Messier, Paul. 20th Century Black and White Papers
From George Eastman House : Notes On Photographs
By 1890 the key elements that would define twentieth-century black-and-white photographic printing were in place. Innovations such as baryta-coated paper, silver halide formulations of various light sensitivities, and gelatin emulsions were sufficiently well understood that they could be used (more or less) reliably in combination. But while the materials had been in use for nearly ten years, the trend toward the supremacy and near-universal adoption of gelatin silver developing-out papers by manufacturers and photographers alike was anything but clear at the turn of the nineteenth century.
At this time several competing processes were available and were meeting great success in the marketplace. During the mid-1890s, collodion silver printing-out papers (P.O.P.) dominated the American marketplace, followed by gelatin silver printing-out papers. Of the 10 or so leading manufacturers of paper in the United States, only Eastman Kodak and Nepera Chemical produced gelatin silver developing-out papers (D.O.P.) and sales of these papers were poor and declining. The primary obstacle to greater commercial success of these papers was also considered by manufacturers to be one of their most highly prized attributes: the high light-sensitivity of the silver-bromide emulsion. Exposed by artificial light to form a latent image which was then chemically developed, papers that incorporated “fast” silver-bromide emulsions allowed for a rapid and more reliable production of prints as compared to the printing-out papers that relied on sunlight; however, these papers required careful handling in a darkroom and the chemical development of a latent image which was unfamiliar territory for the vast majority of photographers. At the turn of the century, photographers were more accustomed to the working properties of much less light-sensitive, “slower” gelatin and collodion printing-out papers that were more closely related to the familiar but passé albumen paper in terms of working properties and image tone.
The eventual key to commercial success for gelatin silver developing-out papers was not the production of faster silver bromide emulsions but slower ones. Among the first to achieve this critical balance of properties was Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944), founder of the Nepera Chemical Company of Yonkers, New York. Baekleland created a silver chloro-bromide emulsion that could be handled easily in “very subdued daylight” but was “500 times quicker than albumen” meaning it could be rapidly exposed by gaslight and would reliably form an image through chemical development. First produced in 1887, Nepera marketed this new paper under the brand name Velox. By 1898, Velox had gained significant market share and other manufacturers rapidly followed suit by producing their own “gaslight” papers. Eastman Kodak’s early entry into this field, Dekko, was less than successful prompting the purchase of Velox by George Eastman in 1899. Immensely popular, especially among amateur photographers, gelatin silver developing-out gaslight papers had by 1920 almost completely displaced collodion and gelatin printing-out papers.
Gaslight paper, like printing-out paper, was contact printed meaning the light sensitive photographic paper was placed in direct contact with a negative, usually in a printing frame, and then exposed to light. Mostly manufactured for use with negatives produced by the generation of new handheld cameras produced at the turn of the century, the vast majority of gaslight papers were used to make prints no bigger than 3 ¼ x 5 ½ inches. During the late 1910s, electricity and the light bulb paved the way for key innovations in the development of photographic enlargers compact and safe enough for use in the darkroom. By the early to mid-1920s, enlarger designs were sufficiently refined to be adopted by increasing numbers of professional photographers. As photographic printing increasingly moved into the darkroom, leaving behind a reliance on sunlight or gaslight, new papers were developed to reach this emerging market. These new papers, identified by manufacturers as “enlarging” or “projection” papers, tended to incorporate silver bromide emulsions and were highly light-sensitive, much like gelatin silver developing-out papers in the pre-gaslight era.
The introduction of enlarging papers geared toward professional photographers in the 1920s catalyzed tremendous diversity as manufacturers worked to compete for this new market niche. Brands, surfaces, and finishes proliferated. To help customers make sense of all the new choices, manufacturers began to produce elaborate and expensive sample books of their papers and, by the end of the 1920s, began to routinely classify their papers by surface texture, sheen and base color. Velour Black, produced by the Defender Photo Supply Company of Rochester, New York, and a favorite of Edward Weston in the 1930s, was available in 22 different surface finishes including Buff Platinum Matt and Velvet grain White Luster. One of the pinnacle achievements of this period of great diversity was Gevaluxe Velours, produced by the Geveart Company of Antwerp, Belgium starting in 1933. Promoted by the company as the “most beautiful paper ever made,” Gevaluxe Velours had a unique texture that produced an extraordinarily matte surface with intensely deep black shadows unlike any photographic paper before or since.
