[alt-photo] permanence of kallitypes and VDB, Sandy King's tests 2002

[Christina Anderson]

Quote from August 2002 0086 post by Sandy King is below. I am dying to know what his results were. Maybe I will find them in the 2003 or 2004 archive (all I have left to go through) but this seemed an interesting proposition considering our discussion of the week. If I come across them before Sandy answers, I will post, but it usually takes me about 16 hours to go through one year. I don't know if Sandy is even still on the list? 

Permanence of Kallitype Prints 
For some time now I have been making gold, platinum and palladium 
toned kalllitypes (ferric oxalate version), and posted working 
procedures on my method to the list earlier this year. People who 
have seen my prints have been impressed with the deep, rich shadows, 
clear highlights, and a wide tonal range. With platinum and 
palladium toning I have recently begun to get the same kind of 
results with the simpler Van Dyke (ferric ammonium citrate) version 
of the kallitype. The platinum and palladium toned prints are 
identical in color and tonal range to pt/pd prints and print with 
about the same speed. In fact, since toning substitutes one metal for 
the other, platinum and palladium replacing silver in this instance, 
there is every reason to believe that this kind of kallitype is in 
fact a platinum or palladium, with the same degree of permanence. 
I recall that a Portuguese photographer, Carlos Gasparino if memory 
serves me well, once stated that he had placed some toned kallitype 
prints in his care and drove around with them for a year or so and 
saw no change. However, I would like to be sure on the question of 
permanence so since I have been doing quite a bit of printing with 
toned kallitype I have decided to run a similar, but more detailed 
test than the one reported by Mr. Gasparino. 
What I have done is this. Using a Stouffer 4X5 step wedge I made ten 
kallitype prints, five Van Dykes and five traditional kallitype 
prints (ferric oxalate). The five Van Dykes were finished as follows. 
#1	No toning 
#2	Platinum toned 
#3	Palladium toned 
#4	Platinum and Palladium, equal amounts, toned 
#5	Gold toned 
The three traditional kallitypes were finished as below. 
#6	No toning 
#7	Platinum toned 
#8	Palladium toned 
#9	Platinum and Palladium toned, equal amounts 
#10	Gold toned 
All of the prints were processed for maximum archival qualities, 
which included two separate fixing baths, separated by a wash, and 
the use of a hypo clearing agent, in this case a 1% solution of 
sodium sulfite. Prints were washed for 30 minutes following the 
hypo-clearing bath. 
I have now read and recorded the densities of each of these prints 
with a reflection densitometer, and mounted them on a piece of 
archival mat board with pushpins. What I propose to do is now place 
the mat board with the prints in my car and leave them there for a 
year, rotating the board every week. I am going to place the board in 
the area of the car where it will receive both direct and indirect 
sunlight every day. At three months I will read the densities again 
and note any changes, dot he same again at six months, and again at 
the end of one year. 
I believe that the results of this test should answer some important 
question about the permanence of kallitype prints, in general, and 
the permanence of traditional kallitypes as opposed to Van Dyke 
prints in particular. It should also indicate the archival 
importance of toning with the metals tested. 
Any comments or suggestions regarding this test would be appreciated. 
Sandy King 


Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com