Re: fresson

[Richard Sullivan <richsul@earthlink.net>]

Pete,

I think you may be right. At APIS 2001 Art said he had some sophisticated 
tests done by some aerospace friends or something like that. He didn't go 
into detail as to who or where as it was done. I think it was done on the 
sly so to speak. As I recall he said it contained bovine gelatin but as I 
think back I can't recall him saying anything about gum being in it. You 
might want to email him and get a confirmation.<grin> Could be worth a pint 
or two when he next gets to Merry Olde.

The whole area of direct carbon is fascinating. I saw at the Society in 
Paris some Puyos that were listed as Arvels and they were really nice. The 
images themselves were dull. A couple of women in Gibson Girl style hats 
and clothes posing in a parklike setting. All looked like prints from the 
same shoot. B o r i n g. But the print quality was lovely. I saw some 
Haenfstengles done in the 1850's that were also boring as far as subject 
went. Portraits of men in suits leaning on Greek columns, standard studio 
stuff of the day. The prints themselves looked like the were made yesterday.

Presumably this is the same family name associated with the last European 
makers of carbon tissue.  I think the last US makers was McGraw Colorgraph 
in Burbank Ca which was a Carnation Company. They discontinued carbon 
tissue in the late 60's but continued to sell gravure tissue and if I got 
my facts right it was made in Germany by Haenfstengle. MgGraw has some 
tri-colors in the front room that were made in the 40's -- I saw them in 
the 70's and they were as fresh as the day they were made.

At the time I visited I asked for carbon tissue and was told they no longer 
made it. I was invited to go in the back and talk to this old chap. I did 
and I believe he was McGraw himself. He had had someone fetch me a roll of 
McGraw carbon tissue from a freezer in the back. I tried using it to make 
gravures with but my instructor at UCLA had a hemorrhage as it was not the 
traditional red color.

Carbon tissue was still available from Germany until the early 80's and 
then it went off the market. There was some marketing of tissue for years 
after that but I've heard it was foggier than a London night. Quite 
possibly German tissue. I've also heard rumors that the German tissue had 
it last run years before the announced discontinuance and it was stored up 
tissue that was sold.

This is mostly from memory and conjecture so if anyone knows the 
correct  version of the last days of carbon tissue I'd love to be enlightened.

--Dick Sullivan

At 11:45 PM 5/2/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>Pete
>
>Dick,
>
>Yes I was at APIS 97 and Art and I had a bet on whether the traditional
>Fresson contained Gum  he was going to do some backwards engineering to
>determine it one way or the other. As I have had no redress I claim my right
>as the winner >grin<
>
>Pete
>
> > Pete,
> >
> > There were areas that were off limits when I was there. And yes the secret
> > is in the paper. I believe you were at APIS 97 in Bath, otherwise known as
> > the Sweatlodge, when Art did his presentation on Fresson. I believe art is
> > working on the theory of a gum/gelatin mix which is not compatible, thus
> > making a fine reticulation in the gelatin which aids in direct development.
> >
> > --Dick
> >
> >
> > At 06:17 PM 5/2/2002 +0000, you wrote:
> >> Pete
> >>
> >> Argon,
> >>
> >> No this was a bit of a red herring I have done an in depth study of this
> >> process, the secret is in the coating of the paper a secret machine was
> >> used. The man that has the real secret apart from the Fresson family 
> is Luis
> >> Nadeau who has/had a machine he bought from Jose Ortis Echague. A 
> picture of
> >> this machine and Echague operating it can be found  in a book published by
> >> Gordon Fraser 1979.
> >>
> >>> Didn't I once read that part of the Fresson Process involved the use of a
> >>> sawdust/water slurry to remove the unexposed areas of pigment.  Is 
> that the
> >>> "secret" that makes the Fresson Print what it is?
> >>>
> >>> argon
> >
> >
> >