Richard Sullivan (richsul@earthlink.net)
Fri, 04 Jun 1999 09:27:54 -0600
We carry the English deionized ossein. I ordered 100 lbs of it about 2
years ago and still have over half of it left. As far as I can tell from
talking to the people that sell it, it's basic claim to fame is that it is
deionized. That is it has all of the reactive compounds removed. This was
the problem Eastman ran into in the early part of this century. He got a
batch of highly reactive gelatin and Kodak almost bought the farm. Up till
then, everyone just assumed that gelatin was an inert and non active player
in the role of film and was just something for the emulsion to stick to.
Eastman took to making his own gelatin after this episode.
The deionized ossein is a 250 bloom gelatin which is good for some things.
Whether the deionized part is of any interest to alt photo types is
questionable. If I were making an in camera film, I'd certainly want
deionized but for pt or pd sizing, I am not sure. I have read that gelatin
is a reducer for platinum but not palladium aside from the deionized part.
As always a little trivia: Eastman used glass photo plates (uncoated) from
his Belgian supplier for the windows in Eastman House. They were optically
flat and free of inclusions.
This tidbit from:
George Eastman : A Biography
by Elizabeth Brayer
I highly recommend this book. It is a big book and it can go on endlessly
at times about the various architects of Eastman House, but in general, is
an exciting read for anyone remotely interested in photography. Brayer
debunks the theory that Eastman was gay. Seems he was more interested in
photography and the photography business than pursuing either the opposite
or same sex. Hmmm?
--Dick Sullivan
505-474-0890 FAX 505-474-2857
<http://www.bostick-sullivan.com>http://www.bostick-sullivan.com
http://www.workingpictures.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 21:39:36