Bromoil printing and bromoil transfer — A Reader’s Guide

(0 User reviews) 812

In Category - Design Photography

Authors: Mayer, Emil, 1871-1938, Fraprie, Frank Roy, 1874-1951 [Translator] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2022 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Photography -- Printing processes Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 59,338

Reading time 258 min

Text sections 13

The catalog record for Bromoil printing and bromoil transfer — A Reader’s Guide provides practical reading context through 59,338 words, 4 hr 18 min estimated reading time, and 13 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 26.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Photography -- Printing processes,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #69127

This editorial note examines Emil Mayer's precise technical diction, stepwise instructional structure, and attention to variables like temperature and paper consistency in his 1923 manual on bromoil printing and transfer.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg69127

Read the Text

BROMOIL PRINTING AND BROMOIL TRANSFER

BY DR. EMIL MAYER PRESIDENT OF THE VIENNA CLUB OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS

_AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION FROM THE SEVENTH GERMAN EDITION_

BY FRANK ROY FRAPRIE, S.M., F.R.P.S. EDITOR OF AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY

AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHIC PUBLISHING CO., BOSTON 17, MASSACHUSETTS 1923

_Manufactured in the United States of America_ _Electrotyped and printed, March, 1923_

THE PLIMPTON PRESS NORWOOD·MASS·U·S·A

The bromoil process has always been one in which it has seemed difficult to attain success. Though many books and articles on the subject have been published, every writer seems to give different directions and every experimenter to have difficulty in following them. The consequence is that almost every successful experimenter with this process has developed methods of his own and has frequently been unable to impart them to others. One reason for this has been that each make of bromide paper varies in its characteristics from the others and that methods, which are successful with one, do not always succeed with another. Various bleaching solutions have been described, and, as the bleaching solution has two functions—bleaching and tanning, which progress with different speeds at different temperatures—a lack of attention on this point has doubtless been a frequent cause of unsuccess. Little attention has also been paid to the necessity for observing the temperature of the water used for soaking the print. The author of the present book has investigated these various points very carefully, and for the first time, perhaps, has brought to the attention of the photographic reader the need for an accurate knowledge of the effect of these different variables.

In the following book he describes only a single method of work, without variations until the process is learned, though he does describe various methods of work which may be used to vary results by the experienced worker. His method of instruction is logical and based on accepted educational principles. He describes one step at a time fully and carefully, explains the reasons for adopting it, and then proceeds to the next step in like manner. We feel sure that every reader, who will be reasonably careful in his methods of work and will follow these instructions literally, will learn how to make a good bromoil print. After attaining success in this way, the variations may be tried, if desired.

While the author gives instructions for testing out papers to see if they are suitable, it may be advisable to record here the results of some American and English workers. H. G. Cleveland in AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY for February, 1923, recommends, in addition to the papers specially marked by their makers as bromoil grades, the following: Eastman Portrait Bromide; P. M. C., Nos. 7 and 8; and Wellington, Cream Crayon Smooth, Rough, or Extra Rough. He suggests that a rough test may be made of a new brand of paper by placing a small test strip in water at 120° to 140° Fahrenheit for a few minutes and then scraping the emulsion surface with a knife blade. If the coating is entirely soft and jelly-like, it will probably be suitable for the process. If it is tough and leathery, it will be unsuitable, and, if a portion of the coating is soft but the other portion tough, then it will also be unsuitable. His experience is that Wellington Bromoil paper is entirely suitable for the process. Chris J. Symes in _The British Journal of Photography_ for December 1, 1922, recommends for bromoil the following English papers: Kodak Royal, white and toned; Vitegas, specially prepared for bromoil; Barnet Cream Crayon Natural Surface, Rough Ordinary and Tiger Tongue. For transfer, he has found the following suitable: Kodak Royal, white and toned; Kodak Velvet; Barnet Smooth Ordinary; and Barnet Semi-matt Card.

The reader who is interested in bromoil transfer, will find the directions of Mr. Guttmann on this process slightly different from those of Dr. Mayer in minor points, but the worker who is far enough advanced to essay this difficult process will be able to recognize these discrepancies and choose the process which seems more useful to himself.

Metal etcher’s presses for transfer are sold at comparatively high prices in the United States, but second hand ones may often be found in the larger cities. Small wooden mangles with maple rolls may be had at fairly low prices from dealers in laundry supplies, and have been found to be useful.

