Photographic History Collection: Cyanotypes
date: label: date made
content: 1842 - 1870s
notes: label: Description
content: The cyanotype collection at the National Museum of American History spans over eight hundred prints, the majority of which are work prints by motion photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Other images in the collection include documentation of a flood in Pennsylvania, documentation of lamps for a metal oil lamp company, portraits, photographs of rail and steam transportation, photo on fabric and a few photo postcards. There are also two cyanotype albums in the collection that contain photos of studio portraiture, environmental portraiture and other miscellaneous subjects.
label: Description
content: In the summer of 1842, Sir John Herschel invented the cyanotype process, a light sensitive mixture of potassium ferrocyanide and ferric ammonium citrate. Herschel, born 1792 in England, was a noted scientist, astronomer and mathematician. After following the recommendations of Dr. Alfred Smee, Herschel chanced upon the process in 1842, but it did not gain popularity until the 1870s when the Paris based company Marion & Co. started using it to market what we now consider blueprint paper. The process is ideal for making architectural blueprints because it is both easier and less complex than the silver gelatin process to produce.
label: Description
content: Because the cyanotype process has a low sensitivity to light, the most effective ways to create a print are to use the contact or photogram process. The unexposed sensitizer and reaction products are very soluble, so simply washing the prints in water will complete the processing.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Photographic History
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content: Photography
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: COLL.PHOTOS.000045
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Cyanotypes Collection