Opalines, Opaltypes, Opalotypes
| Page Information | |
| Date initiated | January 2012 |
| Contributors | Luisa Casella |
Opalines, Opaltypes, Opalotypes[edit | edit source]
The opaltype is a positive photographic image on milk glass commonly with applied color.
Historical Facts[edit | edit source]
Invented/ Patented: Joseph Glover and John Bold the Younger in 1857, BP No. 501. The patent covered the use of "Enameled glass, minerals or other suitable substances" that were washed first in fluoric acid to etch the surface and prepare it receive "the collodion or other sensitive substance", and exposed through a negative. They described how the finished image could be tinted with "water colors, oil colors, dry colors and varnish colors" (Whitman, 2007).
Main Period of Use: 1860 to 1940s (Whitman, 2007). According to Whitman (2007, pp.26) "The term opaltype became common for the process in mid 1860, although some variations in the process and nomenclature were introduced. In 1864, the British Journal of Photography reported experiments by Frederick Augustus Wenderoth, which involved the application of albumen chloride binder to ground pot-opal glass. Wenderoth called his process the Toovytype. The same article also mentions a William Helsby and his collodion iodide variant called, the Helioartistotypia, patented in 1865xlix (BP No. 12)."
Identification Characteristics[edit | edit source]
Image layer: Albumen, collodion or carbon transfer with applied color (described in patents as "water colors, oil colors, dry colors and varnish colors"
Color: Image layer is monochrome with applied color
Support: Milk glass
Process Overview[edit | edit source]
The process described in the patent is that a support - "enameled glass, minerals or other suitable mineral substances" - were washed with fluoric acid to etch the surface and prepare to receive the light sensitive layer (could be collodion, albumen or carbon transfer). Other variations of the process included grinding the surface with fine emery powder or applying a matte varnish. The plate was exposed through a negative, process and the color was applied. Opaltypes are often housed in brass frames.
Conservation and Treatment[edit | edit source]
See also Preservation of Glass in Photographic Materials
- Broken glass supports may be repaired with 30-40% Paraloid B-72 in acetone : ethanol ( 90% acetone: 10 % ethanol)
- Whitman describes consolidating flaking gelatin emulsion with 5% Paraloid B-72 in toluene (Whitman, 2007. pp.84)
Housing and Storage[edit | edit source]
Opaltype housing and storage should follow with guidelines for glass supported photographs.
Emergency Recovery[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- Whitman, Katherine. 2007. The History and Conservation of Glass Supported Photographs.
| Copyright 2024. Photographic Materials Group Wiki is a publication of the Photographic Materials Group of the American Institute for Conservation. It is published as a convenience for the members of thePhotographic Materials Group. Publication does not endorse nor recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein. Please follow PMG Wiki guidelines for citing PMG Wiki content, keeping in mind that it is a work in progress and is frequently updated.
|
Back to Photographic Materials Section List
Back to PMG Photographic Processes
