Syndey Victor White was a local portrait photographer who opened his shop here in 1869, White incorporated his business with local inventor William Henry Prestwich’s in 1888. White’s business was quite typical of others at the time in that most of his work was taking portraits of local people and printing postcards of Reading.
In the 1860s the photographic method was far from standardised, largely because so many of the different techniques were patented. We know from White’s adverts that he had permission to use the “Lambertype” process of making carbon copies of photographs, this process very complicated so Victor White must have been highly skilled. The Lambertype process was considered to be one of the best until 1894, until the invention of Silver Bromide paper. White’s business partner William Prestwich patented a version of silver Bromide paper which he later sold to Kodak for £1000.
Sydney Victor White’s shop also used to sell photographic equipment for amateur photographers in the 1880s.