From: Sandy King (sanking@clemson.edu)
Date: 02/08/02-03:38:33 PM Z
Randall Webb wrote:
>
>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.
To be sure I am no master of the kallitype. I am primarily interested
in carbon printing and do most of my work with this medium. However,
I have made what I consider to be some wonderfully unique images with
kallitype, with a charm and appeal that could not have been achieved
with any other process I am familiar with. I certainly do not
consider that I am using it to make *easy imitations* of anything.
More, I think it somewhat presumptuous on your part to suggest that
it is a process which provides a "few people to make quite easy means
for making imitations with pretty brushed edges." I think you may
have missed the point.
In the past I had some concern about questions of permanence of
kallitypes. However, after considerable study and consideration of
the issue I am personally convinced that the kallitype, if processed
correctly, will have the same degree of permanence and stability as
any process based on the smaller brown silver metal particles, and
more if toned in gold or platinum.
On the issue of permanence let me remark that the development
procedure you describe on p. 67 of Spirits of Salts, using borax and
Rochelle salts, is almost certainly one of the least permanent
processing methods for traditional kallitype based on ferric oxalate.
If we know anything about the process it is that residual ferric
iron, which if left in the print will ultimately destroy it, is
removed much more effectively in a neutral or slightly acidic
developer than in an alkaline one.
Sandy King
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