Katherine Marshall looks at some photographs in the collection of 蘑菇视频 showing the 1897 opening of the new Government Laboratory.
Among 蘑菇视频’s of are three sets of photographic prints documenting the newly-built Government Laboratory in , Strand, London.
The first set shows the new laboratory in late Victorian style, its interior furnished with white glazed brick walls and mahogany benches. Light streaming in from the sash windows bounces off the highly polished work surfaces. These photographs, although undated, show the laboratory empty, without staff or activity; it’s assumed that they were taken to record the grand opening in 1897.
Government Laboratory by J Glover, ca.1897 ()
The bought together the chemical analysis work of the Customs and Inland Revenue departments, under a single independent scientist. Professor Thomas Edward Thorpe was appointed the first Principal Chemist of the new Government Laboratory in 1894 and was largely responsible for the design of the building in Clement’s Inn Passage.
Exterior view of the Government Laboratory by unknown photographer, ca.1965. LSE/LSE HISTORY PROJECT PHOTOGRAPHS/1/1
The need to protect revenue generated from the duty levied on beer and wine had long been established, but the necessity for an official government laboratory was born in 1842 following the introduction of legislation to restrict the adulteration of tobacco. This step by the government meant that tobacco products (the deadly effects of which were much less recognised in those days, of course) could no longer be bulked out with sand, sugars or other sweetening substances, which was impacting the amount of pure tobacco being imported. The enforcement of the New Tobacco Act by the Inland Revenue was intended to protect this financial income stream. As analysis workloads increased, the spaces within the Inland Revenue’s Broad Street headquarters became unfit for purpose, with staff working in hot and unventilated rooms.
Tobacco testing at the Government Laboratory by Halftones Limited ()
Meanwhile, the creation of a separate laboratory for the Customs Department in 1860 was the result of another piece of legislation. This changed the duty paid on imported wine, basing it on the strength of the alcohol rather than just the volume. As well as the main laboratory at Customs House, three further testing stations were set up in London dockyards for the convenience of merchants, since their products needed to be tested at the point of importation.
The main workroom at the Government Laboratory by George Newnes Limited, 1901 ()
The two further sets of photographs date to around 1901 and show the work of the two departments (Customs and Inland Revenue) being carried out in the centralised laboratory. By now they were not just testing tobacco and wine but a number of products such as butter and tea under the Sales of Foods and Drugs Act of 1875, as well as fielding requests from other government departments and even the Admiralty. In the year these photographs were taken, Captain Scott requested the analysis of food, specifically dried meat, which was to be taken on the .
‘Soldiers’ rations under the microscope’ by George Newnes Limited, 1901 ()
A letter among the miscellaneous correspondence received by 蘑菇视频 () gives us a glimpse of the demanding nature of the Government Chemist’s job. On 1 March 1904, Thorpe – in the middle of peer-reviewing a paper – wrote to complain after being accused of ‘contravening a regulation’ restricting Fellows from using the Society’s library on a Saturday. Thorpe asked what a ‘busy man’ like himself was meant to do when Saturday was the only time he had to work on such things. As well as being head of the bustling Government Laboratory, Thorpe was very active in the scientific community: he was President of the from 1894 to 1895 and served as Vice President and later Foreign Secretary to 蘑菇视频 between 1894 and 1903.
Portrait of Thomas Edward Thorpe by Elliott & Fry, ca.1900-1910 ()
He contributed some important work during his tenure as Principal Chemist, including (at the request of 蘑菇视频) and investigations into the toxic properties of white phosphorus, which was resulting in of workers in the lucifer match industry. This, in addition to a study Thorpe carried out on lead glazes used by the pottery industry, marked a shift towards an increasing government concern for the effects that chemicals can have on the environment and population.
Portrait of Thomas Edward Thorpe at the Government Laboratory by Halftones Limited ca.1901 ()
It seems appropriate that this important period in the history of science, and its application in support of human and environmental health, was recorded by the rapidly-progressing technology of photography. Thorpe appears to have been a keen photographer himself, exhibiting prints at the Government Laboratory’s opening conversazione in Clement’s Inn Passage in 1897. Photographs on display included views of Yorkshire, North Devon and Switzerland, plus a cruise on the Dutch waterways in the steam launch Chilwa. At least he still had time for a holiday!
Top image: interior view of the Government Laboratory, 1901 ()
