The technical originator of the colour printing process that became known as Paterson-Pavelle was the same man, Dr.Jacobson, who originated the 1950s Pakolor home colour processing film and materials. Patents in the name of Kurt Jacobson are viewable at the European Patent Office website. There are 18 patents relating to colour film, colour printing paper, colour developing and colour printing technology over a (near) 20years span, though on two occasions there is also named Mr Keith Aston and on one occasion Mr Gerald Noel White. By the late 1960s, another co-inventor is Ralph Eric Jacobson, Kurt's son. Kurt's son became Professor Ralph Jacobson, ASIS HonFRPS. He was President of the Royal Photographic Socity (RPS) from 2005-2007. Professor Jacobson has been in touch and has provided me with further historical information of his father's work, which I have transcribed into a web page accessible by clicking here.

Keith Aston is the named inventor of a number of colour printing patents throughout the 1960s while working for Pavelle Ltd and continued to patent ideas in the mid-1980s for Pavelle's new owners, Durst. Information relating to Gerald White appears on the Open University website (born 1891, died 1963). Mr White was a chemist, a Fellow of the Institute of Chemistry and, in his latter years, Director & Research Manager at Photo-Chemical Co Ltd and finally Research Director at Pavelle Ltd.

Kurt Jacobson began patenting his ideas on colour printing materials from 1953, this being the date of his earliest patent application, but his original research must have started many years earlier (possibly prior to WW2). Throughout much of the 1950s Mr Jacobson is named as Director of Photo-Chemical Co. Ltd, initially at Film House, Wardour Street, London, W.1; but later at Church Road, Epsom, Surrey. The last Jacobson patent that names the Photo-Chemical Co Ltd is dated July 1957. The 1950s was when the Photo-Chemical Co.Ltd were manufacturing the Pakolor colour negative film and printing paper process, available in the UK from 1952 and made suitable for home processing from 1955.

Dr Richard Pavelle recalls how Kurt Jacobson made some breakthroughs in colour paper technology and, in consequence, became involved with Richard's father, Leo Pavelle, around 1957. Together they worked to develop a facility in New Jersey (at the US Pavelle Corporation) to produce the colour paper. There was also an intention to produce a machine enabling home colour printing, but that was for the future (one of Jacobson's patents, GB963603, applied for in December 1961 by Pavelle Ltd, describes a combined colour printing and processing machine). Pakolor had some experience of this, having bought out a semi-automatic rollhead colour printer for the photo-finishing trade by 1959.

The association of Kurt Jacobson of Photo-Chemical Co Ltd and Leo Pavelle of the Pavelle Corporation resulted in the Pavelle brothers (Leo and Simon) buying (?) the Photo-Chemical Co Ltd to secure Kurt Jacobson's expertise, and they set up a UK subsidiary, Pavelle Ltd, in Epsom, Surrey, being the same address as the previous Photo-Chemical Co.Ltd. This is believed to have occurred around 1960. Kurt Jacobson, Gerald White, Keith Aston and others, continued to work in the UK on manufacturing colour paper, processing chemicals and equipment and by December 1961 Kurt Jacobson is again filing patents, but he is now working for Pavelle Ltd, a British company at Church Road, Epsom, Surrey, UK. The Jacobson/Pavelle Ltd patents continue throughout the 1960s to early 1970. One patent, in 1968, names the Pavelle Corporation of White Plains, New York, where Kurt Jacobson is named as assignor of the invention (for speeding up colour material developing) to the Pavelle Corporation (US3372030).

There seems little reason to doubt that the above events chart the development of the Paterson-Pavelle home additive colour printing process, including the paper, chemicals and what seemingly became the simple but effective Pavelle-Theilgaard colour exposure calculator contained within the Paterson colour printing kit. This device would seem to have its roots in the Photo-Chemical Co Ltd patent GB748712, applied for in July 1953, with the complete specification being published in May 1956. Since Kurt Jacobson was (by then) a British citizen and Pavelle Ltd was a British company, Paterson's claims for their home colour processing kit being solely a British invention seems well founded, though assistance from the US Pavelle Corporation is inherent in their name being part of the Paterson-Pavelle process.

Dr.Jacobson (Dr.Jacobsohn) and his Photo-Chemical Co Ltd were responsible for originating the Paterson-Pavelle home colour printing process which was marketed in the UK by R.F.Hunter (Paterson distributors) from 1963 and by Johnsons of Hendon from 1967.

The Paterson colour home colour printing outfit was given fresh publicity from 1967 when Johnsons of Hendon took over the distribution from R.F.Hunter. The January 1968 edition of 'Photography' magazine, in their 'News Desk' feature, proclaims the 'New' Paterson Colour Print Process, but this seems a late announcement for the same 'new' kit advertised at the same price in Amateur Photographer, April 1967, p70. There were claims for Paterson's improved Colour Paper (P-200) and its P-200 chemicals having increased processing capacity. A total processing time of 8minutes was claimed. At the head of this page is an advert from Amateur Photographer for 30th October 1968 where a new paper surface is announced, Art Stipple.

Another change when Johnsons became distributors was the inclusion, 'free', the illustrated book by Felix Smith called "Making Pavelle Colour Prints with the Paterson Colour Print Kit" though by 1968 the name 'Pavelle' in the book title had disappeared. This book had been available since 1964 (see advert) but was previously sold separately by R.F.Hunter at 10s/6d (52.5p). Felix Smith wrote a regular feature article covering all technical aspects of colour photography for 'Photography' magazine during (at least) 1966 - 1968. It was called 'Felix Smith on Colour'.

The 'new' kit cost £5.5s (£5.25p, though this increased to £6.1s.10d = £6.10p by autumn 1968) including 25 sheets of Paterson P-200 colour paper (post card size, but available in sizes to 15"x12" i.e. 38cm x 30.5cm). The kit included 1 litre of colour developer, stop bath & bleach fix, plus printing filters, filter holder, exposure calculator, safelight filter and instruction manual. Processing was claimed to take between 5 & 8 minutes at a temperature range between 65°F and 85°F (18°C to 29°C) using only three processing baths. It was claimed the chemical solutions could be safely stored for 'months'.