How old is this Agfa Brovira

[gorbas]

Can anybody please recognize how old is this Agfa Brovira paper.
Price was 29.95$, then reduced to 25.45$ from Toronto Camera store
It's still good paper, I just tested it. Unbelivable!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I have it as well. I was told it is 30-40 years old.

 

[gone]

I understand its probably from the 80's. I sold mine about a week ago, thinking it was surely fogged. Darn. Wish I had kept it now. People say it prints beautifully. There's a lot on eBay if someone feels lucky.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...gfa+brovira.TRS0&_nkw=agfa+brovira&_sacat=625

 

[revdoc]

Bromide papers last. I recently had a whole lot of different Agfa and Ilford papers, some dating back to the 1980s, and it was all fogged, except for one pack of Ilfobrom.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Brovira paper was known in the '40s.

PE

 

[mnemosyne]

I have been buying this particular paper off Ebay from time to time and it usually is in very good to excellent shape. It comes in variety of surfaces and different hues of paper base thickness/color that are not available anymore today. A really beautiful paper. Only buy boxes that are still sealed. I personally stay away from Brovira paper with the older "Agfa" only branding.

The Brovira brand is indeed quite old, but my guess is that this particular paper is from the mid/late 60s at the earliest or early/mid 70s at the latest. The printing on the boxes gives us some clues: First, "Agfa-Gevaert" as a company (as opposed to the older "Agfa" only) came into being only in 1964. Second, the boxes still show a three-digit postal code ("509 Leverkusen", omitting the final "0"); from the mid 1970s on it was the rule to use all four digits of the postal code, irrespective of whether the final digits were zeros or not.

 

[gorbas]

Very good detective work mnemosyne!! Impresive! Also, very good idea to buy only unopened boxes!
Yesterday on Ebay I saw Brovira only in small sizes and lots of Brovira Speed with crazy prices!
My guess was that this paper is from '70. When I moved to Vancouver in '94, average price for the box of 100/8x10"FB paper was around 50-60$. Now is over $110. So judging by doubling the prices, it's '70. Not very scientific method but .....
This Brovira glossy paper, air dried, has surface with almost eggshell shine. New glossy paper are way more shiny.

Momus-Why you did not try that paper? it's simple and fast test??

Revdoc-Older Ilfobrom keeps better from my experience! I have a few boxes, bought fresh in early '90 that went bad and older box still with "Ilford star" symbol that is still OK.

Thank you all!

 

[MattKing]

Looks like the stuff I was selling in camera stores in Vancouver in the 1970s.

 

[EdSawyer]

Brovira was the best paper for Sabattier effect / solarization, using grade 5 or 6 paper, and Solarol developer. I still have some Brovira, not sure if it is still good or not but maybe...

 

[john_s]

I have Brovira from 1973 (purchase date in Australia) bought when a shop was closing, so it was probably a bit older and it's still good. At that stage, Agfa did not print a grade on the label (i.e. 1 to 6) but just the hardness using their abbreviations (EW, W, S, N, H, EH, i think I have these right). EH (only glossy single weight) contrast grade 6 was fantastic!

 

[Wayne]

This would go good with glycin. Mmmmmm

 

[Photo Engineer]

They used the same abbreviations in their formulas for the different grades to indicate the grade.

Of course the words used were German.

PE

 

[fred]

Is it lithable?

 

[kreeger]

Bromide papers last. I recently had a whole lot of different Agfa and Ilford papers, some dating back to the 1980s, and it was all fogged, except for one pack of Ilfobrom.

All 4 boxes of my Ilford Ilfomar are still good and make wonderful prints. I keep the other two boxes frozen.

The date codes are visible in this photo, I'm sure somebody out there knows how to date these 2 boxes...

 

[trendland]

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Can anybody please recognize how old is this Agfa Brovira paper.
Price was 29.95$, then reduced to 25.45$ from Toronto Camera store
It's still good paper, I just tested it. Unbelivable!

Don't beat me for this but I remember this design and Agfa packaging from the 70th.
I am not so sure because it might be from the late 60th.
So we can say it is no older stuff ( 50th )
and it hasn't the more modern design from 80th/90th.
with regards

 

[trendland]

Looks like the stuff I was selling in camera stores in Vancouver in the 1970s.

And your clients loved this stuff because of long live and never come back after buying big amounts? So you have to change the camera store you worked in from time to time ?....

with regards

 

[trendland]

Very good detective work mnemosyne!! Impresive! Also, very good idea to buy only unopened boxes!
Yesterday on Ebay I saw Brovira only in small sizes and lots of Brovira Speed with crazy prices!
My guess was that this paper is from '70. When I moved to Vancouver in '94, average price for the box of 100/8x10"FB paper was around 50-60$. Now is over $110. So judging by doubling the prices, it's '70. Not very scientific method but .....
This Brovira glossy paper, air dried, has surface with almost eggshell shine. New glossy paper are way more shiny.

Momus-Why you did not try that paper? it's simple and fast test??

Revdoc-Older Ilfobrom keeps better from my experience! I have a few boxes, bought fresh in early '90 that went bad and older box still with "Ilford star" symbol that is still OK.

Thank you all!

Well - I bought several packs Ilford Perceptol in an auction from an age : "through the decades".
So it was simple to identyfie via price marks. (from 80th - midt 90th)

with regards