Frederick Wratten was an inventor
and an early enthusiast of photography.

In 1878, he set up
his photographic supply company,
Wratten & Wainwright.

It was one of the earliest
such businesses in the country.

If you know a story about this object
we would like to hear from you.

Ask a member of staff in the gallery
for a contact card
or contact us at:

Museum of Croydon
Croydon Clocktower
Katharine Street
Croydon
CR9 1ET

Tel: 020 8253 1022
Email: museum@croydon.gov.uk

Wratten & Wainwright's factory
in Canterbury Road, Broad Green
produced films, plates, chemicals
and photographic equipment.

The company also had a shop
near Covent Garden in central London.

Wratten and several of his employees
were members of the Croydon Camera Club.
The Club was founded in 1890
and is still going strong.

In 1912 Wratten & Wainwright
was bought by Kodak,
which still produces 'Wratten Filters'.

The business card and catalogue
are on loan from the
National Media Museum in Bradford.
They are open daily 10-6

The dry plates box is on loan from
Croydon Camera Club.

To find out more about
Wratten and Wainright,
you can visit the
Research Room to look at:

* Firms Files
* Ordnance Survey Maps
that cover the area the business was in
* Street Directories
* Photographs of the Road
and potentially the business.

The Research Room is on the
lower ground floor
of the Clocktower,
it is open Tuesday-Saturday
10:30am-5pm.