In the Darkroom: An Illustrated Guide to Photographic Processes Before the Digital Age

A concise introduction to the twenty-seven most common photographic and photomechanical processes, from albumen print to Woodburytype.

Since the announcement of photography’s invention in 1839, various methods of making photographs have been practiced. Until the advent of digital photography at the end of the twentieth century, all of these methods required three elements: light-sensitive materials that behave predictably in response to light; chemicals that control and fix the action of light to create an image; and a support upon which the image rests. Photographers and others have continually explored and refined these basic requirements in their quest to expand the artistic and technological possibilities of photography.

This book describes in a clear, accessible manner the main photographic and photomechanical processes (some still in practice) from the origins of the medium up to the time when the use of chemicals and a darkened room in which to process photographs was gradually superseded by the advent of digital photography.

This elegant guide will prove invaluable to students, photographers, museum visitors, collectors, and anyone interested in the rich and fascinating history of photography.

The book includes work by Euge`ne Atget, Robert Frank, Laura Gilpin, Andre´ Kerte´sz, Helen Levitt, Robert Mapplethorpe, Eadweard Muybridge, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, William Henry Fox Talbot, Andy Warhol, Edward Weston. 84 color photographs and illustrations

Sarah Kennel is an associate curator in the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Diane Waggoner is associate curator in the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Alice Carver-Kubik is an intern in the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art.