Chapter I: Preface

Silver printing has been often doomed, but it still survives. Other processes of photographic printing have been introduced, nearly all of them having their individual merits, especially that of permanency, but all lacking in two essential qualities--ease of production and beauty of result. In these particulars no process has ever approached the one to the working of which this little book is devoted. The one defect of silver printing is the possibility of its results fading; but surely it is better to be beautiful, if fading, than permanent and ugly. It is better to be charmed with a beautiful thing for a few years, than be bored by an ugly one for ever. But is silver printing necessarily a fading process? We have in our possession a large number of silver photographs produced from twenty to twenty-five years ago, which are as perfect in tone and colour as when they were produced. Carefully prepared, and properly kept, a silver print should be as permanent as any other. That silver prints should be permanent as well as beautiful, has been the object of

THE AUTHORS.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE

I.--Preliminary Experiments 1

II.--Preparation of Albumenized Paper 6

III.--The Sensitizing Bath 13

IV.--How to Keep the Sensitizing Bath in Order 20

V.--Silvering the Paper 26

VI.--Washed Sensitive Paper 31

VII.--Cutting Paper 36

VIII.--Printing-Frames 42

IX.--Preparing the Landscape Negative 45

X.--Printing the Landscape 49

XI.--Preparing the Portrait Negative 57

XII.--Vignetting 60

XIII.--Printing the Portrait 69

XIV.--Combination Printing 74

XV.--Toning 85

XVI.--Fixing the Print 92

XVII.--Washing the Print 95

XVIII.--Printing on Plain Paper 99

XIX.--Printing on Resinized Paper 100

XX.--Printing on Gelatino-Chloride Emulsion Paper 103

XXI.--Drying the Prints 105

XXII.--Mounting Photographs 110

XXIII.--Defects in Prints 115

XXIV.--Encaustic Paste 117

XXV.--Enamelling Prints 119

XXVI.--Cameo Prints 121

Appendix 123