ABSTRACT
While visiting New York in connection with the sale of Drapery Trust to Debenhams, Hatry became aware of the Photomaton machine: a booth which would automatically produce a small number of portrait photographs at a modest price. The first machine attracted large crowds when a studio was opened on Broadway, with as many as 7,500 people a day paying to have their photographs taken. A syndicate led by Henry Morgenthau had acquired the rights to exploit the technology within the USA. Hatry was able to acquire the rights to exploit the patent outside the USA and Russia.
Hatry recovered the cost of the rights by floating a new company in London: Photomaton Parent Corporation. This issue proved so successful that Hatry was emboldened to repeat the process by floating successive companies with rights to exploit the Photomaton patent in different geographically defined regions.
These issues were successful in attracting investors but ultimately failed because division of the business into regions stood in the way of reaching national agreements to site machines in shops and places of entertainment.
Whereas Drapery Trust had succeeded in part because Hatry was not involved in managing the new group, Photomaton struggled because he was too much involved in management.
In December 1928, Hatry had rebuilt his fortune and celebrated his 40th birthday in his new house on Park Lane.
