This site is Plan B for Nadeau's original site: www.photoconservation.com, which should be visited for more information. Contact: NADEAUL [ AT ] YAHOO.COM.

Soon, the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Printing, Photographic and Photomechanical Processes will be available.

The first edition of this Encyclopedia came out in 1989 (Vol. 1) and 1990 (Vol. 2). 

Twenty years in the making, the Encyclopedia is quoted in hundreds of publications. Out of print for many years, copies of this book have become ridiculously expensive, e.g.:

The new edition has been expanded considerably, with thousands of corrections, new references, a French-to-English index, and over 100 new entries.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID OF THE FIRST (1989) EDITION:

“This extensive work continues the tradition of exhaustiveness Nadeau has staked out in earlier books ...”

— Print Collector’s Newsletter

“Luis Nadeau has rendered a service to the international community of photohistorians. Indeed, no comparable guide through the terminological maze is now in existence, as far as is known.”

— History of Photography

THE SECOND EDITION:

This encyclopedia is the culmination of over 30 years of research on PRINTING, PHOTOGRAPHIC and PHOTOMECHANICAL processes. It seeks to clarify the confusion which has resulted from the invention of several hundred such processes. Name any one of them and then ask the following questions: WHAT is it? WHO invented it? WHEN? WHERE do you go to find full technical details about it? This encyclopedia, with nearly 2,000 entries and over 6,000 references in six languages, provides the answers.

Here is a sample of the questions answered by this encyclopedia: What is the difference between a CALOTYPE and a COLLOTYPE? What are the most permanent color photographs ever produced? What technologies have been used to make fakes, facsimiles, and counterfeit money? Are INKJET prints real photographs?

What is the difference between a SERIGRAPH and a SILKSCREEN? What is X-RAY LITHOGRAPHY? What is the difference between WOODCUT and WOOD ENGRAVING, and what is the French or German translation of each term? When was KODACHROME film introduced and for what other process was its name used? Where does one find full technical details on the DAGUERREOTYPE or WOODBURYTYPE processes and who is still using them today? Which Canadian invented the first practical HALF-TONE process? When? When was NITROCELLULOSE film last commercially available? What was the TEA PROCESS of the 1870s and why was it so popular?

Who will use this encyclopedia? Archivists, map, engraving and photograph curators, rare books and special collections librarians, print collectors, historians, visual arts students and teachers, print dealers, auctioneers, visual arts writers, critics, catalogers, conservators, translators, forensic document examiners and trademark specialists will all find this work an invaluable reference tool.

THE AUTHOR:

Few people would be more qualified than Luis Nadeau to write such a book. With over 30 years of experience and research in the fields of history of technology and conservation of photographic materials, and  with one of the largest collections of identified reproduction processes in the world (over 400), Luis Nadeau has trained the staff of many of the best known archives, museums, and libraries, from more than 15 countries in Africa, Europe and North America.

A private scholar who has worked without grants or institutional support, his enthusiasm led, after some eight years of research, to his first book, History and Practice of Carbon Processes, in 1982, followed by his acquisition of the only Fresson lab outside France. Then came History and Practice of Platinum Printing in 1984, (2nd rev. ed., 1986; 3rd, 1994 –also available in German) followed by History and Practice of Oil and Bromoil Printing in 1985, Modern Carbon Printing, in 1986, and Gum Dichromate and Other Direct Carbon Processes from Artigue to Zimmerman, in 1987. These books are widely recognized as the most exhaustive in their respective fields and are now used as texts and reference manuals by more than 100 American universities and other institutions in over 30 countries.

Luis Nadeau has also lectured and taught at various institutions, including the Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport (USA), the International Center of Photography, in New York City (USA), the Musée du Louvre and the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris (France), the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal (Canada), the El Centre de Recerca i Difusió de la Imatge (CRDI) in Girona (Spain), and the Benaki Museum, in Athens (Greece), among others.

— Michael Christopher Lawlor

About Luis Nadeau

Luis Nadeau became involved in the archival aspects of photography in the early 1970s.[i] Coming from a background in conventional photography, he took a course in the then new field of conservation and restoration of photographic materials, offered by the Visual Studies Workshops in collaboration with the George Eastman House, in Rochester, New York, U.S.A.

