The earliest form of photography was heliography. It was invented by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a business partner of Niépce. After the death of Niépce, Daguerre, an artist and physicist, continued to work on photography and invented the Daguerreotype, an early method of capturing images. A daguerreotype captures detailed images on a sheet of copper plate that is covered with a thin layer of silver. It requires 20-30 minutes of exposure. The extensive exposure time makes this photographic process limited to stationary objects. Daguerre patented the process. The French Academy of Science purchased the patent from Daguerre. They bought it for a 6,000 franc/month pension for Daguerre, and a 4,000 franc/month payment to the estate of his partner, Niépce. Then, the Academy gifted it to the world on August 19, 1839.

Decades later, Geroge Eastman perfected the process of roll film with much faster exposure time. A thin layer of silver is applied on an acetate base. The film was much lighter, smaller, and far less costly. He made it easy for people to take pictures. His factories put a roll of film in a camera. People bought the camera with film inside and shot a roll of pictures. Then, they brought the camera in to get the pictures developed. They received their developed pictures and the camera back with a fresh roll of unexposed film inside. Eastman’s motto was “You press the button. We do the rest”. It was a phenomenal success. His company Eastman Kodak went on to great success. Kodak’s camera, film, and developing products and services enjoyed monopoly status for several decades. Frequent innovation and product improvement helped them to remain the “King of the Hill”.