Assignment 1 -
Historic Photographic Processes
Bromoil transfer prints
Windmill : Robert Demarchy 1907
Key Elements that
distinguish the Process
The process revolves around the old adage: Oil repels water!
The Bromoil process belongs to the oil print family of photo processing,
along with oil and mediobrome.
The primary difference between the oil process and bromoil process is
that the oil prints uses an enlarged negative to start with, as the gelatin used
in silver positive was too slow to permit an enlarger to be used, so negatives
had the same size as the positives.
By using the Bromoil process, one creates a smaller negative in an
enlarger to produce the silver bromide positive.
The Bromoil print process –essentially an "oil print on Bromoil paper"
1.Photographers take a silver gelatin-sized print and soak it in a
bleaching bichromate solution so that only a faint trace of the image can be
seen. The bleached print is called
a “matrix”, as the gelatin hardens selectively where the light hits the paper.
2.Once dried, the Matrix is soaked in water, dried and the gelatin
swells- except in the areas where it hardened. Then oil-based lithographic ink is
applied to the surface to rebuild the image and sticks to areas of hardened gelatin.
The water-swollen areas repel the ink. The silver based image is replaced with
an ink image, which is a far more permanent image. The bromolist uses their
artistic control to create this image by their brush strokes.
The bromoil transfer print
takes the bromoil print and places it against artist paper and then pulls it
through an etching or bromoil press. This leaves a layer of pigment on the
paper, which takes on the texture of the transfer paper. It is possible to make
several copies of the “one of a kind” bromoil print using this method.
Heinrich Kuhn The Reaper 1924
Inventor/s
•The Bromoil process had its’ roots with the development of the oil
print. In 1839 Scottish photographer Mungo Poton used a potassium bichromate
process (which was much cheaper than silver) to create an image, This was a
very yellow image that didn’t catch on. In 1855, A.L. Poitevin spread oil-based ink on a silver print
with a roller. This process was further developed by G.E.H Rawlins, who
introduced spreading ink selectively on a print with a brush in 1904.
•The British photographer C.
Welbourne Piper is credited with inventing the bromoil process in 1907. He
worked with EJ Wall, who had worked on a theory about this but had never
explored creating this process.
•Fred Judge invented bromoil
transfer print in1909, which allowed photographers to make several transfers
from the original bromoil print.
Important photographers of
Bromoil transfer prints:
•Principal
European photographers employing this process:
Robert
Demachy and Heinrich Kuhn.
•Principal
British G.L. Hawkins and Sam Weller .
Weller
established the Bromoil Circle of Great Britain in 1931, which still exists
today.
Typical way Bromoil transfer
prints are used:
The
bromoil print was most popular during the photographic period called the Pictorial Period in Britain and Europe
in the early 1900s. Pictorialism is considered the first art movement in
photography and was fading by 1910. Alfred Stieglitz is credited with moving
photography in a more realism period with the formation of the “Photo-Secession
Group” in America. Pictorialism emphasized an imaginative and impressionistic
approach to photography, rather than realistic imaging. Major topics focused on
portraitures, still life’s, and landscapes. The Bromoil transfer print is still
used today by “Art” photographers and one can
purchase Bromoil kits. See David W. Lewis recent bromoil photography:http://www.bromoil.com/Site-Files/Site-Pages/Galleries-1
Fred Judge: Durley Chime in Bournemouth:1918
How
to Identify and Date examples
Identification:
(characteristics taken from Institute of Photographic
Technology-http://www.iptaustralia.com/page16/page37/page38/page40/page40.html)
•Pattern:
Irregular stipple pattern –the
grain will vary in coarseness because of brush used
•Edge definition
Lack a sharp focus –edges
have a “soft” appearance, not crisp
•Image:
On the top of the print, not buried in the emulsion
•Support Paper
Bromoil print: pigment image on gelatin paper base
Bromoil transfer print: image on art paper
•Plate mark:
Present because a press is used to transfer the image
•Can be printed in black and white or in a 4 color method, but the oil
base typically creates a yellow hue.
•Photos resemble a painting,
drawing or engraving.
Dating:
Most photos date from the 1907-1930s. Because
the process is always unique to the photographer, it is difficult to date
modern from older prints. The paper age will help determine the photo’s modernity.
F. Rontag: Goldbandlilie: 1932, a 4-colour bromoil-transfer
Preservation
Concerns
The Bromodial transfer print is
as permanent as the paper support and pigments used in the process. If good
paper was used and the print stored properly it should last a very long time.
For bromoil prints that weren’t transferd to art paper, poor rinsing of
the chrome salts can lead to discoloration under influence over time. Apparently
washing all the bromate stain off is essential for the process to be correct.
The irregular thickness of the gelatin layer can, in unfavorable
conditions, lead to stresses in the pictorial layer.
Sam Weller:Unknown Title and Date
Bibliography
Bonanno, Carolanne, “Alternative
Photogrpahy” : Reviving the Bromoil Process”. Retrieved
from:http://sbc.edu/sites/default/files/Honors/CBonanno.pdf
Hinwood, Jane (2005). RMIT Bromoil Paper Presentation called “The good Oil on Bromoil” from “Bromoil and pictorial Photography”.
Retrieved from
http://www.iptaustralia.com/page16/page37/page38/page40/page40.html
Kingsley, Hope (1992): “Identification by
inspection: An introduction to photographic papers”. Journal of the Society of Archivists,
00379816, Spring92, Vol. 13, Issue 1.
Laughter,Gene.
“What is Bromoil?” . From The
International Society of Bromolist website. Retrieved
from:http://www.bromoil.info/HISTORY/what%20is%20bromoil.html
The
Bromoil Circle of Great Britain: “The History of Bromoiling”. Retrieved
from:http://www.thebromoilcircleofgreatbritain.com/section646484_239992.html
The
Royal Photographic Society: “Bromoil Process-A Brief History and overview”:
Retrieved from:http://www.rps.org/special-interest-groups/archaeology-and-heritage/blogs/2014/june/bromoil-process---a-brief-history-and-overview
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