For sale are two different amazing 1918 DRY PLATE GLASS PHOTO NEGATIVES of Major William F. Cookson, an officer in the Washington D.C. National Guard. Major Cookson is in his full dress uniform displaying his numerous military awards and decorations, a number of which were for sharpshooting or marksmanship. Both photo negatives were accomplished on glass. One of the glass negatives is affixed to a wood block. The side of the wood block is marked “Maurice Joyce – Washington DC”. This mark establishes that the photos were taken by the Maurice Joyce Engraving Corporation, Washington, D. C. The photograph dry plate for sale was taken in 1918. The Photographic Dry Plate negatives come with their original shipping box from the Hammer Dry Plate Company, St. Louis, Missouri. Both Dry Plates measure 5 inches by 7 inches. A great WWI era military and vintage photography collectible.
On July 9th, 1909, President Taft appointed Captain William Cookson, of the Washington DC National Guard, an assistant inspector of small arms practice. On September 16th, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson promoted William Cookson to the rank of Major. The photograph dry plate for sale was taken in 1918.
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as the target medium of photography. Dry plate, also known as gelatin process, is an improved type of photographic plat invented by Dr. Richard L. Maddox in 1871. By 1879, the first dry plate factory was established. With much of the complex chemistry work centralized into a factory, the new process simplified the work of photographers, allowing them to expand their business.
In 1890, Mr. Ludwig F. Hammer established the Hammer Dry Plate Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. By the 1920s, the four leading dry plate manufacturers throughout the United States were Eastman Kodak Company, and the ‘big three’ St. Louis-based Central Dry Plate Company, Cramer Dry Plate Company, and of course the Hammer Dry Plate Company. Hammer dry plates are highly prized by photographic historians and collectors.
