Kodak Super-XX Film Pack

Following a discussion about pack film on the Photohistory listserv I acquired an unopened Kodak Film Pack. The "Develop By" date on the package is March 1955. I will annotate and add further information, including pictures of developed film negatives at some point. But here are the pictures for a start:

A 4x5 pack film negative showing the adhesive attachment stain along the right edge, and the negative number exposed onto the negative in the lower left corner. The image is blurred and possibly out of focus. Some of the original adhesive is still present along the left edge, but even where the adhesive is absent a brown image or stain remains in the film. This could have been caused by a chemical reaction between the adhesive and the silver image or by the pressure involved in applying the adhesive tape during manufacture (pressure exposes silver halide emulsions).

Film Pack Diagram from C.B. Neblette, Photography: Its Principles and Practice, 3rd Edition (1938)

Boy Scout Jamboree: Dufaytissue from Dufaycolor

I recently acquired a few Dufaycolor transparencies and with them came a single print of a type I had never seen before. After a little research, the print appears to be a Dufaytissue (Dufay Tissue?), a modified version of the tricolor carbon process using carbon tissues on acetate supports for the individual color layers which are then assembled on a paper support. Although my example may not be typical, the Dufaytissue lacks detail in the highlights and shadows as well as sharpness compared to the original Dufaycolor transparency. This Dufaytissue image degradation is likely common given the difficulties inherent in making a continuous tone print from an additive screen plate with its color mosaic. Both images measure 6x9 cm.

Dufaycolor

Dufaytissue

Candlestick Antiques / Flea Market

The Candlestick Park Antiques & Collectibles Faire opened today in the parking lot of San Francisco's Candlestick Park, home of the San Francisco 49ers. July 18, 2010 was the opening day for this new San Francisco flea market, and a welcome addition to the Bay Area's flea market scene. The SF Chronicle had a nice article on them yesterday, and if all goes well they'll be happening the third Sunday of every month. I went to this inaugural day to see what photographic treasures might be found, and I was not disappointed.

I found 3 photolithographs (also called Photochroms) made by the Detroit Publishing Co. of Detroit's Belle Isle park. The Library of Congress has some info on them, and the Wikipedia entry on Photochrom is another good resource. Photolithographs are a rather unusual process, and I have not found many of them in my years of antiquing. Here's two of the prints that I found:

And here's what they look like under magnification!

I also found a nice overpainted salt print

And a nice example of image transfer on a matte collodion print, the result of the catalytic action of the platinum in the image which converts sulfur dioxide into sulfuric acid and turns the paper brown where it is in contact with the image (at least that's my current understanding!):