Assignment 1: Historical Processes: Cyanotypes

Cyanotypes

Creation:

• The Cyanotype process was invented by Sir John William Frederick Herschel in 1842.
• He presented his discovery to the Royal Society of London on June 16, 1842 in a paper titled “On the Action of the Rays of the Solar Spectrum on Vegetable Colors, and on Some New Photographic Processes”.[1]
• Herschel was a renowned astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer and is credited with being the first person to apply the terms “negative” and “positive” to describe the photographic process.[2]
• In 1877 Henri Pellet invented a direct positive cyanotype method.

Process:

• The basic principle of the cyanotype process is the photochemical reduction of ferric salts (iron III) into ferrous salts (iron II) that reacts with potassium ferricyanide, creating a bright blue hue.[3]
• Herschel’s Method
• A sheet of paper is sensitized by coating it with a solution of ammonium ferric citrate and potassium ferricyanide. The coating must be applied under dim light and dried in the dark due to its photosensitivity.[4]
• A negative or other object is placed on top of the sensitized paper and is exposed to artificial UV or sun light.
• The light hits the exposed areas of the sensitized paper and reduces the ferric salts in the ammonium ferric citrate coating to the ferrous state. These salts then combine with the potassium ferricyanide, turning the coating blue.[5]
• The exposed paper is transferred to a water bath to dissolve any unexposed sensitizing solution.
• As the exposed material dries, the blue shade intensifies. The final image material is composed of a mixture of the iron compounds ferrous ferricyanide and ferrous ferrocyanide. The final product is a white image on a bright blue background; the color of which is known as “Prussian Blue”.[6]

Image from Graphic Atlas

• Pellet’s Method
• The main difference between Pellet’s and Herschel’s methods is the solution.
• In Pellet's method, paper is sensitized by coating it with a mixture of ammonium ferric citrate, ferric acid, and an organic acid in a binder such as gum arabic.
• Once dry, the paper is exposed to light.
• After exposure the paper is developed in potassium ferrocyanide, which reacts with the remaining ferric salts (iron III) and creates the blue pigment.
• The paper is then immediately bathed in water.
• The final product is a Prussian blue image on a white background.[7]

Image from https://photogenic.hypotheses.org/tag/assiette-decorative

Uses and Associated Artists

• Cyanotypes were cheaper, easier to create, and more stable than silver albumen, silver collodion, and silver gelatin photographic printing.[8]
• Cyanotypes were most commonly utilized by photographers as an inexpensive way to proof their negatives.
• Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868-1952) and Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) both used cyanotypes to proof their work.[9]
• Scientists used cyanotypes to create prints of the specimens they worked with.[10]
• Other notable users of cyanotypes include:
• John Fredrick William Herschel (1792-1871) made quick copies of his notes and calculations.
• Anna Atkins (1799-1871) used cyanotypes to illustrate her three volume work British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. Published 1843-1850.[11]
• Hippolyte Bayard (1801-1887) created a series of photograms using the cyanotype process.
• Henri Le Secq (1818-1887) reprinted his negatives as cyanotypes after 1870.
• Henry Peter Bosse (1844-1903) exclusively used the cyanotype process.[12]
• Between 1870 and about 1950 cyanotypes were widely adopted by engineers and draftsman for the purpose of reproducing architectural plans and technical drawings in the form of “blueprints”.
• In the 1870s cyanotype paper was manufactured by Marion & Company for commercial use.[13]

Fucus ceranoides by Anna Atkins.

From http://wcma.williams.edu/exhibtions/brainscapes-and-anna-atkinss-cyanotypes/

D.H. Burnham and Co.

