Explosions

ScullOster@aol.com
Wed, 04 Feb 1998 20:18:06 -0500 (EST)

The combination of ether, high grade alcohol and gun cotton are all explosive
materials used by wet-plate collodion photographers. A dropped bottle of
collodion or ether would be most likely. Open flames were used for drying
plates.

Darkrooms in the wet-plate era usually had a red or amber window, not a safe-
light. Safelights, I believe, made their appearance in the dryplate era
(1880s).

The current issue of The Collodion Journal is about poisons, and the next
issue, coincidentally, is about explosions.

Hope this helps!
France Scully Osterman, publisher (and wet-plate collodion photographer)
The Collodion Journal
sculloster@aol.com