> On Mon, 14 Jul 1997 Doug Munson <albuwrks@bcn.net> wrote:
>
> >Keep in mind that vintage albumen prints were almost always wet mounted.
> >They consequently stretched taught on the surface of the mounting board
> >when they dried. That stretch, along with using a thin paper with little
> >surface texture to begin with, is a major factor in producing an albumen
> >print's characteristic surface quality.
>
>
> The wet mounted papers was glazed in a lot of case with a (heated) cylinder
> press. The relatively strong pressure smoothed the paper fibers also on
> the surface.
>
> There where sizing/covering methods also (the result was a bit similar to
> the baryta layer) in the egg-albumen age.
Could you explain a bit more about the "wet mounting" procedure? Was the
paper coated with albumen, dried, sensitized, dried, exposed, fixed,
washed, and then mounted before it dried again? Was the Glazing done
after the paper was mounted and had dried? Could you also expand on the
"sizing/covering" methods you spoke of?
I'm also wondering about the organic dyes that one often sees in vintage
prints giving them a bluish or pinkish cast. At what stage in the process
were these added?
Any good books or recommended references for the albumen process?
- Wayde
(allen@boulder.nist.gov)