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Re: Dassonville Charcoal black paper

At 11:36 AM 03/25/2000 -0500, Joseph Arkins wrote:
>Dear Mac:
>
>Dassonville Charcoal Black was a legendary commercially produced
silver-gelatine paper, made during the 1920-45 period, which was produced
by Will Dassonville, an eminent pictorialist.  It was a silver-rich, warm
>tone chlorobromide emulsion coated on fine papers in varying textures.  It
hasn't been made since the end of World War II -- Dassonville sold his
factory to Defender Photo Products (I think) but they didn't keep the
>product line in production for very long.
>
>It was an exquisite printing medium, and Ansel Adams printed one of his
earliest portfolios with this material.
>
>Joe Arkins
>NY, NY
>
>Mac Legrandi wrote:
>
>> Hello!
>>
>> There was a show of some pictoralist platinum prints at a gallery here
in La Jolla I went to. In the show were some small prints described as
printed on: Dassonville Charcoal black paper.  I like the look a lot.
>>
>> The woman at the gallery could not tel me if this is an art paper the
photographer hand coaded or some commercial paper.
>>
>> So is anyone familar with "Dassonville Charcoal black paper?"
>>
>> If this is for hand coating I'd like to try it. The results were excellent.
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Mac
>>
>> --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
>> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
>
  Sorry about the empty post. I sent a reply to the list which went
directly to the original poster. When I tried to send it to the list also
it came out blank. Lets try again.

  Per the 1943 Photo-Lab-Index. Dassonville Charcoal Black was available on
the following stock:
Grade B, Pure White artist's sketching surface, medium weight.
Grade C, Laid paper , suggestive or artists' charcoal paper. Clear Ivory
tone, medium wieght.
Grade D, Very rough paper similar to Whatman's Drawing Paper. Pure white,
medium weight.
Grade E, Similar to Grade B but in Ivory.
Grade F, Opaline Parchment-Extra Thin. Smooth, creamy white, translucent.

  All were coated without the usual Baryta undercoating, i.e. coated
directly on the paper or some sort of thin substrate. 
  Grade F was the really famous paper, intended for use in making paper
negatives.
  Dassonville also made a warm-tone paper called Charcoal Ember for a while.
  The company started in San Francisco but moved to New Jersey at some time
in the late 1940's. That may have been at the time of acquistion by
Defender. In any case by the time I started to work seriously in the mid
1950's it was only a much lamented memory.
  I believe there are some papers being coated now without the baryta
coating but can't remember who might be making them.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com