[alt-photo] Nature of Curtis Orotones WAS Re: wet-plate collodion

[Jeremy Moore]

I'm now very curious about Curtis's historical (non-contemporary)
Orotones and what his process was as I have never heard of them being
Ambrotypes (positive wet plate collodion on glass).

Based on the page Joe linked us to:

"Edward S. Curtis [1]   (1868-1952) used the orotone principally for a
series of portraits of North American indians. He describes [2] his
orotones more under an aesthetic than a technical angle.The general
bibliography mentions that the gold tone was obtained by putting gold
leaves on the back of the silver-gelatin glass plate, by backing with
gold paint or with a medium of gold dust and banana oil. A commercial
brochure from 1903 [3] describes that the backing consisted of a
combination of banana oil and bronze powders."

The only place I see the discussion of collodion is here:

"In a recent study (2005) at the Art Department of the University of
Delaware [4], Richard Stenman researched a series of orotone
photographs by different photographers of the beginning of the 20th
century. The technical analysis was made by using ultraviolet
fluorescence, x-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR), et scanning electron microscopy coupled with
energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS).

THE EMULSION LAYER CONSISTED OF GELATIN AND/OR COLLODION [emphasis
mine]. In each of the examined gold tone layers, bronze powder
containing copper and zinc was used. This corroborates the decription
of the Curtis Studio brochure."

The problem is this is the only place they say the layer consisted of
"gelatin and/or collodion" and when I checked the footnote ([4]--I've
included all footnotes below) I have not been able to find the
referenced newsletter as the link is both malformed and dead. Can
anyone here point me in the correct direction to get the 2006
newsletter referenced in footnote 4? Does anyone know Richard Stenman?

[1] www.soulcatcherstudio.com/.../curtis_cron.html
Edward S. Curtis and The North American Indian
A detailed chronological biography

[2] http://www.edwardcurtis.com/
Curtis wrote: "The ordinary photographic print, however good, lacks
depth and translucency. We all know how beautiful are the stones and
pebbles in the limpid brook of the forest, yet when we take the same
iridescent pebbles from the water and dry them they are dull and
lifeless; so it is with the orthodox photographic print, but in the
Goldtones all the translucency is retained and they are as full of
life and sparkle as an opal."

 [3] Advertising brochure for the Curtis Studio, 1903.
Edward S. Curtis perfected the medium regarded as Goldtone or Orotone
to the extent he eventually named these images after himself calling
them "Curt-Tones". Most photographic prints are a positive image on
paper. The Curt-Tone process Curtis used was created by taking a clear
plate of optical glass and spread a liquid emulsion onto the surface
of the plate. Curtis then projected his negative onto the glass to
create a positive image. The highlights and shadows could not be seen
unless there was some type of backing on the image. He mixed a
combination of banana oils and bronzing powders to create a sepia or a
goldtone effect, and then spread this mixture onto the dried emulsion.

[4] Icom cc.icom.museum/ Documents/ Working Group/ Photographic/
Newsletter - 01-2006.pdf

On Wed, Apr 14, 2010 at 8:43 AM, Joseph Smigiel <smieglitz at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Jeffrey,
>
> See:
> http://www.permadocument.be/texte/YRK/RFK/OPIUM%20FIELDS/RKE3.html
>
> Mention is made there of "bronze powders" as well as collodion and the gold leaf/banana oil method on dry plate positives.  I've also read elsewhere about the process but do not recall the source.
>
> I think the gold leaf would be prohibitively expensive.
>
> Dan Burkholder is using gold leaf and vellum with his Pt/Pd printing process.   Perhaps he can comment with further historical info.
>
> Joe
>
>
> On Apr 14, 2010, at 9:16 AM, Jeremy Moore wrote:
>
>> Joe,
>>
>> What's the reasoning behind this? I haven't heard this suggestion
>> before--that they are wet plate collodion positives backed with brass powder
>> as opposed to silver gelatin dry plate backed with gold leaf in a banana oil
>> suspension.
>>
>> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 10:31 PM, Joseph Smigiel <smieglitz at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> I believe Curtis' Orotones were actually ambrotypes backed with a brass
>>> powder.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Apr 13, 2010, at 9:39 PM, Bob Barnes wrote:
>>>
>>>  PS; what were Sherriff Edward Curtis'  (sorry for the oblique humous)
>>>>
>>>> gold-tone prints?
>>>>  PSS; your arcticle on Unblinking Eye really encouraged me, but the
>>>> toxicity is still intimidating.
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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