Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-05-22
PHOTOGRAPHERS BOTHERED nv
DUST.

How 1t Affects Their Plates and What
They Do to Escape 1t.
From the New York Tribune
Among the many evils which are attrib-
uted to the all-pervading, never-to-be-
escaped city dust. there is one which con-
stitutes a grievance peculiar to photogra-
piers alone. 1t is the injury which the
flying particles. sitting into the room
through every possible aperture cause to-
the delicate films and sensitive plates All
nlms are made of prepare tons of gelatine,
and large proportion of the glass plates
now used are also coated with this sub
stance, which. because of it's soft, sticky
nature, Is particularly likely to attract every
atom OF dust in the surrounding air. The
particles, however small, leave their i'm
press IN tne form OF opaque spots upon the
sensitive surface and seriously mar its per-
Iection. 10 remove the damage a great
amount of retouching is necessary, which
IS not only laberious and tiresome, but
winch cannot always be satisfactorily ac-
complished If the dust is yery thick. What
is known as the carbon process" in pho-
Biography Is probably more easily Injured
Dy aust than any other, because an ex-
G Themely dehcate film of gelatine is used.
CHIEFLY on account of this drawback the
CARBON process Is seldom EMPLOYED in This
country, although photographs are MADE
winch resemble the real carbon pictures
..o.Stc.J III Coior tnat they are called
cdrDontypes. In England where the car
Don process Is more common, it has become
customary Tor London photographers To
seho their developing work out of town m
NC uohe' In order to escape the dust and
smoke of the city, but this practice has
not gained much ground here.
The photographers in this city, as rule,
perform all their operations in the same
building in which their studios are sit
uated. and for the sake of thus keeping
the developing process at home, they are
obliged to be at great trouble in protecting
1t. Some of the methods employed for this
purpose were mentioned to a Tribune re-
porter the other day by well-knoWn
Broadway artist
I'm the first place." he said, I'VE not only
keep our dark room ITSELF but the whole
top floor in which it is situated, spotfessly
clean. The floors are all oiled until there is
rot a crack in their surface to harbor
every morning before we begin our days
work. All the tables trays and everything
we use are kept equally clean. The win
dows. instead of being in the side walls,
where the wind would strike them and bear
the dust in with it, are in the roof, and
cracks in the doors or around the window
frames are stopped up, ard we keep the
dark room tightly closed as much of the
time as possible. With these precautions,
we manage to get along pretty well, but a
certain quantity of dust seems bound to
creep IN, and 1t causes us good MANY
hours of extra work in retouchlng."
Prac tically the same struggle against
oust is the experience of every photoera-
pner In the city. One remedy which has
peen tried occasionally with success con-
slsts in filling the room in which the MA les
are Kept with steam for a few moments
each morning. This usually suffices to law
the aust Tor the entire day.