From: Randall Webb (randall.webb@lineone.net)
Date: 02/08/02-04:00:02 PM Z
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Sullivan <richsul@earthlink.net>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 10:43 AM
Subject: Re: Kallitype vs. PT/PD
> Years ago I used to sit in the UCLA research Library and read the old
photo
> journals. It's a great way to get a feel for the culture of photography in
> the 18th and early 19th Centuries. The Kallitype came into vogue c. 1905
to
> 1922 or thereabouts. There were constant complaints from the establishment
> that members of the photographic underclass were sneaking Kallitypes into
> competitions labelled as platinums. That should tell you something. Even
in
> the old days platinum paper was expensive, too expensive for many to use
so
> the Kallitype appeared to enjoyed considerable vogue.
>
>
> Despite the fact that the kallitype enjoyed widespread use and in fact was
> used by some name brand photographers, they are quite rare in collections.
> I've discussed this with Van Deren Coke and James Endear and both agree
> they are rare. Both have headed up major collections and both headed the
> Eastman House so a fairly good reliable source. There are several
> explanations for this:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
.
Catching up on recent mail I saw some comments on my least favourite
process - kallitype- and
one or two aspects of the subject came to mind. First, is it ok to mention
Dick Stevens? I know he is a bit repetitive, reads like a doctoral thesis
and his text is better than his images. However his research seems to be
fairly good.
I am surprised to see that kallitypes were in vogue from 1905 onwards. As
Dr. Nichols took out his first patent at Aston university - Birmingham UK in
1886, it seems unlikely that nearly 20 years would elapse before it became
popular. BTW, Crawford locates him at Mason College.(if it was that
important I might check the facts! The kallitype was
followed soon after with a commercially coated paper which turned out to be
VDB.
The reasons for the early demise of kalli are several.
1. It was introduced 40 years too late, by which time it was a sort of
dinosaur. Using kalli was rather like going backwards in time to salt
prints. Herschel had already looked at it ( and probably decided against
it!)
2 Nichols had published so many variations that nobody knew were to start.
3. Most members of the public probably said " Oh no! not another brown
photo. Give us Kodak"
4.By the 1880's quick, convenient and cheap were the the watchwords.
Kalli was complicated and time consuming. The workforce was unskilled and
ill-educated and unable or unwilling to take on board an out of date and
difficult to learn method.
Much easier was to buy factory coated platinum paper ( the Platinotype co or
Ilford Platona) expose it and wash it in muriaticacid/spirits of
salts/hydrochloric acid. (useful for cleaning drains.)
As a matter of interest, I had a student at a workshop last year who turned
up with a metal cylinder of unopened pl paper from the Platinotype co.
We debated whether to open its sealed wrapping or not. We eventually decided
to treat it as old vintage wine. If you open it you will spoil it.
It was better to leave it as an 'objet d'art' than a few sheets of useless
paper.
The student who brought it has since gone on to teach digital. There must be
a
moral here somewhere.
5. Kalli had a reputation for archival unstability. It doesn't seem to be
the case now but 100 years ago our water supply was a lot less than pure.
6. Then, as now, the overwhelming demand for photographs was for the quick,
cheap and easy.
George Eastman's famous words " man, or woman, or child who has sufficient
intelligence to point a box straight and press a button....... with an
instrument which altogether removes from the practise of photography the
necessity for exceptional facilities or, in fact, any special knowledge of
the art." were published around the time that he introduced his first
rollfilm camera in 1888. Consequently, then as now the relatively small "art
photography" moved into platinum and the di-chromated colloids( gum,carbon,
gravure and bromoil.)
It occurs to me that kalli/vdb are late 20th century re-inventions plus a
few other attempts to re-invent the wheel, which provide a few people to
make quite easy means fo making imitations with pretty brushed edges.
Following on from Judy, if you use VDB to pass as pd for pure snobbery it
seems pretty sad. On the other hand if you do as I do - when in doubt
,cheat! Randall Webb
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