Dragons Blood

JeffNunn · Nov 15, 2022

I work in a historic house as the maintenance man and we have a tin of Finest Natural Dragons Blood on the shelf in the darkroom amid other recognisable darkroom chemicals.

Just wondered if anyone knew what that might have been used for?

At an exhibition hall called Fotografiska in Stockholm I happened to see it mentioned as used to colour hieroglyphics. No further explanation though.

Will it make me a better photographer if I ingest it.

drkhalsa · Nov 15, 2022

It is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Here's a brief article from Acupuncture Today: https://www.acupuncturetoday.com/herbcentral/dragons_blood.php

AgX · Nov 16, 2022

I assume that fluid was used as red retouching laquer for negatives.

Timo Schön · Nov 16, 2022

I only know it as medicine. Used it to treat a rabbits wounds. Still got a little bit left so I might try ingesting it to increase photographic skills tho

Daniela · Nov 16, 2022

Never heard of it before! Maybe it could have been used as a resist, since it's a resin...

I think you owe it to the photography community to ingest it and come back with the results!

AgX · Nov 16, 2022

Already a red resist would not work.

AgX · Nov 16, 2022

It most likely is not about the resin as resin but as dye.
It even may be just a designation not even related by content to that historic resin.

Mike Crawford · Nov 16, 2022

I wrote an article a few months ago for UK magazine Amateur Photographer on Process Supplies, which is a wonderful London shop specialising in photographic materials. All my material for working as a photographic printer comes from there and have been a very happy customer for over 30 years. It was part of a series on UK companies, studios, institutions with heritage and mentioned Dragons Blood appearing in their price list from 1928. I checked with a friend who prints gravures for the correct description!

'While the shop is in the same location, and even the telephone number ends the same, this price list from the late 1920s shows a very different range of products used by the printing industry to create plates for the reproduction of photographs in printed ink. Among the listings for Collodion, Hypo Crystals, Photo Transfer Inks, Silver Nitrate and Caustic Soda is the curiously named Dragon’s Blood. Instead of being an ingredient for Alchemy (Clerkenwell has such legends), it is in fact a bright red plant resin used in photo engraving as a resist to protect unused parts of the printing plate when etched in acid.'

Article is here, though it never is the same for me published this way as there's no sense of the design of the original piece over four pages. Other three articles in the series are linked at the bottom.
https://www.amateurphotographer.co....ritains-oldest-printing-supply-company-166230

AgX · Nov 16, 2022

AgX said:
It even may be just a designation not even related by content to that historic resin.

Though that resin still today is offered just as a dye for varnishes based on other resins. So that bottle actually may contain that Dragon Blood resin as a dye.

Ian Grant · Nov 16, 2022

It's a red pigment used along with Tmeric as a colourant when lacquering brass, it's added to a shellac solution and gives the rich deep gold colour typical of old clocks, brass lenses etc. There's a member of this Forum who's first job after leaving school was hot lacquering clocks and he used Dragons blood.

Hunter-Penrose were suppliers of printing and process equipment, their large copy cameras appear for sale occasionally, also process lenses.. Dragons bloods other photographic use was in opaque retouching medium with ortho materials, typically used with lith films.

Ian

BMbikerider · Nov 16, 2022

If you go onto google maps and search for Spa Road, Bermondsey, London SE16. (mentioned where the contents of the tin were made or packaged) you will see what it looks like today. (click anywhere on Spa Road and then on the image that appears and by turning the image you can move up and down the road.)
The area was heavily bombed during the war and the area is now in the main, plain simple featureless tower blocks, housing typical of the rebuilding. The only commercial premises is a small parade of shops, no photographic outlets visible anywhere.

Molli · Nov 16, 2022

Mike Crawford said:
I wrote an article a few months ago for UK magazine Amateur Photographer on Process Supplies, which is a wonderful London shop specialising in photographic materials. All my material for working as a photographic printer comes from there and have been a very happy customer for over 30 years. It was part of a series on UK companies, studios, institutions with heritage and mentioned Dragons Blood appearing in their price list from 1928. I checked with a friend who prints gravures for the correct description!

'While the shop is in the same location, and even the telephone number ends the same, this price list from the late 1920s shows a very different range of products used by the printing industry to create plates for the reproduction of photographs in printed ink. Among the listings for Collodion, Hypo Crystals, Photo Transfer Inks, Silver Nitrate and Caustic Soda is the curiously named Dragon’s Blood. Instead of being an ingredient for Alchemy (Clerkenwell has such legends), it is in fact a bright red plant resin used in photo engraving as a resist to protect unused parts of the printing plate when etched in acid.'

Article is here, though it never is the same for me published this way as there's no sense of the design of the original piece over four pages. Other three articles in the series are linked at the bottom.
https://www.amateurphotographer.co....ritains-oldest-printing-supply-company-166230

What a wonderful and encouraging article, particularly for darkroom workers. Lovely prints from you, too, Mr. Crawford! Thank you for the link and I'm looking forward to going back and reading other articles you've posted in this series.

Nicholas Lindan · Nov 16, 2022

As always, google and wikipedia know all: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon's_blood

If it was found in a photographic darkroom then it was probably used as a stand-in for cochineal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine in negative retouching.

JeffNunn · Nov 16, 2022

Phew! Thank you to all! What a fascinating set of answers.

A fantastic article, sounds like a great place to support.

I took a google walk and see what you mean - rather plain street.

I’ve got some study to do now, next time I show someone through the house I’ll be telling them all about it. It’s normally the kids that notice the dragons blood.

I’ll have a bit on my eggs in the morning... sounds like it’ll do me quite a lot of good, but perhaps won’t touch my photo skills

Thanks again to all

Mike Crawford · Nov 17, 2022

Molli said:
What a wonderful and encouraging article, particularly for darkroom workers. Lovely prints from you, too, Mr. Crawford! Thank you for the link and I'm looking forward to going back and reading other articles you've posted in this series.

Thanks Molli for your kind comments. It is a great shop and in the same family for almost 100 years. Currently working on some new ideas to pitch to the magazine!

Dragons Blood

Advertiser

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency