From: TERRY KING, 101522,2625
TO: Mike Robinson and Janine, INTERNET:robkiss@io.org
DATE: 06/06/96 08:13
RE: Copy of: Re: Copy of: Some Albumen Notes
Mike & Janine
>In my practice I try to avoid the gloss.
"Terry, If you are attempting to keep alive the aesthetic qualities of
historic processes, it seems odd to me that you would teach albumen
printing as you have described. The gloss of albumen paper is one of its
most important aesthetic characteristics. The search for a printing
process that could render the same fine detail as the daguerrotype is what
lead to the development of the wet-plate / glossy albumen combination."
That is just the point of my posting. I said that I was trying to keep alive
those characteristics of superseded processes that have died.
High gloss and fine detail are generally available today from commercial sources
to the extent that I find the results more pleasing than I do modern glossy
albumen prints . My posting also made it clear that the high gloss and fine
detail was what the customer wanted in that high tech age. It is my practice,
unless the students want to do it differently, not to repeat processes just to
obtain historical verisimilitude. But I will give double coating a go.
"It takes about 500 mL of solution to succesfully float a 9 X 12 sheet of
paper in a 10 X 15 inch glass tray. One dozen eggs will make this much. I
can double coat at least 50 sheets of paper with this amount and the
albumen will last many months if refrigerated. You can sensitize the paper
on as little as 100 mL of silver nitrate in the tray and less if you float
it on a sheet of glass. I wouldn't call these amounts extravagant."
It is just a bit extravagant if you only want one or two sheets and can coat
them with 2 % ( a fiftieth) of the amount or less.
I believe it when you say your brush coated matte finish paper works fine
with a negative DR of 2.00. Double coated glossy paper however can print
with much deeper "blacks" and require a little longer scale negative.
Thanks. I usually have negatives available at about three different densities.
I realize that brush coating is easier, but if you want to give your
students a real *feel* for the process, with practice and patience,
floating is still the best method for making albumen prints.
Have you made an albumen arrowroot print and then gold toned it to see the
unique quality it gives. Without the gold toning they are also pretty
impressive. I must admit I prefer the al/ar route; to me the results are more
pleasing aesthetically.
Terry King