History of darkrooms and darkroom equipment

[mooseontheloose]

Is there such thing as a book or website or something that focuses on the history of the darkroom and darkroom equipment? It always seems like an afterthought, the middle step between taking the picture and making a print, and people often talk about cameras or darkroom processes, but not the actual darkrooms themselves.

I'm quite interested in how darkrooms and equipment developed over time. While the basics would be the same (some kind of enlarger, safelight, etc.) what they actually looked like would be different depending on decade and location. I know it's possible to see some examples, especially the darkrooms of famous photographers and/or of commercial darkrooms (see below), and I have the book about developer trays, but I'd like to have a resource that had all things darkroom related in one place.

Does such a resource exist? I've been searching and have come across a few possibilities, but nothing that really satisfies my need to know. FWIW, I've been slowly collecting various vintage darkroom items which is what sparked my interest in this topic. While I know that many items have lasted for decades and decades because darkroom innovation tends to be slow, the historian in me also wants to know that if I recreated a 1930s style darkroom, that my trays and tongs are period-appropriate and not anachronistic.

I like this video, but it really focuses on the modern darkroom, and I'm interested in everything from the very beginning of darkroom work in the mid-19th century.

 

[Ian Grant]

A comparison of the Darkroom sections in the various editions of the (Ilfod) Manual of Photography would chart progress quite well. The first version is The Manual of Photography publishe the years of Eastman Kodak's founding by The Bittania Works later to become Ilford.

I have a small collection of pre-WWI darkroom equipment starting with a Houghton King enlarger, plus Ensign (a Houghton brand name) Contact frames, safelights candke lit and tungsten housings, trays etc, The horizontal enlarger is Quarter plate and smaller but could do 5x4 with larger condensers.

There may be an article on Darkroom history in a BJP Annual (1964 on wards) with references to earlier BJP Almanac article/adverts, I'll look when I've more time.

Ian

 

[mooseontheloose]

A comparison of the Darkroom sections in the various editions of the (Ilfod) Manual of Photography would chart progress quite well. The first version is The Manual of Photography publishe the years of Eastman Kodak's founding by The Bittania Works later to become Ilford.

I have a small collection of pre-WWI darkroom equipment starting with a Houghton King enlarger, plus Ensign (a Houghton brand name) Contact frames, safelights candke lit and tungsten housings, trays etc, The horizontal enlarger is Quarter plate and smaller but could do 5x4 with larger condensers.

There may be an article on Darkroom history in a BJP Annual (1964 on wards) with references to earlier BJP Almanac article/adverts, I'll look when I've more time.

Ian

Thanks Ian! I'll see if I can get my hands on the Manual of Photography.

Note: I did a quick search for a Houghton King enlarger, which on Google is fine, but on eBay is definitely not darkroom-related!

 

[BobD]

This site has some darkroom history:
https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/index.html

 

[warden]

Note: I did a quick search for a Houghton King enlarger, which on Google is fine, but on eBay is definitely not darkroom-related!

I just tried it and LOL!

Thanks for this thread, Rachelle. I think it's interesting too.

 

[mooseontheloose]

This site has some darkroom history:
https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/index.html

Fantastic! Thanks Bob!

 

[AgX]

This site has some darkroom history:
https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/index.html

I consider this still the best online resourcce, though it is focused on the british situation and still not comprehensive. All the rest is rather scattered over the net. And anyway on the net most of that history is missing. In the world of printed paper it does not look better either.

Looking through old textbooks, magazines and catalogs may give you some insight.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I consider this still the best online resourcce, though it is focused on the british situation and still not comprehensive. All the rest is rather scattered over the net. And anyway on the net most of that history is missing. In the world of printed paper it does not look better either.

Looking through old textbooks, magazines and catalogs may give you some insight.

I agree it’s a good start. I kind of wish I was older…uh…I mean more experienced with darkroom work so that I could draw on my own resources/experiences. I didn’t step into a darkroom until 2005 and most of the time just ignored what I didn’t know because there was already a steep learning curve to begin with. Now as I age I’m a lot more interested in what came before but even though I know more now there’s still more I don’t know. I do have a few old books and magazines that might provide some insight, but they are back in Canada, where I haven’t been for three years and will have to wait another one before I can get back home.

I may look into starting something like a darkroom wiki where people could upload and share information about the various items they have in their own dark rooms/collections.

 

[AgX]

Yes, looking into existing darkrooms is a way to enrich ones knowledge. But it hardly yields a deep view into history.

