Red Oxide printing question

[Thwyllo]

This is a bit of a history question. Rowland Ward was a world famous taxidermist operating from the latter part of the 19th century through to the 1980s when the name was sold. As well as being renowned for taxidermy of all kinds, especially big game, the company ventured into all sorts of things and the owner of one of the companies largest stash of old records and documents has asked if I can find out something about red oxide printing.

The attached photo that he sent me (not a very good shot I'm afraid, I can get better if it helps) is a specimen of one of his originals. Its his belief that the company pioneered the use of red oxide printing but that the technique ultimately died out, so my questions are:

1) Is there any truth to that assertion, and if not, whats the real story..?

2) Are there any special measures he should take to ensure long term preservation of what are clearly already old prints?

Many thanks in anticipation!

 

[koraks]

I'm not familiar with 'red oxide printing'. I know that red iron oxide is a reddish-brown pigment. It can be used in e.g. carbon transfer printing. The fact that the print shown here seems to be mirrored, would be consistent with a single-transfer carbon print. Is this what we're looking at? Or something else entirely?

 

[Thwyllo]

You are probably right...I was parroting the words of the document owner who isn't a photographer

How does a carbon transfer print work then and what is it made from, an original negative? I'm assuming the image reversal isn't normally an issue except as here, where there was a printed banner of some sort in frame?

And what does it allow compared to a traditional print process? Is it just for colouration of the final print?

The subject of this photo by the way is almost certainly a taxidermy diorama - Ward was well known for its big game taxidermy skills and used by hunters and naturalists from all over the world.

 

[NedL]

The elephant is being attacked by a ??leopard maybe?? while the tiger looks on....

I almost think I can see thick-ish gelatin surface on the lower right... Koraks guess seems possible.

 

[Thwyllo]

Tis in fact two tigers

 

[Thwyllo]

Just for interest, herewith a copy of what I assume is a standard print of the same negative. The photo is, as I said previously, of a diorama created by Rowland Ward for the Colonial & Indian Exhibition of 1886, but I'm still keen to confirm how the reverse print was done and why?