Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Sat, 20 Mar 1999 16:46:35 -0500 (EST)
Some questions, some possible answers:
=====================================
I was asked several questions offlist, and replied that they struck me as
possibly of general interest so I would put whatever answers I could think
of onlist unless a protest was received in the next 5 minutes. It wasn't,
so, for what it's worth ......
I had commented that I...
> > have in past speculated on the list that the paucity of early kallitypes
> > is exactly because all were sold as pl-pd.
>
> You mean that there are more kallitypes than we think, only that they are
> labeled Pt/Pd?
Others have speculated to that effect, and when you consider the LARGE
number of formulas in the old magazines and the SMALL number of identified
kallitypes in museums & archives, it seems likely.
> What does "maven" mean? I don't have this word in my dictionary.Also, do your
> kallitypes and VDB print the same scale?
Maven, I believe, began as Yiddish, but now enters American English,
which, as we know, covers the world, like dollars. It means "expert," or
connoisseur, as being a wine maven. Does your dictionary have chutzpah?
If not, get another ! How about schmendrick? That's lesser known, but a
favorite of mavens.
In my experience, scale of VDB is not variable without additives, except
with a few papers which print shorter scale. Kallitype may be more
paper-sensitive, but still roughly the same as VDB, I believe. I didn't do
as much kalli as VDB, because I started it later & then gave everything up
for gum... Again, in my experience, circumstances vary cases, but I think
the two would, in their best practice, be similar in scale. Perhaps there
will be other comments on that.
> I got no more than 10 steps in Kallitype and got 14 with VDB. I figured that
> VDB goes longer for being POP and using that self masking thing and Kallitype
> doesn't for being DOP, is it true?
That's an excellent theory, I never looked at it that way -- though I
don't recall a VERY great difference between printing out effect in the
two media. (Were they on the same paper?) In this I may have missed the
boat entirely & would see it if I went back to look (which I leave to you,
friend, if I do anything but gum in mortal coil remaining, I'm going back
to silver-gelatin toning & I'm NOT DOING THAT, OH NO !).
> > The question in my mind -- not put to rest -- is archivality.
>
> I'd like to know the rest, since I am doing it and got worried by those words.
Here claims vary. As I recall, Iron-Maven Mike Ware opined that kallitype
would be LESS archival than VDB, and that VDB was bad enough. I have seen
trouble with both, although probably/possibly from bad practice. There are
MANY folks on the list, for instance, who testify to VDB unchanged for 20
years.
However I had made a kalli for my neighbor who promptly lost it behind a
chest of drawers (doesn't everybody?). When recovered, after 3 or so
years, it had a couple of streaks across it almost entirely faded out.
What were they? Straight lines across the whole image area. What did
they touch? I don't have a clue -- the floor was intact and there were no
visible agents nearby. Whatever, it spooked me.
I would in any event, recommend a gold or pl-pd toner, maybe too selenium
either. Dr. Ware says this form of fine colloidial silver (or some such
term) disintegrates (or some such term), which was his reason for
inventing argyro. I have NOT found the troubles with cyano that he cited,
but ...... am less confident about the silver media & would certainly note
his warnings.
> What color shift should I expect with gold toned kallitypes developed in
> borax/rochelle (more brown) and sodium acetate (more neutral)?
I don't have a clue.... you might tell us.
> Is there such a thing as polarizing effect in the developer?
I don't know what polarizing effect is. I've not heard the term aside from
mass psychology and camera filters. Perhaps someone will explain its use
about an emulsion. I mean I think they owe us... the mavens.
Judy
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