Richard Beard 1801 - 1885

1839 - became interested in photographic processes after the announcement of Daguerre's and Talbot's developments. 1840 - bought into and patented Johnson and Wolcott's camera. 1841 - opened the first public photographic studio at the Royal Photographic Institute in Regent Street, London. 1842 - negotiated with Daguerre and his agent Miles Berry so that he could secure the sole patent rights of the daguerreotype process in England and Wales. 1851 - introduced a process for enamelling daguerreotypes to give images greater permanence. 1861 - his profession recorded as 'coal merchant' as his interest in photography declined.