several questions for the resident chemists ...

I've managed to get hold of a copy of a book entitled "Saturday With My Camera" by S.C.Johnson - a first edition from 1914. It is a cornucopia of historic photographic delights and has soem great chapters on Platinum printing, Carbon printing, coating plates, stereoscopic photography, Autochromes (although sadly not how to make the plates, just how to develop them!) + much more. I think it's going to prove quite a worthy buy.

There is a section on "bromide" printing, and I think I'd like to try out some of the old paper developer formulae, but there are quite a few chemical names that I've not come across before ... can anyone say if the following have a more modern name or is available as something else?

Eikonogen

Ortol

Edinol

Out of interest, there is a passage describing a complicated method of using Rodinal as a print developer:

"Development is commenced in a solution containing five drops of rodinal to each ounce of water. When a thin image has appeared, the solution is poured off and five more drops added for each ounce, together with three drops of a 10 per cent. solution of potassium bromide. The print is then flooded afresh."

It doesnt say at what temp or for how long.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ole said:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Click to expand...

DOH! - a rather red face over here. I forgot about the search function. thanks ole.

"Autochromes (although sadly not how to make the plates, just how to develop them!)"
Hi !
It's not Autochrome (really difficult to make, BTW) but it may interest you and impress you ! (look at the LogD ...)
Dead Link Removed It's in French, but images speak for themselves.
Enjoy !

Ortol was another developing agent in use years ago. I have a pamphlet from the Hauff (sp?) company from the 1890s hawking the excellencies of metol, Ortol, and I believe their own formulation of Pyro as well. I'll try to dig it out today.

formulas

leon-sadly you are going find that the current crop of papers do not respond all that well to different formulas-but it's worth trying...
Best, Peter

Peter Schrager said:

leon-sadly you are going find that the current crop of papers do not respond all that well to different formulas-but it's worth trying...
Best, Peter

Click to expand...

Thanks Peter - i feared as much, but I thought they might be a good starting point for trying something new. I've got too many find memories of playing with chemistry sets wehn I was young

Foma, Forte and Adox probably would do though.

Some obsolete developing agents:

Chloranol (Lumiere and Seyewetz, 1913): a mixture of hydroquinone monochloride and metol base.

Diogen: an acid aminonaphthol disulfonate sodium salt, similar to eikonogen. Replaced by metol. (1-amino-2-hydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid)

Duratol (1910): a form of p-aminophenol.

Edinol: Similar to metol but less energetic. Used by people sensitive to metol.

Eikonogen (Andersen, 1889): (See Ole's reference.) Decidedly inferior to metol and replaced by it. (1-amino-2-hydroxynaphthalene-6-sulfonic acid)

Hydramine (Lumiere and Seyewetz, 1899): A mixture of hydroquinone and p-phenylenediamine.

Meritol (Johnson and Sons, 1936): A mixture of pyrocatechol and p-phenylenediamine. Used for fine grain development, mostly in England.

Metoquinone (Lumiere, 1903): A mixture of metol and hydroquinone. Used for the Autochrome process.

Monomet (1916): A substitute for metol.

Neol (Hauff, 1918): A compensating developer to compensate for overexposure.

Ortol: A mixture of hydroquinone and methyl-o-aminophenol sulfate. similar in action to pyro. Unavailable since 1914.

Rubinol (Defender): A derivative of pyrogallol which does not stain. (Possibly the monomethyl ether of pyrogallol noted in Mees and James.)

Ref: Wall, E. J., Jordan, F. I., Carroll, John s. (ed.), "Photographic Facts and Formulas," pp. 116-117, Garden City, NY, American Photographic Book Publishing, Inc., 1976.