From: Sarah Van Keuren (svk@steuber.com)
Date: 06/26/00-10:00:21 PM Z
Sil Horwitz wrote way back last Thursday, June 22 the following in the
thread Re: Salted Paper:
VanDyke is much simpler, using only
> ferric ammonium citrate and silver nitrate, and just washed after exposure,
> then fixed, giving a pretty horrible color which definitely requires
> toning.
Sil, I am surprised that you have not seen handsome untoned VanDyke prints.
It is true that with a low contrast negative or when the chemical solution
is not dry or on certain papers, a muddy grayish or yellowish print can be
the result, but I have seen hundreds of gorgeous untoned VanDykes ranging
from nearly black and hard to distinguish from palladium to rich chocolate
browns to more reddish browns like cherry wood. The variations in color are
related to the printing paper and to exposure time plus other variables.
When you say that VanDyke uses only ferric ammonium citrate and silver
nitrate, I notice that you have omitted the 15 grams of tartaric acid that
are part of the common formula for making a quart of solution. I have always
wondered just what the tartaric acid did. Is it possible that it is what
makes the prints of my students and myself more pleasing in color than the
VanDykes you describe?
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