William Willis (inventor)
William Willis Jr. (1841–1923)[1] is a British inventor who developed the platinum process on the basis of the light sensitivity of platinum salts, originally discovered by John Herschel.[2]
Willis made the first platinum print in 1873 and patented it[3], but the process was imperfect, attracting little interest. In 1874, the British Journal of Photography announced his Platinum Printing process. It gave a report of the process on 4 June 1875. By 1879 he had improved the proces sufficiently to justify founding the Platinotype Company to market his papers.
He began marketing his pre-coated papers in 1880. Taking his cue from Daguerre's marketing practices with his Daguerreotypes, Willis sold licenses to photographers wanting to use his process, and then sold them the materials.