Following the style of the German original, italics have been freely used for the purpose of calling attention to the most important stages of the process, rather than for the ordinary purposes of emphasis.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to Mr. E. J. Wall for assistance in the first draft of the translation, and also in revision of the proofs.

BOSTON, February, 1923.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS 1

Continue Reading →

Emil Mayer's Bromoil Printing and Bromoil Transfer (1923) opens with a frank acknowledgment of the process's notorious difficulty: 'it has seemed difficult to attain success.' Rather than offering a single universal method, Mayer builds his instruction around the variability of materials—noting that 'each make of bromide paper varies in its characteristics' and that temperature affects bleaching and tanning at different speeds. This attention to specific, measurable conditions sets the tone for a manual that treats photography as a controlled chemical practice.

Diction of Precision and Caution

Mayer's language is consistently exact and conditional. He warns that 'the alkaline solution cannot be replaced by a tanning solution' because it would reduce the film's swelling capacity and 'destroy' the latent image. He describes failures with diagnostic specificity: 'small white spots at a certain distance apart' indicate grain too heavy; 'larger white spots' come from large drops produced by the atomizer; 'spots of rather large area which do not take ink' signal over-spraying. Each fault is tied to a precise cause and a corrective action, such as 'after rinsing, the print may be sprayed once more, carefully and not too heavily.' This vocabulary of measurement—'scarcely visible relief,' 'exactly the same coarseness of grain'—reflects a writer who expects the reader to observe and adjust.

Stepwise Structure and Educational Logic

The preface explicitly states Mayer's pedagogical method: 'He describes one step at a time fully and carefully, explains the reasons for adopting it, and then proceeds to the next step in like manner.' This is not a casual arrangement. The book is organized so that the beginner follows 'a single method of work, without variations until the process is learned.' Only after success does Mayer introduce variations for the experienced worker. The text itself enforces this sequence: it moves from paper selection to bleaching, swelling, inking, and finally to transfer. Each section builds on the previous one, with cross-references to earlier steps. The result is a manual that functions as a programmed course, not merely a reference.

The Role of Variables: Temperature, Paper, and Ink Consistency

Mayer repeatedly emphasizes that success depends on controlling variables that other writers ignore. He notes that 'the bleaching solution has two functions—bleaching and tanning, which progress with different speeds at different temperatures,' and that 'little attention has also been paid to the necessity for observing the temperature of the water used for soaking the print.' This focus on thermal conditions is unusual for its time. Similarly, he addresses ink consistency in practical terms: colored inks are 'somewhat too bright to be used pure' and 'can only be had commercially in a fairly soft consistency,' so he advises mixing them with hard black ink directly on the print using the brush. The instruction to 'tone down the colored ink with hard black ink' ties aesthetic judgment to material behavior.

Troubleshooting as a Rhetorical Strategy

Mayer devotes a distinct section to 'a few causes of failure which frequently occur in the first experiments.' This is not an afterthought but a structural element that reinforces his instructional method. By describing failures in visual terms—'white spots,' 'irregular ink spots,' 'coarse grain pattern'—he gives the reader a diagnostic vocabulary. He also offers recovery steps: if large drops appear during spraying, 'the print should be immediately placed in water, dried off and sprayed again.' Some failures, however, are terminal: 'the print is then useless as it cannot be corrected.' This honesty about irrecoverable errors is characteristic of a manual written by a practitioner who expects the reader to learn through trial and error, but within a controlled framework.

Mayer's manual rewards careful reading precisely because it is not a collection of recipes but a system of reasoning about materials and conditions. Readers will benefit most by following the sequence as prescribed, noting the specific temperatures, paper types, and ink consistencies mentioned. The book's value lies in its insistence that the bromoil process can be learned—provided one attends to the variables that others overlook.

Reading Mayer’s careful notes on paper temperature, I remembered my father’s hands adjusting a print in his darkroom—the same patience another manual once asked of me, tracing grade lines through the Lehigh Valley’s hills. That book, The "Switzerland of America": Lehigh Valley Railroad — Story, Setting & Ideas, felt like a quiet map of effort, much like these bromoil steps. Both taught me that precision, unhurried, can feel tender.