From: Ed Buffaloe (EdBuffaloe@UnblinkingEye.Com)
Date: 01/05/03-05:42:56 AM Z
Note that the ferric citrate/ferric oxalate process that Stevens includes in
his brown print chapter was originally listed in Cassell's under "sepia
print."
In George E. Brown's "Ferric & Heliographic Processes," published in 1899
(or possibly 1900), a multitude of ferric processes are outlined, with
categories such as ferro-prussiate, kallitype, pellet, ferro-gallic, and
brown-line. Arndt & Troost's process is mentioned at the end of Chapter X,
where it is referred to as brown-line. It is interesting to note that Brown
did not list it under Kallitype, which he apparently considered a different
process.
If you look up Vandyke Process in Cassell's (1911), it describes a
photo-lithographic process bearing no relationship to Arndt & Troost's brown
print process. The formula in Cassell's that is similar to Arndt & Troost's
is listed under Kallitype as "modified kallitype" and is said to be known as
"Water-developing kallitype".
The same photo-lithographic "Vandyke" process described in Cassell's appears
under "Vandyke or Reverse Process" in Photographic Facts and Formulas
(1924-1976).
In The Photo-Miniature #47, February 1903, John Tennant gives a process
described by George E. Brown in the Amateur Photographer of 1901 which uses
FAC, tartaric acid, silver nitrate, and gelatine which he refers to as "a
very simple Kallitype method." In the Photo-Miniature #185, January 1922,
Tennant classifies the same formula under "Sepia Watertone Paper."
In The Photo-Miniature #81, September 1907, there is a chapter by James
Thompson in which he provides a formula for "Mercurio Sepia Paper for Warm
Brown Tones" the salting solution for which includes ferric ammonium
citrate.
Again, in The Photo-Miniature #185, January 1922, Tennant describes a
formula for "brown tones" containing ferric oxalate, iron ammonium citrate,
chloride of copper, platinum solution, potassium bichromate, and gum arabic.
He states: "The resultant image may be developed in the acidified silver
solution mentioned above, or the printing may be carried to a point where
developing is effected by washing the print in water and afterwards fixing
in the 2 grains to the ounce hypo solution already advised..."
Neblette, in Photography: Its Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition, 1930,
has a chapter entitled Printing with Salts of Iron and Platinum, in which he
includes the Kallitype process, but he does not give a formula for a
brown-print process, nor does he mention brown print or Vandyke.
Clerc, in Photography: Theory and Practice (1930-1973), has a chapter on
Non-Silver Printing Processes in which he mentions Kallitype and Imitation
Platinum Papers, but I could find no reference to Vandyke or Brown Print.
In a very quick survey, the only formula I could find that mentions ferric
ammonium citrate is for "sepia" paper.
To sum up, none of the sources I possess, up to the 1930's, call Arndt &
Troost's formula (or similar formulas) "Vandyke"--it is referred to as
brown-line, brown print, sepia, or kallitype. The term "Vandyke" has only
been applied to Arndt & Troost's process relatively recently, but I haven't
been able to determine precisely when. At some point "brown print" and
"Vandyke" became interchangeable, but early on they were totally different
processes. I haven't been able to find any reference that says that
"Vandyke" or "brown print" must be a ferric ammonium citrate process.
The Focal Dictionary of Photographic Technologies (1973) lists "Van Dyke
Process: A brown print process. ... Also called sepia paper."
I'll keep digging.
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Sandy King"
>
> I read Stevens' chapter on the Brown Print and I agree with your
> understanding that the "Brownprint" has been historically used to
> describe an iron silver process that does not require a special
> developer. However, the historical literature clearly indicates that
> this process is overwhelmingly based on the use of ferric ammonium
> citrate, either the green or brown version. There are certainly some
> exceptions as quite a number of ferric solutions can be used to make
> either regular kallitypes or brownprints, but generally ferric
> oxalate has been used for kallitype and ferric ammonium citrate for
> brownprint.
>
> What I find curious is that James describes vandyke and brownprint as
> separate processes and not as variants of the same, when in fact most
> all other literature equate the term brownprint with vandyke. My
> interest is in knowing if there is any historical precedent for the
> distinction James makes between VDB and brownprint, or if the
> difference in terminology is but a difference without distinction.
>
> Sandy King
>
>
>
>
> >
> >
> >>
> >> This message has a comment and a question.
> >>
> >> First, the comment. On p. 167-68 Christopher James describes a
> >> process he calls the "Brownprint." The difference between this
> >> process and regular VDB are said to be that 1) it uses oxalic acid
> >> in place of tartaric acid, and that 2) development is in a mixture of
> >> borax and water rather than in plain water. It is also stated that
> >> after proper exposure there is a "stage whisper" of an image as in
> >> kallitype, which suggests that the "Brownprint" is a DOP process and
> >> not POP like VDB.
> >>
> >> OK, I mixed the sensitizing solution as per James and tried his
> >> "Brownprint." The results were very disappointing. Sensitivity was
> >> very much less than what one sees with VDB, about two full stops.
> >> Also, I tested development in both plain water and in the borax acid
> >> mixture and there was no difference at all. Finally, the image before
> >> development was much more similar to what one sees with VDB than with
> >> kallitype.
> >>
> >> If anyone else has tried the "Brownprint" process as described by
> >> James and gotten good results I would be interested in having some
> >> details of your work.
> >>
> >> Next, the question.
> >>
> >> In all of the previous literature at my disposal, including Dick
> >> Stevens' book on the kallitype, the term "Brownprint" is used to
> >> describe a form of printing that most of us understand as VDB. That
> >> is, the sensitizer is based on ferric ammonium citrate, tartarid acid
> >> and silver nitrate. Does anyone know the historical origin of James'
> >> use of the term, which differentiates it from regular VDB?
> >>
> >> Sandy King
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
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