I tend to resort to sales catakogues, even more to dealer ones than to manufacturer ones. As dealers might have a better idea of what users might buy. But in such catalogs I saw stuff I never came across nor even heard of. So dealears might have been wrong with their offers. Who knows...

 

[Nodda Duma]

If you don’t find a book that has been written, then you may consider compiling your notes and research into one.



One detail that I know from digging into the dry plate era: The enlarger did not come into being until developing out paper with relatively short exposure times made it feasible to work under the enlarger to expose a print. Prior to that, the exposure times and light needed for printing out paper meant contact prints only. If you wanted an 8x10 print, you had to shoot 8x10. Hence the reason for all the different sizes of large format.

 

[mooseontheloose]

If you don’t find a book that has been written, then you may consider compiling your notes and research into one.
One detail that I know from digging into the dry plate era: The enlarger did not come into being until developing out paper with relatively short exposure times made it feasible to work under the enlarger to expose a print. Prior to that, the exposure times and light needed for printing out paper meant contact prints only. If you wanted an 8x10 print, you had to shoot 8x10. Hence the reason for all the different sizes of large format.

Re: book. Trust me, I've thought of that already! I don't feel confident enough yet to work on something like that, although I would be happy to pair up with someone as a collaborative effort.

Re: enlargers and a personal anecdote. Back when I was living in France (probably around the time I joined APUG) I went to an exhibition at the Musée Rodin in Paris which focused on his relationship with photography. He saw photography as a tool so that he could study the human form and/or his own sculptures. At one point in the exhibition (IIRC) they showed how his first "enlargements" went from basically multiple photographs stitched together to the use and development of the enlarger to do the same thing.

 

[removed account4]

Hi Rachelle
I seem to remember a few years ago there were darkrooms unearthed ( I don't know if that is the right word for it ) in the Antarctic Region? or maybe it was the North Pole? and also a European photographer's darkroom who was active in the 1800s. These story regarding the Arctic regions unearthed Dry Plates from that era and the authors gave historical information about darkroom photography. The article about the "continental" darkroom also gave historical information about darkroom and chemical photography and gave a tour of the "time capsule" as I think they sort of referred to it. I think the sites for Fox Talbot and Niepce ( they are like museums ) also give historical information about darkrooms and dim rooms, and where photographers who tinkered and invented and made photographs did their things. Sounds like a fascinating project !
John

 

[CMoore]

Is there such thing as a book or website or something that focuses on the history of the darkroom and darkroom equipment? It always seems like an afterthought, the middle step between taking the picture and making a print, and people often talk about cameras or darkroom processes, but not the actual darkrooms themselves.

I'm quite interested in how darkrooms and equipment developed over time. While the basics would be the same (some kind of enlarger, safelight, etc.) what they actually looked like would be different depending on decade and location. I know it's possible to see some examples, especially the darkrooms of famous photographers and/or of commercial darkrooms (see below), and I have the book about developer trays, but I'd like to have a resource that had all things darkroom related in one place.

Does such a resource exist? I've been searching and have come across a few possibilities, but nothing that really satisfies my need to know. FWIW, I've been slowly collecting various vintage darkroom items which is what sparked my interest in this topic. While I know that many items have lasted for decades and decades because darkroom innovation tends to be slow, the historian in me also wants to know that if I recreated a 1930s style darkroom, that my trays and tongs are period-appropriate and not anachronistic.

I like this video, but it really focuses on the modern darkroom, and I'm interested in everything from the very beginning of darkroom work in the mid-19th century.

It is very interesting (To Me) that the guy in the video says......... About 2006 he noticed the darkroom was almost empty. At times he was the only person using it.

The year 2006 comes up frequently in my life.
On the internet, on Youtube, in class, in print................i frequently see the year 2006 mentioned as a turning point for digital photography.
I have heard several photographers say that it was 2006 when they threw in the towel and stopped using film (professionally) .
I have heard the same from teachers and printers and camera store owners.
2006 seems to (frequently) be the year that "Film Photography" made its last stand.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

It is very interesting (To Me) that the guy in the video says......... About 2006 he noticed the darkroom was almost empty. At times he was the only person using it.

The year 2006 comes up frequently in my life.
On the internet, on Youtube, in class, in print................i frequently see the year 2006 mentioned as a turning point for digital photography.
I have heard several photographers say that it was 2006 when they threw in the towel and stopped using film (professionally) .
I have heard the same from teachers and printers and camera store owners.
2006 seems to (frequently) be the year that "Film Photography" made its last stand.