Innovations along these lines more or less ceased by the outbreak of World War II, at which time the production of photographic materials was almost exclusively focused on military applications. One exception was the introduction of “multi contrast” papers by Ilford Limited of London in 1940 and soon after by Defender Photo Supply Company. The contrast of these papers could be matched to the requirements of the negative through the use of different colored filters applied during exposure. The photographic industry’s emphasis on wartime production caused shortages for both papers and film for civilian applications which were especially severe in Europe.
Following the war, the photographic industry began to consolidate, and manufacturers gradually pared down their offerings of gelatin silver developing-out papers. The introduction of Kodachrome and Agfacolor in the mid-1930s began a shift in manufacturer and consumer focus toward color, which accelerated in the 1940s with the introduction of Kodacolor prints. This industry-wide realignment toward color was virtually complete by the mid 1950s. Gelatin silver developing-out papers remained viable and abundant in this period, but only within ever-more narrowly defined niches. A sample book of Kodak gelatin silver developing-out papers from 1967 promotes its various papers for use in “commercial, press, and industrial” applications as well as for “bridal portraits” and “school pictures” with certain surfaces that “will fold without cracking” or that are useful for “airbrush work,” or “copying.” Resin-coated (RC) black-and-white papers were introduced into this increasingly prosaic and practical milieu by Kodak in 1968, and other manufacturers quickly followed. By sealing the paper base between layers of polyethylene, RC papers permitted very quick processing since only the emulsion absorbed processing chemistry and wash water.
Within this larger utilitarian context, the niche occupied by fine art photographers managed to maintain an impressive vibrancy and creativity. In America, the teachings and writing of masters such as Edward Weston (1886-1958), Berenice Abbott (1898-1991), Ansel Adams (1902-1984), and Minor White (1908-1976) influenced generations of photographers, curators, and collectors towards attaining a more highly refined understanding and respect for the expressive potential of the black-and-white photographic print. Adams in particular was expansive in the comparative merits, advantages, and disadvantages of a wide range of commercially available gelatin silver developing-out papers. And while fine art printmaking could never sustain large-scale manufacturers (leading to the inevitable but somehow still shocking announcement that Kodak was ceasing production of all black-and-white photographic papers in 2006), smaller manufacturers filled the gap, making extremely high quality papers specifically for this market segment.
Gradually, as the impact of digital photography on large-scale manufacturers is becoming clearer, so too is the near future of gelatin silver developing-out papers. As an alternative process, like platinum and gum bichromate, the existence of gelatin silver papers seems secure. A small but diverse range of manufacturers (among them some that make specialty inkjet papers for digital printing) remain committed to the production of gelatin silver developing-out paper. In honor of Ansel Adams and Minor White, the American photographer Paul Caponigro (1932- ) wrote: “It still amazes me how such a mechanical process as photography allows subject and silver to be affected by emotion and intention.” Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the ultimate fate of gelatin silver developing-out paper seems to rest with those that share this amazement.
Bibliography
- Adams, Ansel, Robert Baker. 1983. The Print. Boston: Little, Brown.
- Brayer, Elizabeth. 1996. George Eastman: A Biography. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press Ltd.
- Biggerstaff, Eric. 2005. "Legacy: The Continuing Influence of Ansel Adams and Minor White." View Camera Magazine, November 15, 2005.
- Defender Photo Supply Company, Inc. 1935. The Defender Book. Rochester: The Defender Photo Supply Company, Inc.
- Eastman Kodak Company. No date (ca. 1967). Kodak Professional Photographic Papers. Rochester: Eastman Kodak Company.
- Hercock, R.J. 1979. Silver by the Ton: The History of Ilford Limited, 1879-1979. Columbus, Ohio: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
- Jenkins, Reese. 1975. Images and Enterprise: Technology and the American Photographic Industry, 1839-1925. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press Ltd.
- Wilhelm, Henry and Carol Brower. 1993. The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures. Grinnell, Iowa: Preservation Publishing Company.