From: Peter Marshall (petermarshall@cix.co.uk)
Date: 05/10/01-02:13:39 AM Z
The Vandyke process has little in common with the vandyke print, and
neither is connected to the Vandyck gravure! F Vandyke was a colonial
civil servant in India who needed to print maps, and exposed a bichromated
gelatin layer on a zinc plate that could then be inked with a modified
lithographic ink and printed.
I think a certain confusion has crept in and at some point the brown print
or sepia print or water developed kallitype has got confused in some minds
with the Vandyke/Vandyck processes. Probably when some gallery owner or
ignorant critic wanted a fancier name.
We have a major show of what are described as 'silver salt prints' here in
London (ends Sunday) by Brassai which is perhaps the result of a not
dissimilar process.
Peter Marshall
Photography Guide at About http://photography.about.com/
email: photography.guide@about.com
_________________________________________________________________
London's Industrial Heritage: http://petermarshallphotos.co.uk/
The Buildings of London etc: http://londonphotographs.co.uk/
Also on Fixing Shadows: http://www.people.virginia.edu/~ds8s
and elsewhere......
> I had queried Bob Schramm who had an article about VDB, noting that
> Nadeau
> spells it Vandyke (capital D), Crawford spells it vandyke or brownprint,
> Reeve & Sward, also Arno spell it Van Dyke brown (2 caps & an lc).
>
> Schramm advised:
>
> "When in doubt, stick with Nadeau. He has done the research."
>
> But then I checked with the Getty Museum book, which, although citing
> Nadeau, still spells it Van Dyke brown. The book however confirms
> Schramm's idea about origin, saying the process is named for its "rich
> deep browns...thought to resemble those achieved by Anthony van Dyck, or
> those of the pigment named after him."
>
> Meanwhile, Peter Marshall put something else I think on the list, tho I
> don't have it at hand: that there was a Vandyke who did a brown photo
> process & it's named for him. Try Cassells.
>
> However, I have a contrarian report about spelling of Sabatier -- that
> (oops I forget who now, sorry) says he really was a two-T man, but I
> refuse to believe that. Meanwhile, I note that P-F # 6 has another Van
> Dijk story (note spelling), about a Dutchman. Living.
>
> Oh, and about that Getty Museum book -- sorry, it had some mistakes to
> *my* knowledge, and I daresay many more in processes I am not familiar
> with.
>
> cheers,
>
> Judy
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