For me, 2005 stands out. HIE went bye bye, and Ilford went through major restructuring. I still have heaps of HP5 sheet film I picked up from panic buying then.

 

[mshchem]

I first found this book in our University library, I photocopied the entire book. Now it's offered as a reprint quite reasonable.

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_HISTORY_OF_PHOTOGRAPHY_1887.html?id=CfQwDwAAQBAJ

Authored by Rev. Burbank.

 

[mshchem]

I first found this book in our University library, I photocopied the entire book. Now it's offered as a reprint quite reasonable.

https://books.google.com/books/about/A_HISTORY_OF_PHOTOGRAPHY_1887.html?id=CfQwDwAAQBAJ

Authored by Rev. Burbank.

This is not the right link. Google Rev. W. H. Burbank.

 

[mooseontheloose]

For me, 2005 stands out. HIE went bye bye, and Ilford went through major restructuring. I still have heaps of HP5 sheet film I picked up from panic buying then.

2005 stands out for me too since that’s the year I started to learn darkroom work - both film and paper. Started shooting HIE around then too although I believe it was discontinued in 2007 while I was living in France, because I remember bulk buying 20 (!) rolls from Silverprint since it was all that I could afford at the time.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

2005 stands out for me too since that’s the year I started to learn darkroom work - both film and paper. Started shooting HIE around then too although I believe it was discontinued in 2007 while I was living in France, because I remember bulk buying 20 (!) rolls from Silverprint since it was all that I could afford at the time.

I guess it was 2007. Maybe it was in 2005 that I heard they were planning on ditching it. I bought a few boxes in '05 in fear of losing it. I also remember an email campaign to save it... And being really bummed when it was gone...then the following year or so, we lost Polaroid Type-55.

 

[CMoore]

For me, 2005 stands out. HIE went bye bye, and Ilford went through major restructuring. I still have heaps of HP5 sheet film I picked up from panic buying then.

2005 stands out for me too since that’s the year I started to learn darkroom work - both film and paper. Started shooting HIE around then too although I believe it was discontinued in 2007 while I was living in France, because I remember bulk buying 20 (!) rolls from Silverprint since it was all that I could afford at the time.

I guess it was 2007. Maybe it was in 2005 that I heard they were planning on ditching it. I bought a few boxes in '05 in fear of losing it. I also remember an email campaign to save it... And being really bummed when it was gone...then the following year or so, we lost Polaroid Type-55.

Well, so there we go........... circa 2006.
The funeral dirge for "Shooting Film"

 

[MattKing]

The funeral dirge for "Shooting Film"

Reminds me of a great Mark Twain line ....

 

[reddesert]

One of the ways to date things is through patent numbers and dates. For example, in this thread about Nikor stainless steel developing tanks: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/nikor-history.185481/#post-2444109 , I looked up the patent numbers I found on a Nikor tank and discovered they were patented in 1936 and 1937. I had not realized they went back that far. Often by either finding patent numbers, or finding patents assigned to a company, one can figure out when a particular thing came into being.

 

[mooseontheloose]

One of the ways to date things is through patent numbers and dates. For example, in this thread about Nikor stainless steel developing tanks: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/nikor-history.185481/#post-2444109 , I looked up the patent numbers I found on a Nikor tank and discovered they were patented in 1936 and 1937. I had not realized they went back that far. Often by either finding patent numbers, or finding patents assigned to a company, one can figure out when a particular thing came into being.

Thanks - I hadn't thought of that. Although that seems like a deep dark hole I may never get out of once I start!

 

[AgX]

Yes, I too am often amazed to see by such research that ideas existed earlier than I thought.

But what means history in the context of this thread? For instance I never came across any kind metal spiral. Also in west-german catalogs aimed at consumers such shows up, if it shows up at all, as one model against a variety of plastic ones from several manufacturers. For Eastern Europe I did not even find a trace of such in the media.

 

[CMoore]

Thanks - I hadn't thought of that. Although that seems like a deep dark hole I may never get out of once I start!

Yeah, with the right (or wrong) person...........i can envision a real Product Diorama, research gone wild.
Notes about timelines and data for dozens of darkroom aids.
Your wife will start to be "Concerned".
An honest to goodness Sherlock Holmes obsession

 

[Hilo]

Here a self-portrait by Brassai, in his darkroom with his French Noxa no.8 enlarger. Just imagine to have a collection of self-portraits by every important photographer inside his or her darkroom! That would address the history of the darkroom.

Michael