Albumen print

Albumen print

The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative. It used the albumen found in egg whites to bind the photographic chemicals to the paper and became the dominant form of photographic positives from 1855 to the turn of the 20th century, with a peak in the 1860-90 period. During the mid-19th century, the carte de visite became one of the more popular uses of the albumen method. In the 19th century, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company were the largest makers and distributors of the Albumen photographic prints and paper in the United States.

The process of making an albumen print

1. A piece of paper, usually 100% cotton, is coated with an emulsion of egg white (albumen) and salt (sodium chloride or ammonium chloride), then dried. The albumen seals the paper and creates a slightly glossy surface for the sensitizer to rest on.
2. The paper is then dipped in a solution of silver nitrate and water which renders the surface sensitive to UV light.
3. The paper is then dried in the absence of UV light.
4. The dried, prepared paper is placed in a frame in direct contact under a negative. The negative is traditionally a glass negative with collodion emulsion, but this step can be performed with a modern silver halide negative, too. The paper with negative is then exposed to light until the image achieves the desired level of darkness, which is typically a little lighter than the end product. Though direct sunlight was used long ago, a UV exposure unit is preferable because it is more predictable, as the paper is most sensitive to ultraviolet light.
5. A bath of sodium thiosulfate fixes the print’s exposure, preventing further darkening.
6. Optional gold or selenium toning improves the photograph’s tone and stabilizes against fading. Depending on the toner, toning may be performed before or after fixing the print.

Because the image emerges as a direct result of exposure to light, without the aid of a developing solution, an albumen print may be said to be a printed rather than a developed photograph.

The table salt (sodium chloride) in the albumen emulsion forms silver chloride when in contact with silver nitrate. Silver chloride is unstable when exposed to light, which makes it decompose into silver and chlorine. The silver ion (Ag+) is reduced to silver (Ag) by addition of an electron during the development/printing process, and the remaining silver chloride is washed out during fixing. The black parts of the image are formed by metallic silver (Ag).

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My Lab Print

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| Gelatin on watercolor paper |

It was a sunny day. The exposure time was about 5 - 8 mins. It's more stable than Albumen I think. 

The image that is commonly known as a black and white photographic print is created from a film's negative. The film suspends light-sensitive silver halides in a gelatin which is rinsed away during processing. The silver that remains on the film emulsion reveals the latent image on the film's base, from which a photographic print is created. 

If a photographer is creating a gelatin silver print, the selection of paper for the realization of the print also contains silver halides. In the development of a gelatin silver print the paper goes through a similar chemical transition as described above for processing film and the resulting photographic print is know as a gelatin silver print.

| Albumen on Stonehenge with two coats of albemen |

It turned out very well at the beginning. But when I fixed it in the bath. The print was really unstable and it could be easily scraped off... which made me felt a little disappointed. But the color was still looks pretty good. And I love the sense of the old film it gave me. :-)