1173
marked the most radical difference between the da-
guerreotype and the paper negative. The unique direct
positive of the daguerreotype may, initially, have offered
fi ner detail and higher quality, but the ease of duplication
via the negative marked the real birth of photography
as we know it today.
It was inspired thinking on Talbot’s part to recognise
that the lights and shades, reversed in his photogenic
drawing, could be restored by exposing another sheet
of salted paper in contact with the negative. Just as the
original photogenic drawing paper was exposed in the
camera until a visible negative image of the required
strength was achieved by the action of light alone, so
the fi rst positive prints were exposed in contact until the
positive achieved the required density. No development
was originally involved, with the exposed and printed-
out image then simply fi xed and washed.
As Robert Hunt wrote, in 1857, in his Manual of
Photography,
The copying frame is an indispensable requisite to
the photographer: it is used for copying all objects by
transmission, and for multiplying the original pictures,
obtained by means of the camera obscura from nature: it
is, indeed, the printing-press of the artist.
The ‘copying frame’ remained the essential tool of
the photographic printer for several decades, with racks
of frames arranged outdoors and directed towards the
sun—as seen in the celebrated panorama of Talbot and
Henneman’s printing establishment at Reading. Because
of the low sensitivity of the material, and the inherent
density of the negative, printing on a commercial scale
only became viable once the negative was waxed or oiled
to increase its translucency—and thus reduce exposure
times. Only then could multiple copies be made within
an acceptable time frame—the approach adopted by
Talbot for The Pencil of Nature (1844) and Sun Pictures
in Scotland (1845).
Commercially available printing frames used two
sprung bars across the back to hold the negative in close
contact with the positive paper. A hinged back allowed
for one spring to be released, and the printing paper
gently folded back to assess progress.
The ‘salt print’ as it became known, remained, es-
sentially, the same material which had been used in the
camera, the only difference, as it evolved, being the
introduction of a ‘developer’ to reduce exposure times.
That ‘developer’ was not dissimilar to the sensitizing
bath used to activate the light sensitive chemistry be-
fore exposure—namely silver nitrate, acetic acid and
gallic acid.
The idea of developing prints was originally proposed
as an expedient for printing on dull winter days—where
light levels might double or even treble exposure times.
Sparling’s Theory and Practice of the Photographic Art
(1856) advised that ‘positive printing by the negative
method,’ as the production of developed prints was
known, should only be undertaken by the most skilful.
Quoting another eminent teacher on photography, he
reported that
Mr Hardwich advises the amateur to master the manipula-
tion of the ordinary positive process before trying that by
development... ... The exposure to light is conducted in
the ordinary printing frame: it extends from a few seconds
upwards. On removing the negative a very faint image
is seen, which develops rapidly when the gallic acid is
applied. The development being completed, the prints are
well washed and fi xed in hyposulphite of soda, one part
to four of water. The tint is improved by adding a little
nitrate of silver (a few drops of the exciting bath) to the
gallic acid towards the end of the process, but a better
plan is to tone the prints in the gold bath
The quality of the salt print, correctly exposed and
processed, was high, and despite the introduction of
the albumen print in 1850, salt prints remained popular
with many users well into that decade. Thus, many of
the prints published in 1856 after Roger Fenton’s trip
to the Crimea were developed salted paper prints—and
despite problems of fading experienced by many users,
many of Fenton’s Crimean images retain their original
richness.
Albumen printing paper, introduced in 1850 by Blan-
quart-Evrard of Lille, offered a higher concentration of
silver halide, contained within a thin layer of egg-white
on the surface of the paper, signifi cantly enhancing the
sharpness of the print, and extending the tonal range.
Like salt prints, albumen paper could be used either as a
printing-out paper or as a developed paper with a signifi -
cantly shorter exposure. As Blanquart-Evrard’s intention
in introducing the paper was to introduce commercial
production methods, the developed print was the norm,
and with it, he claimed to be able to produce in excess of
two hundred prints per day from a single negative. That
represented a remarkable progression from the original
printed-out salt print, where the daily output from a
single negative was counted in single fi gures.
Guidance on the progress of the printed-out image,
assessed by inspection, was offered in many manuals.
Sparling (1856) advised that
if the general aspect of the print is a rich chocolate-brown
in the case of albumen, a dark slate-blue with gelatine or
ammonio-nitrate paper, or a reddish-purple with paper
prepared on serum of milk, probably the subsequent
colouration will proceed well.
Again, the printing frame was the only piece of
equipment necessary—that is until the introduction of
the Solar Enlarger in 1857. David Acheson Woodward
designed and patented the idea of the solar enlarging
camera, able to make enlarged life size prints from