Visual Studies Workshops, Rochester, NY 1974. Henry Wilhelm is on the far right
©Luis Nadeau

Rochester was a turning point for Nadeau, who quickly realized that the fields of conservation and restoration of photographic materials were in their infancy. The formal academic programs were not sufficient and only those comfortable with foreign languages and an autodidactic approach could eventually contribute to the advancement of this new discipline. This suited him perfectly. Born with an insatiable curiosity and unquenchable thirst for knowledge, he used to read over four hundred books a year, year after year.

During the 1970s he repeatedly went to Europe, researching in patent offices, museums, national libraries and the still mostly intact Alphonse Poitevin research laboratory, rue Saint-Jacques, in Paris. From 1976 to 1979 he was also the official Canadian delegate of NAPA (National Association for Photographic Art –now CAPA)[ii] at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie (RIP)[iii] in Arles in the south of France, and was a regular contributor to its quarterly, Camera Canada, then edited by well-known Canadian photographer, Freeman Patterson.

Ansel Adams, Arles, France 1976 ©Luis Nadeau

The press privileges included access to all conferences, workshops and social events in Arles. He became personally acquainted with Ansel Adams, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Paul Caponigro, Lucien Clergue, Ernst Haas, Helmut Gernsheim, Ralph Gibson, Jean-Claude Lemagny, and many other prominent historians and photographers.

Beginning in the late 1970s and 1980s he was teaching workshops on early photographic processes at the Maine Photographic Workshops, in Rockport, Maine and elsewhere in North America.[iv]

Luis Nadeau (R) and friends, Louvre Museum,  29 Nov. 2002, Paris
Photo by Guy de Riencourt

While researching the history of photographic technologies, he turned his attention to the so-called “permanent” or “archival” processes. Such printing processes do not make use of silver or dyes that would tarnish or fade. This research unveiled the Holy Grail of photographic printing: the Fresson process. The procedure, worked out in France at the end of the nineteenth century, belongs to the dichromated colloid group, originally discovered by Alphonse Poitevin in 1855. A mixture of a colloid, pigment and dichromate compound creates a light-sensitive emulsion. After exposure under a negative the non-exposed parts of the emulsion are relatively soluble and can be removed with a slight abrasive. This is usually done by pouring a mixture of sawdust and water over the pigmented (dark) print until the desired density is achieved.[v] See the Fresson entry in the photographic gallery of the Museum.

The process provides extensive control, as development occurs slowly in bright light and the finished prints have a unique matt look that was very popular among pictorialists. In 1951 the process was adapted to four-color printing and to this day remains the only method of producing real photographs[vi] in permanent colors on a commercial basis.[vii]

José Ortiz Echague, Madrid 1978 ©Luis Nadeau

In recent times, artists such as Frank Horvat, Bernard Plossu, Sheila Metzner, and Sarah Moon have had their work finished in Fresson. The best known exponent of the process, however, was the late José Ortiz Echagüe (1886-1980) whose fabulus work can be seen in major museums, including that of the Royal Photographic Society in the U.K. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.[viii][ix] In 1966, Ortiz Echagüe, who was a wealthy Spanish industrialist, managed to purchase the secret Fresson formulas and coating equipment from a rogue Fresson family member who was giving up the commercial production of paper for health reasons. After years of difficult and sometimes tumultuous negotiations in France and Spain, Nadeau stunned the photography world [x] in 1979 by bringing the Fresson formulas and equipment to Canada.

Nadeau’s research has appeared in hundreds of books, journals, and web sites. [xi][xii] He has also done consulting, lectured and trained the staff of well known institutions from 13 countries. These include the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal, the MET in New York City, the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Musée du Louvre and the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris (where he hosted the first international meeting on photo-alternative processes, in May 1996), the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, the Benaki Museum in Greece, the International Center of Photography in New York City, the Museum of Science at Oxford, the Oxford English Dictionary, the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, the Getty Research Institute, the University of Texas, etc.

