1 INTRODUCTION The contents of this web page were part of a ...

Photographic Society; H. Goltzsch; Martin Dienstbach; and others less known to
the public.
1892
Edited by J. Traill Taylor
As regards professional photography and the immediate prospects of
professional portraitists, the past year has not been all that could be desired, and
the silver lining to the dark cloud is not yet apparent. This has, without doubt,
been owing to a continued course of weather which has been exceptionally bad.
With improvement in this direction, business will also improve.
There is, too, a growing tendency among some of the profession to
employ the electric light for portraiture, and it is possible that this may lead to an
increase in business; for, if once the general public can be brought to realise that
quire as good portraits can be taken by artificial as by natural light, then will
gloomy weather lose much of its deterrent influence.
New attempts have been made to reproduce the colours of the spectrum
upon a sensitive surface. It was last year in Germany, this year France. But it is
generally allowed that these attempts constitute no real advance upon former
endeavours.
The ingenuity displayed in the mechanics of art, notably so in the
construction of hand cameras, has exceeded that of previous years, where such
a thing possible. Instantaneous shutters, too, with ‘time’ attachments, have
proved themes for successful inventive enterprise.
In printing, there is every prospect of albumen being made to give way, at
least to some extent, to gelatine. Many years have elapsed since it was first
employed as a vehicle for holding chloride of silver on the surface of paper (it
was patented for this purpose in 1865). A process of printing by the agency of a
chromium salt, which has been patented give excellent print both on paper and
opal, and at a cost that must be considered extremely low. The quality is here
spoken of from an examination of several specimens.
A new preventive of blisters on albumenised paper prints has been
published during the year. I t consists in taking the prints as they come form the
printing frame, and giving them a momentary immersion in boiling water previous
to subjection them to the usual treatment of washing, toning, and fixing.
The engraving black tones in prints, which have been growing in favour
during the last few years, appear to be going out in some measure, warmer tones
taking their place. The natural colour of the image yielded by platinum and
bromide being black, the warmer tints are obtained by toning, details of which will
be found given on another page.
Increased sensitiveness is recorded as having been conferred upon drycollodion
plates. The names of Mr. J.B.B. Wellington, in this country, and Herr
Gaedicke, on the Continent, are associated with this advance.
It is gratifying to find that stereoscopic photography is now more practised
than it has been for two decades. This is doubtless owing to the facilities
afforded through commercial channels for it successful practice, both as regards
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