Warwick Brookes 1843 - 1929

Warwick Brookes was a well-known Manchester photographer and designer of cameras. Brookes' uncle (of the same name, 1808-1882) was a famous sketch artist who became interested in photography. He opened a studio in Manchester in 1864, mainly for carte-de-visite work. Warwick Brookes' cousin, who also shared the same name (Warwick Brookes, 1854-1922), also set up a photography business in Victoria Street, Manchester. Brookes is known to have added notes to the backs of his photographs disclaiming any business connection to any other photographer operating under the same name in the city.

In 1881, Brookes designed a camera he called the Academy. It was patented (no. 13,549) in October and he had it made by Joshua Billcliff, in Manchester. The address given in the patent application is 350 Oxford Road. The Academy was probably the first 'pocket' twin-lens magazine camera. Marion's of Soho, London, sold it from about January 1882. The first Academy cameras were for very small plates, 1.5 inches square (3.8cm), and the user loaded twelve of these plates into a plate changing box in the darkroom. When a plate was required, the camera was turned upside down and a plate dropped through a spring-loaded light-tight aperture. Releasing a small knob closed the aperture and the camera turned right way up. After exposure, the plate was returned to the magazine box by releasing a knob at the back of the camera. Once all twelve plates were exposed, the magazine box could be removed from the base of the camera with its light-tight lid and a new box loaded.

Brookes took over the whole family business on his uncle's death in 1882. In 1885, the Amateur Photographer ran a long article on the Academy camera, which now came in four sizes. The article included a testimonial from Captain James Peters of the Royal Canadian Artillery who had used a No. 4 during the North-West Rebellion led by Louis Riel in Saskatchewan. The article raised interest in the camera and V. C. Driffield made an improvement to it, after consulting Brookes. This was to add a mirror at an angle to the focusing screen and a hole drilled in the top of the camera at the back. This modification made the Academy a true twin-lens reflex camera. It sold well until the 1890s when McKellen and Miller brought out more sophisticated cameras.

Warwick Brookes died in 1929, however the photography business on Oxford Road continued to operate until 1940.