Luis Nadeau, Dusan Stulik (Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles) and
Bertrand Lavédrine, (CRRMF, Paris), Fredericton, 9 July 2002

Shortly after September 11, 2001, he cancelled a lecture that was to take place at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Conservation, in New York City. Missing such an opportunity, he then created what has become the very successful PHOTOCONSERVATION mailing list:  

https://www.freelists.org/list/photoconservation. The who’s who of the conservation world subscribe to this list, now with more than 900 participants. The owner can be reached here NADEAUL [at] YAHOO DOT COM

Michael C. Lawlor

http://www.mclawlor.ca/

[i] Michael C. Lawlor: “Luis Nadeau, an encyclopedia of photographic techniques.” Blackflash, Vol. 6, No. 4, Winter 1988, pp. 4, 17, 18.

[ii] www.capacanada.ca/

[iii] www.rencontres-arles.com/

[iv] www.theworkshops.com/

[v] The processing (not the coating procedure and formulas) of Fresson paper is detailed in Luis Nadeau’s History and Practice of Carbon Processes, 1982, pp. 53-62.

[vi] Real photographs as opposed to photomechanical reproductions like offset or inkjet (aquagravure, giclée, etc.) printing.

[vii] Nadeau never used the color version of the Fresson process. The descendants of the inventor are still using it in France. www.atelier-fresson.com/

[viii] www.apogeephoto.com/mag7-6/ortiz_echague.shtml

ix] www.unav.es/fff/paginasinternas/ortizechague/default.html

[x] Christina Sabat, a journalist who interviewed Nadeau on the acquisition of the Fresson process wrote: “It is a dramatic tale which has all the ingredients for a successful mystery thriller including drama, intrigue, suspense and the involvement of prominent and wealthy personages.” The Daily Gleaner, Fredericton, NB (May 24, 1980), p. 5. Indeed, by the time the transaction was finalized, it had directly involved a large number of people in four countries. Also, Karol Schweiger: “Looking for Luis Nadeau,” Arts Atlantic 2 no 1 (Spring 1979) pp. 30-33.

[xi] MONOGRAPHS by Luis Nadeau:

History and Practice of Carbon Processes, (1982).

History and Practice of Platinum Printing, (1984, revised in 1986 and 1994).

Geschichte und Praxis des Platindrucks, Lindemanns Verlag, Stuttgart (1993).

History and Practice of Oil and Bromoil Printing, (1985).

Geschichte und Praxis des Ol- und Bromoldrucks, Lindemanns Verlag, Stuttgart (1992).

Modern Carbon Printing, (1986).

Gum Dichromate and Other Direct Carbon Processes, (1987).

Encyclopedia of Printing, Photographic and Photomechanical Processes, 2 vols., (1989-1990); second edition, 2016.

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The above publications have been reviewed in (partial list):

PhotographiConservation, (Rochester Institute of Technology), Vol. 4, No. 4, Dec. 1982, p. 2. [HPCP]

Popular Photography, New York, Vol. 90, No. 11, Nov. 1983, p. 138. [HPCP]

British Journal of Photography, London, Henry Greenwood & Co., Vol. 130, 1983, p. 543. [HPCP]

Popular Photography, New York, Vol. 92, No. 4, April 1985, pp. 86, 91. [HPPP]

The Photograph Collector, New York, Vol. 3, No. 12, Dec. 15th 1982. [HPCP]

The Photograph Collector, New York, Sept. 1987. [HPPP, 2nd. ed.]

History of Photography, London, Taylor & Francis, Vol. 9, No. 3, Jul/Sept. 1985, p. 256. [HPPP]

History of Photography, London, Taylor & Francis, Jan. 1987. [HPOBP]

The Photograph Collector, New York, Vol. 6, No. 8-9, Sept. 15, 1985, p. 5. [HPPP]

The Photograph Collector, New York, Vol. 7, No. 8-9, Sept. 15, 1986, p. 7. [HPOBP]

Darkroom Photography, San Francisco, Vol. 7, No. 7, Nov. 1985, p. 10. [HPCP, HPPP]

Edele Procédés, Amsterdam, 1985, p. 40. [HPCP]

Fotonyheterna, Sweden, No. 4, May 1985, pp. 6, etc. [HPCP, HPPP]

Creative Camera, London, March 1987. [HPCP, HPPP, HPOBP]

Modern Photography, New York, Vol. 51, No. 9, Sept. 1987, p. 75. [HPCP, HPPP]

Printing Historical Society Bulletin, London, Issues 27-38, 1990, pp. 20, 24. [EPPPP]

The Print Collector's Newsletter, New York, Volume 22, 1991, p. 53. [EPPPP]

In progress:

Guide to the Identification of Prints, Photographs and Documents.