Building elevations (Detail of Sheet 8)

Cyanotype, 1928

35 1/2 x 42 inches

From http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_info/exhibit_docs/exhibits_2008/carbide_carbon_2008.html

Identification

• Cyanotypes were only occasionally produced from 1840-1880. Most examples originate from the late 1880s-1920.
• Most common were blueprints, images of scientific specimens, and photographer’s proofs.
• Use context clues to identify – clothing styles, architectural styles, etc.  
• Uniform cyan (blue) image color
• Matte finish
• Paper fibers are clearly visible
• Little to no reflection under light[14]

Preservation Concerns:

• Fading of blue tone / discoloration
• Causes:
• exposure to an alkaline environment (pH above 7.5)
• residual photosensitive iron compounds reacting to light
• poor quality mounting and/or adhesive
• Staining
• Embrittlement of paper support
• Easily torn because they lack the strength provided by a binder
• Recommendations:
• Strictly control and monitor the amount of time spent on display and the level of light used
• Store in protective envelopes made from un-buffered (non-alkaline) paper
• Store in a dark place[15]

Footnotes

[1] William Crawford, Keepers of Light: A History & Working Guide to Early Photographic Processes (Dobs Ferry: Morgan & Morgan, 1979), 67.; Art Kaplan and Dusan C. Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes (Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2013), PDF, 4.  

[2] Ibid.

[3] Bertrand Lavédrine, Photographs of the Past: Process and Preservation, trans. John McElhorne (Los Angeles: Getty Conservatory Institute, 2009), 150.; Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 6.

[4] Laura Blacklow, New Dimensions in Photo Processes: A Step by Step Manual for Alternative Techniques (Burlington: Focal Press, 2007), 152.; Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 6.; Mary Marien, “The Cyanotype,” in 100 Ideas that Changed Photography (London: Laurence King, 2012), Accessed September 19, 2015. http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/lkingitcp/the_cyanotype/0

[5] Blacklow, New Dimensions in Photo Processes, 152.; Marien, “The Cyanotype,” in 100 Ideas that Changed Photography.

[6] Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 6.; Lavédrine, Photographs of the Past: Process and Preservation, 152.;  Blacklow, New Dimensions in Photo Processes, 152.;  James M. Reilly, Care and Identification of 19^th Century Photographic Prints (Rochester: Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009), 151-152.

[7] Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 16.; Lois Olcott Price, “The History and Identification of Photo-Reproductive Processes Used for Architectural Drawings Prior to 1930,” Topics in Photographic Preservation 6, (1995): 41-49, accessed September 19, 2015. http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/topics/v06/pmgt06-005.pdf

[8]Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 8.

[9] Lavédrine, Photographs of the Past, 150.; Crawford, Keepers of Light, 68.; Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 8.

[10]Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 8.

[11] Crawford, Keepers of Light, 68.

[12] Kaplan and Stulik, The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes, 8.

[13] Crawford, Keepers of Light, 68.; Lavédrine, Photographs of the Past, 150.; Marien, “The Cyanotype,” in 100 Ideas that Changed Photography.

[14] Lavédrine, Photographs of the Past, 152.;  Reilly, Care and Identification of 19^th Century Photographic Prints, 25, 43.; “Cyanotypes.” Graphicsatlas.org. accessed September 19, 2015. http://www.graphicsatlas.org/identification/?process_id=50,  

[15] Lavédrine, Photographs of the Past, 152-154, 189.; Reilly, Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints, 9, 25, 43, 70.

Bibliography

Blacklow, Laura. New Dimensions in Photo Processes: A Step by Step Manual for Alternative Techniques. Burlington: Focal Press, 2007.

Crawford, William. Keepers of Light: A History & Working Guide to Early Photographic Processes. Dobs Ferry: Morgan & Morgan, 1979.

 “Cyanotypes.” Graphicsatlas.org. accessed September 19, 2015. http://www.graphicsatlas.org/identification/?process_id=50

Kaplan, Art and Dusan C. Stulik. The Atlas of Analytical Signatures of Photographic Processes. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2013. PDF.

Lavédrine, Bertrand. Photographs of the Past: Process and Preservation. Translated by John McElhorne. Los Angeles: Getty Conservatory Institute, 2009.

Marien, Mary, “The Cyanotype.” In 100 Ideas that Changed Photography. London: Laurence King, 2012. Accessed September 19, 2015. http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/lkingitcp/the_cyanotype/0

Price, Lois Olcott. “The History and Identification of Photo-Reproductive Processes Used for Architectural Drawings Prior to 1930.” Topics in Photographic Preservation 6, (1995): 41-49, accessed September 19, 2015. http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/topics/v06/pmgt06-005.pdf

Reilly, James M. Care and Identification of 19^th Century Photographic Prints. Rochester: Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009.