source estimates that there were only 50 professional photographers in the whole of the United Kingdom (1851). In America at the time tghere were probanly that many in New York City alone. Patents limited the indistyry's spread in England and France. This changed wsith thhe CDV. There were an estimated 8,000 British studios (1871).

Photographic Studio

Green was given increasingly important tasks by Guttenberg and was eventually working as a photographer. ventually he had a falling fell out with Guttenberg. Green had a flair for imaginative posing. Guttenberg did not much care for Green's non conformist posing. Grne set up his own studio (about 1875). He named his studis the Photographic Institute and opened facilties in Bath and Bristol. He later after marriage changed his name to William Friese-Greene. In Britain this is an affectation of people interested in status. It gave his studio a more elite image. He developed a reputation for compsure and artfully taken portraits. We do not know much about his career, but a HBC reader tells us that he shot many images of London children.

Marriage: Helen Friese

Helne married Helena Friese (1874). He decided to add her maiden name to his, as he thought 'Green' rather pedestrian and Friese-Grene had an artistic sound to it. Helen had a very artistic bent to her nature and took a great interest in photography. She would setb up highly regarded studios of her own.

John Arthur Roebuck Rudge

Friese-Grene in Bath met John Arthur Roebuck Rudge. Rudge worked with magic lanterns--early slides. He came to Friese-Grene to have him produce some magic lattern slides. Rudge had devised a slide (mahic lantern) device capable of projecting seven slides in rapid succession. He called it the Biophantoscope. It gave the illusion of movement. Friese-Grene was fascinated with it and rapidly lost interest in simple studio photography.

Motion Pictures

He is probably best known for his work with early efforts of motion pictures and color photography. After the meeting with Rudge, Friese-Green began working on a true motion picture camera capable of recording real moving scenes. Movement was an enemy of the photographer. Daguerreotype subjects had to sit rock still for an extended period. The CDV was much faster, but if you note, standing subjects have a support device hehind them to help them hold still. He was a tinkerer as well as a photograher and made some important advances. He constructed a camera (Patent No. 10131, June 21, 1889 ) for taking individual still photographs in rapid secession. It was widely known at the time that a series of still images rapidlly flashed left the impression of motion. There were parlor devices which could be purchased based on this principle. Friese-Greene made the step of taking the images on a roll of perforated film moving intermittently behind a shutter. This was of course the basic principles of the motion picture camera and projector. Friese-Greene was, however, unable to devise a camera capable of taking pictures at a sufficient rate to effectively create the illusion of motion. Thus Thomas Edison also working on motion pictures is commonly given the credit as the inventor. Edison filed a patent (1888), but took a little longer to produce a practical camera. Friese-Greene devoted himself to tirelessly workong on a motuon pictuture camera, allowing his photographic studio to decline. He built four prototype motion-picture cameras. The cost, hpwver, babkrupoted him. Heceven spent a short tgime in debtors' prison. Even so, his camneras were not as effective as Edison's cameras. Friese-Greene filed 78 British patents (1889-1921 but none becomes the basis of a camera adopted by the developing new industry. Considerable controversy continues to suround him. Some claim he is the true inventor of cinematography. Others are dunious about hid claims and insist that freelyb used the work of others.

Biocolour

Friese-Greene was especially interested in color at a time that there was no commercially viable color process. One of the most unteresting aspect of Friese-Greene's work with motion pictures was his development of the additive color film process which he called called 'Biocolour' because it was based on adding two colors to the film. The Biocolour process produced an illusion of color by exposing alternate frames of ordinary black-and-white film stock through two different colored filters. Each alternate frame of the monochrome (black and white) print was then stained red or green--a slow process. The projection of Biocolour prints did provide an illusion of true color, depending on how the film was exposed. Bright sunlight oproduced the best results. There were a range of limitations, noticeable flickering and red-and-green fringing with rapid motion. Even so, as the only early color system, it was an impressive first step. His is work is today largely unacknowledged. Unfortunately, legal difficulties over copytights impaired his efforts. He encountered all kinds of financial and legal problems. Much of his work was carried out in the late-19th century. After the turn-of the-20th century he and his son was involved in intractable legal battles, the nature of which, partially explain why England lagged behind in both motion pictures and color photography.

Other Work

Friese-Greene also worked on a range of other interesting inventions, such as stereoscopic film and stage effects. He developed s a process for producing photographic cigarette cards. He also worked on inkless printing and the transmission of photographs electronically. Another invention eventually becomes the first British X-ray examination system.

The Magic Box

Friese-Greene's life story was made into a movie released in 1962--'The Magic Box'. Surely Freiese-Greene would have been pleased about this, especially because it was an early English color film. After World War II, austerity mean thst British studios continued to work mostly in black-and-white. The movie is about British photographer and inventer, William Friese-Greene. Robert Donat, a major British star, plays the photographer. The film suggests that he invented the first working motion picture camera. The actual history is more complicated than the film suggests, but Friese-Greene was clearly an indistry pioneer whose inventionand patents got tied up in court. The film proved a box office flop.

Claude Friese-Greene

William Friese-Greene's son Claude was born in Fulham, London (1898). His father had opened a photographic studio, but by the time Claude arrived was focused on his motion picture camera, Biocolour process and other inventions. While innovative, they bankrupted him. Biocolour was an early color process using the additive process. Claude became an important British movie director and continued to work with the development of color in the movies that his father had begun with Biocolour. Claude carried on his father's work on color photography. He made experimental films. After his father's death in 1921, Claude continued to work on the Biocolour system. Because of lawsuits, he renamed it Friese-Greene Natural Colour. The first was 'Dance of the Moods' (1924) featuring modern dancer Margaret Morris. He is best known for the 'Open Road' (1926). It was about traveling from one end of Britain to the other. It was released in six episodes. It was designed to be shown in 10 minute sections. These care some of the earliest color images of England in the 1920s. They document Claude's road trip from Land's End to John o' Groats during the 1920s. It is very interesting and the colors are as good as two strip technicolour. However the films have had a flicker taken out so I believe we are seeing the film better now than then. Claude became a distinguished cinematographer. He worked on more than 60 films untuil his death (1943).

Created: 8:51 PM 2/19/2011
Last updated: 2:27 AM 2/28/2011