A Review of the Penrose Annual.

The Art Exemplar Demystified.

[xii] ARTICLES by Luis Nadeau include:

“Archival Processing,” Camera Canada, Toronto, Sept. 1976, pp. 36, 38.

“7th International Meeting of Photography,” Camera Canada, Toronto, Dec. 1976, pp. 32, 36, 38, 40, 42.

“On Color Print Processes and Conservation,” Print Letter, No. 8, Zürich, March/April 1977, p. 11.

“Images de Québec,” (Introducing the work of Michel Saint-Jean) Camera Canada, Toronto, No. 35, Dec. 1977, pp. 12, 23, 44.

“8th International Meeting of Photography,” Camera Canada, Toronto, Dec. 1977, pp. 34, 36, 38, 40, 42.

“Restaurer des daguerréotypes,” Prestige de la photographie, Paris, June 1978, pp. 154-156.

“Rephotographier une plaque cassée,” Prestige de la photographie, Paris, Nov. 1978, p. 153.

“Platinotypia,” Progresso Fotografico, Milano, 1978, pp. 22, 27, 65.

“The History of the Fresson Process,” PhotoCommuniqué, Toronto, Vol. 2, No. 1, March/April 1980, pp. 19-21.

“La conservation des photographies,” La Revue d'histoire de la Société Historique Nicholas-Denys, Caraquet (NB.), Vol. 8, No. 1, April 1980, pp. 22-34.

“The Fresson Process,” The Photographic Journal, London, Royal Photographic Society, Vol. 120, No. 7, July/August 1980, p. 299.

Id. Vol. 121, No.7, July 1981, pp. 304-309.

“The Fresson Process,” AVISO, New Pictorialist Society, Santa Cruz, CA, July  1982, pp. 4-12.

“La conservation des photographies,” Photo-Sélection, Québec, Vol. 2, No. 5, Nov./Dec. 1982, pp. 42, 43, 51.

“Notes sur la restauration et la copie des photographies,” Photo-Sélection, Québec, Vol. 2, No. 6, Jan./Feb. 1983, pp. 38, 39.

“Nadeau Letter,” PhotographiConservation, Rochester, (RIT), Vol. 5, No. 1 & 2, March/June 1982, pp. 6-7.

“La Platinotypie,” Photo-Sélection, Québec, Vol. 4, No. 4, Sept./Oct. 1984, pp. 42-47, 51.

“Fresson Revisited,” Darkroom Photography, San Francisco, Vol. 7, No. 7, Nov. 1985, p. 6.

“Els processos d’impressió fotomecànica: història, identificació i conservació,” (in Catalan) Imatge i Recerca, 7es. Jornades Antoni Varés, Nov. 19-22, 2002, Ajuntament de Girona, Spain, pp. 109-120.

“Reproduction processes used in Camera Work, 1903-1917.” In catalogue published on occasion of the exhibition “Camera Work: A Centennial Celebration.” The James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, Sept. 13 – December 28, 2003. The Photo Review, Vol. 26, Nos 1 & 2, 2003. Stephen Perloff, Curator.

“Pigment processes: Overview and chronologies,” Seminar on Preservation & Management of Photographic Collections, Benaki Museum Postprints, Oct. 3rd-7th 2005, Athens, Greece, pp. 37-42. Also published in Greek.

“Photomechanical Processes: Overview and chronologies,” Seminar on Preservation & Management of Photographic Collections, Benaki Museum Postprints, Oct. 3rd-7th 2005, Athens, Greece, pp. 43-53. Also published in Greek.

