Albumen testing...

it looks like it may need a few more cotes of the albumen

Emil--I know I don't need the full darkroom setup for albumens, since I've been making albumen prints for about two years now, but I do need a place in our Manhattan apartment to put trays and hang sheets where they can dry properly and where silver nitrate won't stain things that shouldn't be stained or contaminate things that shouldn't be contaminated.

Jim--Sheets of paper are first coated with albumen and salt (some use ammonium chloride) and often an acid as a preservative, which should be dried quickly to form a skin on the paper. The albumen layer is hardened either by aging, heat, steam, or an alcohol bath. Unsensitized albumenized paper will last indefinitely. This is the albumen paper that was produced commercially in the 19th century. It still had to be sensitized by the photographer.

It is then usually floated on a tray of silver nitrate solution, dried, and should be exposed, toned, and fixed within 24 hours ideally. I've tested trimmings of sensitized albumen paper that were months old, and it works, but it gets really slow after a couple of days.

I have missed seeing your work and am glad to see you back. Excellent as usual.

Incredible portrait.

Lovely image - great print too