Re: "serum of milk"
Serum of milk (Physiol. Chem.), the whey, or fluid portion of milk,
remaining after removal of the casein and fat. Webster's Revised Unabridged
Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Don Sweet
----- Original Message -----
From: "Judy Seigel" <jseigel@panix.com>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 9:15 AM
Subject: "serum of milk"
>
> I'm sure I'm not the only one doing something REALLY dumb today, tho I
> hope I'm the only one in this house... The story begins about 10 years ago
> when I bought all the Photo Miniatures whatisname at The Garage (25 St or
> like that) had at the time...
>
> So they went on my shelf as life took over & I never even arranged them
> in order (from about 1884 to 1925, one a month). Whatever possessed me
> yesterday I am not obliged to know, but I began going through them (maybe
> because the type is so tiny and I need new glasses desperately, so it put
> me to sleep without controlled substances). In any event, I made several
> little discoveries, such as that the Lesbian bar around the corner, named
> Henrietta Hudson, is the namesake of an actual Henrietta Hudson, a
> photographer who advertised several times in the back pages... tho, Lisa,
> owner of the bar, tells me she actually named the bar for the Hudson
> river, 3 blocks west, but of course wanted copies of the ads anyway.
>
> Then I got in a bit deeper... finding "making enlargements on plain paper
> for crayon finishing," used for making "portrait enlargements" in large
> (commercial) quantities. I know that crayon finishing is retouching with
> any of various kinds of chalk, the closest we have today might be conte
> crayon (which comes in sepia and black that I know of, and which, among
> other "chalk", I have).
>
> BUT the instructions are the kind those old books are full of -- telling
> you something obvious is perfect detail, but leaving out something that
> "everybody knows" except anyone born after women got the vote, or let's
> say, for our friends in other lands (women got the vote in Switzerland, if
> memory serves, sometime in the last 20 minutes -- they sure didn't have it
> in Canton Basel when I lived there in 1965 -- (tho that may be another
> story for another day!!!)
>
> ANYWAY, you start this process with a coat of "serum of milk", preferably
> on Saxe or Steinbach paper. I think I've seen those papers mentioned
> recently, so if not available, the equivalent probably is... but "serum of
> milk?" I googled it, and got a bunch of beauty treatments (as if I needed
> any) and ways to analyse blood serum, et al. Tho by tootling around I
> pretty much established that it's "whey", as in "curds and... " which I
> probably could figure out how to achieve, as I've done it by accident when
> making cottage cheese. This, the Photo Miniature explains, "should be
> prepared according to the directions given in the method for making
> enlargements upon fabrics."
>
> Oh. Is there anything discoverable in this or any of the other PMs on
> that topic? Of course not. Everybody knows that already !!!
>
> Tho an alternate possibility seems to be "a thinned casein." Both being
> organic material that probably enhances photo action.
>
> I added "old photo process" to the search term and did get to the old
> chemistry books that Google has digitized -- which were interesting, but
> further from my goal,,,, since they dwelt mainly on collodion, which no
> matter how thrilling and beloved in OUR time frame, I am not, not, I swear
> NOT, going to do. This section has its own maddening nature, as it
> REPEATEDLY wants to add each of these old treasures (chemistry books) to
> my "library," but refrains from telling me what they cost. (I've heard
> hair-raising stories about that.) However, I saw that Tom Persinger and f
> 295 have been there already: he's a goldmine of information... so he
> probably knows that already.
>
> I didn't actully mean to go on like this... my question to the list is
> does anyone know how to make whey... ("serum of milk") tho I thought
> perhaps some context would eliminate detours.
>
> The method, btw, is first you "salt the paper" with the serum of milk
> prepared according to the directions given in the method for making
> enlargements upon fabrics (not yet vouchsafed), then add k iodide, & k
> bromide, -- or alternatively, first the serum of milk, then am. bromide &
> magnesium chloride. Filter thru absorbent cotton, and put in a tray, then
> you do one of those tricks holding diagonal corners of the paper, lowering
> carefully etc. Hang to dry.
>
> The sensitizing formula is pretty much stuff we know -- and exposure is
> via "enlarging camera." Then the developer: I happen to have gallic acid
> & (I'm pretty sure) lead acetate... but I forget what protosulphate of
> iron is... I may think better of this whole operation before long, but
> meanwhile, just asking, in case anyone knows how you do "serum of milk."
>
> PS: There have been so far (& I'm only about 1/3 of the way thru the
> stack) MANY sections on kallitype, probably new at that time. It doesn't
> need serum of milk either... I realize there may be a reason why kallitype
> remains & serum of milk is "obsolete"...
>
> TIA,
>
> Judy