[xiii] CONTRIBUTOR TO/ QUOTED IN (selected list):

Szilágyi Gábor: A fotómúvészet története, Budapest. 1982.

T. Browne & E. Partnow: Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists & Innovators, New York, Macmillan. 1983.

International Center of Photography's Encyclopedia of Photography, New York, Crown Publishers. 1984.

Geoffrey Crawley: British Journal of Photography Annual 1988, Henry Greenwood. 1987. 

A.V. Simcock: Photography 150: Images from the First Generation, Oxford, Museum of the History of Science. 1989.

S. Carl King: The Photographic Impressionists of Spain: A History of the Aesthetics and Technique of Pictorial Photography, Edwin Mellen Press. 1989.

Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship, American Library Association, Volumes 5-7. 1990.

The American Archivist, Vol. 5, 1991. 

Klaus B. Hendriks: Fundamentals of Photograph Conservation: a Study Guide, National Archives of Canada, Lugus Productions. 1991.

Rare Books and Manuscripts Librarianship, Vol. 7, Association of College and Research Libraries. 1992.

C.B. McArdle, John M. Kelly, Michael J. de F. Maunder: Photochemistry and Polymeric Systems, Royal Society of Chemistry. 1993.

Stroebel & Zakia (Ed.): The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Third Edition, Focal Press (Butterworths). 1993.

Sherry Byrne; Pamela W. Darling: Collection maintenance and improvement, Association of Research Libraries. 1993.

Toni Petersen (Dir.): Art and Architecture Thesaurus, Oxford University Press. 1994.

Topics in photographic preservation Volumes 6-8, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Photographic Materials Group. 1995.

Sandra Benito; Victoria Blasco: Luz y tiempo: colección fotográfica formada por Manuel Alvarez Bravo para la Fundación Cultural Televisa, A.C., Julio 1995, Fundación cultural televisa (México). 1995.

Juan Carlos Valdez Marín: Manual de conservación fotográfica: guía de identificatión de procesos y conservación, estabilización y restauración de procesos fotográficos de los siglos XIX y XX, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. 1997.

Richard Farber: Historic Photographic Processes, New York, Allworth Press. 1998.

The Journal of imaging science and technology, Volume 42 IS & T –the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. 1998. 

Sylvie Pénichon: “Differences in Image Tonality produced by different toning protocols for matte collodion photographs,” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Vol. 38. 1999.

Mike Ware: Cyanotype. The History, Science and Art of Photographic Printing in Prussian Blue, London, Science Museum and National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. 1999.

André Gunthert: La conquête de l'instantané. Archéologie de l'imaginaire photographique en France (1841-1895), (doctoral thesis) Paris, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. 1999.

Barbara J. Rhodes; William W. Streeter: Before Photocopying: The Art & History of Mechanical Copying, 1780-1938, Oak Knoll Press. 1999. 

Pam Roberts: PhotoHistorica: Landmarks in Photography: Rare Images from the Collection of the Royal Photographic Society, Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, Artisan. 2000.

Randall Webb; Martin Reed: Alternative Photographic Processes: a Working Guide for Image Makers, Silver Pixel Press. 2000.

Italo Zannier; Daniela Tartaglia: La fotografia in archivio, Firenze, Sansoni. 2000.

Paul Scott: Ceramics and print, University of Pennsylvania Press; 2nd ed. 2002.

Karen Severud: “The Historical Role of Photomechanical Techniques in Map Production.” Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2002.

Alan Marshall: Du plomb à la lumière: La Lumitype-Photon et la naissance des industries graphiques modernes, Paris, Editions de la Maison des sciences et de l’homme. 2003. 

David Morrish; Marlene MacCallum: Copper Plate Photogravure: Demystifying the Process, Focal Press. 2003. 

Bertrand Lavédrine; Jean-Paul Gandolfo; Sibylle Monod: A Guide to the Preventive Conservation of Photograph Collections, Getty Conservation Institute. 2003.

Nancy Carlisle; Peter Harholdt: Cherished Possessions: a New England Legacy, Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. 2003.

Bernard S. Finn; Robert Bud; Helmuth Trischler: Presenting Pictures, Science Museum (Great Britain). 2004.

