Brewster was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor and writer. From an early age he was interested in science and attended the University of Edinburgh from 1794. In 1799 he began contributing to the `Edinburgh Magazine?, becoming its editor in 1802. In 1808 he was invited to become editor of the `Edinburgh Encyclopedia?, and shortly after he began contributing to the `Encyclopedia Britannica?. During his lifetime Brewster was regarded as one of the pre-eminent scientific figures. His interest centered on optics and he is associated with the invention of the kaleidoscope and the stereoscope. He is also credited with bringing the calotype to Scotland and in persuading his good friend, William Henry Fox Talbot, not to patent the process outside England.
Robert Adamson (Scottish, 1821 - 1848)
Robert Adamson was one of the first professional photographers, setting up in business in Edinburgh in March 1843. He had aspired to be an engineer but his health was too poor. His brother, John, who was involved in the early experiments with photography in St Andrews, taught him the calotype process. Shortly after opening his studio on Calton Hill, Robert met the painter David Octavius Hill. They worked together for a few weeks on studies for a grand painting of the Free Church of Scotland before entering into partnership to explore the possibilities of photography. Despite Adamson's early death, the two produced some of the most impressive works taken in the medium and greatly influenced later practice in the art.
David Octavius Hill (Scottish, 1802 - 1870)
A painter and a lithographer by training, David Octavius Hill is best remembered for the beauty of the calotypes he and Robert Adamson produced together. Hill was a sociable and kind-hearted man who did much to support the arts in Scotland and between 1830 and 1836 he was the unpaid Secretary of the newly established Royal Scottish Academy. After Adamson's death, Hill's attempt to start a new partnership with the photographer Alexander MacGlashan around 1860 failed. Hill is to this day revered as one of the first in the trade who transformed photography into an art form.
