The Finlay colour process was based on the theory of scientist
Clerk Maxwell, who discovered in 1861 that all the colours in nature could be matched by the proper admixture of the three primary colours. It was on this principle that Mr. Finlay made a screen of geometric pattern comprising red, green and blue-violet squares in regular sequence. Patented by Finlay in 1906 and introduced in 1908 as the "Thames Colour Screen". It used a screen with a precise checkerboard of red, green, and blue elements as opposed to the random mosaic pattern used in the
Autochrome system. This separate screen could be used with any type of
panchromatic film or
photographic plate to make a colour
photograph. In 1909 the "Thames Colour Plate" was released, which incorporated the filter screen and the emulsion in a single plate. Both processes were abandoned after
World War I, but improved versions were marketed under the name of Finlay Colour in 1929 and 1931. They were major rivals to
Dufaycolor until the introduction of the subtractive materials in the mid-1930s. ==See also==