On March 23, 1925, the American Aristotype Company, by then a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak, closed its Prather Avenue plant for good. Today we have a photo from the buoyant early days of the company. Some people have spirit guides, guardian angels, imaginary girlfriends or virtual identities. If I ever gain access to the immaterial realm, I’d like to have an imaginary bodyguard and here she is. This is an advertising card for what was once one of Jamestown’s most promising industries.

Photography in the pre-digital era, was applied chemistry. Prior to George Eastman and his Kodak in the 1880s it was dauntingly (or gloriously) complex. Throughout the middle and late 19th century, new processes, techniques and inventions entered the market every decade.

Outlines of the history of American Aristotype Company have been presented numerous times. Here I will try to highlight what has been left out. The company, as often stated, was formed in 1889, established itself on Prather Avenue and grew rapidly.

Aristotype offered two variants, glossy and matte, of a collodion chloride printing out paper. Its success was the result of several factors. The time was right for collodion printing out paper which had replaced albumen as the dominant medium in the market. Aristotype managed to automate and industrialize a known process and offer a product that was the best in the world and do it at a reasonable price. The company held on to its edge in quality with a strategy of secrecy rather than patent protection and it imported the best raw paper from Europe. What patents it did obtain were for frames and other equipment, including one invented by local furniture maker William Maddox.

The Aristotype images are clear, pleasing and very lasting. Today you can find the recipe online and make aristotype paper and prints yourself.

Although Aristotype had numerous minor competitors, including two right in Jamestown, Eastman Kodak was the major competitor. It was offering a product with a different base, a gelatin printing out paper that was inferior to the Aristotype product. The Rochester company was a much larger and more diverse enterprise. The Eastman interests, but not the Kodak company directly at first, bought up American Aristotype in 1899 as part of a consolidation in which four other companies in the field plus the photographic paper business of Eastman Kodak itself were consolidated with American Aristotype into the General Aristo Company. General Aristo was later transformed into the American Aristotype Division of Eastman Kodak. American Aristotype with a capital of $150,000 was the largest of the 1899 acquisitions.

Aristotype employed hundreds of people and continued at the same location for many years. The new management increased efficiency and reduced prices slightly and it made some improvements in working conditions. The notion was once popular locally that Aristotype might have, under certain circumstances, done for Jamestown what Kodak did for Rochester. History provides no support for this.

Aristotype was a specialized firm concentrating on one product when Kodak was already a giant with a wide line of photo-related products. In the 20th century, especially after the maturity of electric lighting which was used in enlargers, an entirely different class of photographic process rose to dominance. This involved developing out paper as contrasted to printing out paper. Among other advantages, developing out paper allowed for great freedom in transforming the size of the image, something printing out paper could not do. Also with print size rendered independent of negative size, small portable cameras became popular. Aristo rose and fell with the technology of its time. It played its role well and diligently.

The Aristo plant in Jamestown closed March 23, 1925. Most of the buildings were demolished in 1936, the last in 1964. The Heritage Park complex occupies the location today and one of Jamestown’s historic markers commemorates the bygone industry.

As for the model on the advertising card, she shall ever remain a mystery. My hunch is she is portraying a Lorelei, a siren from the Rhine River (Lorelei are more “fakelore” than folklore), but she could be a character from Shakespeare or an opera, an actress, or a circus performer. This is from the period when the company was local so maybe there was an executive with a puckish sense of humor who had a daughter or niece who liked to dress up and pose in outrageous costumes. The Internet shows another girl on another American Aristotype advertising card, much sweeter and more conservatively dressed.