old literatures

From: Judy Seigel <jseigel@panix.com>
Subject: Re: Test for Silver Metal in Print?
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 19:08:54 -0500 (EST)

> In my own tests of cyanotype toners, for instance, not one single formula
> worked as given in old books -- yet apparently still cut & pasted in our
> time, for instance into Keepers of light (among others) and from there
> into "Photographic Possibilities" and from there on into infinity.
> (Ditto for the great GPR test.)

Well, in silver gelatin world where people have only "limited" choice
of films, papers and chemicals (I think we got plenty), there are
always some chemical addicts who are bored with what's on market now,
and dig old literatures and find exotic formulae that are dropped from
current practice for good reasons. Some use developing agents that are
no longer used (for good reasons), some formulae that don't work with
today's material, some that were intended to make up for the
shortcommings of old materials that we no longer have, etc. Well, you
can believe all those crap if you want but just don't tell me those
are better stuff.

--
Ryuji Suzuki
"Reality has always had too many heads." (Bob Dylan, Cold Irons Bound, 1997)