Ca.1890s Plain Paper "Salted Print" by an unknown photographer. The Salt Print was the simplest and softest of the many photographic processes. Plain paper was dipped in salt water and dried. A coating of sliver nitrate was then brushed on. The picture was clamped together with the negative (in this case, full size glass album-view dimensions) and it was "printed out" directly under the sun. After fixing, drying and hand-tinting, it was placed in souvenir albums for sale to tourists. Because the tints immediately soaked into the paper fibers, the color is literally "saturated". In the case of these prints, the color has kept very well for over 100 years. Originally popular in the 1840s and 50s (using a WAXED PAPER NEGATIVE called a CALOTYPE) only a handful of Japanese photographers revived the process in the late Meiji era, thus making these images somewhat rare. I have heard salt prints referred to as Calotypes, as well as hearing remarked that salt prints made from glass negatives are not really salt-prints. Both of those statements (made without malice, of course) are technically incorrect based on a lack of understanding of the processes involved. Strictly speaking, the CALOTYPE NEGATIVE and the SALT PRINT POSITIVE were made by two separate chemical processes. For those so inclined to historic details, here is is one of the better links (avoiding the Wikipedia entry for "Calotype" in this case is a good idea)... special.lib.gla.ac.uk/hillandadamson/calo.html I myself grew up hearing Stereoscopes and Stereoviews both referred to as STEREOPTICONS, and walked around mimicking this error until I knew better. ("Stereopticon" is a type of 2-D Lantern-slide Projector). Anyway, to this day, I never pick fights over mistaken terminology, knowing that the world of photography is filled with generally accepted terms, even if they are technically in error. But, I do point things out when I get the chance. The main thing is to have an appreciation of the image itself as a work of either "ART" or "DOCUMENT", (and sometimes both all in the same picture).
