Thornton-Pickard

The company was based in Altrincham, near Manchester, and was an early pioneer in the development of the camera industry.

Thornton now found himself in a company dominated by the Pickard family, who he disliked intensely, and shortly afterwards he left.

In 1899, he formed a new business partnership with Charles Rothwell, a chemist who shared Thornton's interest in photography.

In 1913, Thornton emigrated to the United States and went on to patent a three-colour cine film that was manufactured under license by Eastman Kodak.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company found it increasingly difficult to compete with cheaper imported cameras, and ceased trading in 1939.