Edith Weyde (17 September 1901 – 10 February 1989) was a German chemist.[1] She developed the silver salt Diffusion transfer—"Copyrapid"—which paved the way for the first photocopiers and instant photography.[1][2][3][4][5] She also laid the foundation for color photography.[1][3][4]
Early life and education
Weyde was the second child of an Austrian grammar school teacher in Prague.[1] She grew up in Aussig and finished her Abitur in 1919.[1] Then, she worked for four years as a laboratory assistant for the Verein für chemische und metallurgische Produktion.[1] In 1923, she began studying chemistry at the Technical University of Dresden.[1] Four years later, she finished her doctorate with Robert Luther at the Photographic Institute of the Technical University of Dresden.[1]
Professional life
Weyde started her first job in the photographic-photochemical laboratory of I.G. Farbenindustrie AG in Oppau in 1928.[1] After four years, she was transferred to the Agfa photo-paper factory in Leverkusen.[1] She worked on improving the tropical suitability of photographic paper and for this purpose developed stabilizers for the photographic layers.[1] She was involved in the development of the first Agfacolor papers from 1937 and contributed to the success of early color photography.[1][3]
Inventions
Weyde developed the silver salt Diffusion transfer method—also called "Copyrapid"—which was a process for the accelerated production of a photographic positive image according to an original.[1][2][6] This led to the development of photocopiers, instant film and instant cameras.
Awards
- 1963 Kulturpreis of the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie[7]
- Silberne Gesellschaftmedaille of the Fotografische Gesellschaft Wien[1]
- 1965 Honorary Membership of the Society for Imaging Science and Technology[8]
- 1965 Diesel-Medaille of the Erfinder-Verband Nürnberg[9]
- 1973 Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society London[1][10]
Also, a street in Leverkusen is named after her.[11]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Chemikerinnen" (PDF). www.gdch.de. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- 1 2 Weyde, Edith (1955), "Das Copyrapid-Verfahren der AGFA", Mitteilungen aus den Forschungslaboratorien der AGFA, Leverkusen-München, AGFA Aktiengesellschaft für Photofabrikation (in German), Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp. 262–266, doi:10.1007/978-3-662-22168-6_19, ISBN 9783662221693
- 1 2 3 Schwarzl, Sonja M.; Hertel, Marion (2002). "Zum Beispiel: Edith Weyde". Nachrichten aus der Chemie (in German). 50 (11): 1283–1284. doi:10.1002/nadc.20020501134. ISSN 1868-0054.
- 1 2 Roggenkamp, Viola (March 1989). "Die findigen Frauen". Emma. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ↑ Ries, Renate (2004). "Die Vervielfältigerin: Edith Weyde". Emma. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ↑ Weyde, Edith. "Patent: Verfahren zur beschleunigten Herstellung eines photographischen Positivbildes nach einer Vorlage".
- ↑ "Kulturpreis der DGPh | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie e.V." www.dgph.de. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ↑ "Honorary Membership". www.imaging.org. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ↑ "Medaillenträger". Deutsches Institut für Erfindungswesen e.V. (in German). Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ↑ "Honorary Fellowships – RPS". www.rps.org. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
- ↑ "Leverkusen, Edith-Weyde-Str". www.leverkusen.com. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
External links
- Interview with Weyde from 1988: Excerpt 1 and Excerpt 2.
- Demonstration of the "blitzcopy" – the "copyrapid" process: Video demonstration