David Owen: Copies in Seconds: How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg –Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox Machine, Simon & Schuster. 2004.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Researching your Art. 2004.

C. Gladden (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, San Diego, Academic Press. 2005.

Dick Arentz: Platinum & Palladium Printing, Boston, Elsevier, Focal Press. 2005.

Luiz Monforte: Alegorias Brasileiras, São Paulo, SP, Editora SENAC, Imprensa Oficial. 2005.

P. Fouché: Dictionnaire encyclopédique du livre. Vol. 2 (E-M), Paris, Cercle de la librairie. 2005.

Lynne Warren (Ed.): Encyclopedia of 20th Century Photography, Routledge. 2005.

Tom McNulty: Art Market Research: A Guide to Methods and Sources, Jefferson (NC), McFarland & Co. Pub. 2006. 

Anne Cartier-Bresson (Ed.): Vocabulaire technique de la photographie, Marval, Paris. 2007.

Patricia Carrillo Medrano: Fotografía: Manual de Procesos Alternativos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 2007. 

J. Hannavy (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, New York, Routledge. 2007.

Laura Blacklow: New Dimensions in Photo Processes: A Step by Step Manual for Alternative Techniques, Burlington (MA), Focal Press. 4th ed. 2007.

Juan Carlos Valdez Marín: Conservación de fotografía histórica y contemporánea: fundamentos y procedimientos, Sistema Nacional de Fototecas (Mexico) Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. 2008.

Christiane Elias: Archivische Anforderungen an alterungsbeständige Schreibstoffe „moderner“ Druckerverfahren, Fachhochschule Potsdam. (Thesis) 2008.

Naomi Rosenblum: A World History of Photography, Abbeville Press. 4th ed. 2008.

Robin Lenman (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to the Photograph, Oxford University Press. 2009.

Eléonore Kissel; Erin Vigneau: Archival Photoreproductions. A Manual for Identification and Care, Oak Knoll; The New York Botanical Garden, 2nd ed. 2009.

Roger Kockaerts; Johan Swinnen: De Kunst van het Fotoarchief. 170 jaar fotografie en erfgoed, Brussels, University Press Antwerp. 2009.

Margarita Mª González Vázquez: Nuevos Procesos de Transferencia Mediante Tóner y su Aplicación al Grabado Calcográfico, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Doctoral thesis), Madrid. 2010.

Gilberto Artioli: Scientific Methods and Cultural Heritage: An Introduction to the Application of Materials Science to Archaeometry and Conservation Science, Oxford University Press. 2010. 

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WEB SITE:

Exhibitions of the Royal Photographic Society 1870-1915

COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

All illustrations on this site are the property of Luis Nadeau. You will find more information on the reproduction technologies illustrated here in Luis Nadeau’s latest edition of the Encyclopedia of Printing, Photographic and Photomechanical Processes. 

The Nadeau collection consists of a library of approximately 1,000 hard copy volumes (and 3,500 eBook volumes) mostly in French, English, and German, related to the history and conservation of printing and photographic materials. Among the most interesting items, is a comprehensive set of the Penrose Annual (1895-1982). This is the only complete collection of the Penrose in Canada and one of two in North America. All 74 volumes (27,000 pp.) have been abstracted and indexed and will be the subject of an upcoming book in the near future. More information can be found on this site.

The collection of photographs began in the 1970s and was gradually expanded to include all forms of reproduction technologies, from ancient engraving methods to modern photomechanical processes. There are thousands of illustrations made by approximately 400 “different” printing, photographic and photomechanical technologies although admittedly, many of them differ only in name. The emphasis is on collecting items whose production methods are clearly identified.

The oldest item in the collection, a Sumarian cylinder seal, goes back approximately 4,000 years. It came from Iraq, through Syria. As with the other artifacts on this page, more information can be found in the author's Encyclopedia.

Sumarian cylinder seal made from agate stone, with an imprint on clay, ca. 1800-2000BC. 24.5x9 mm.

Other items of interest include a leaf from the Gutenberg Chronicle (1493) and other samples of incunabula including a fine typographical example of Nicholas Jenson (1477) and early manuscript work on thin vellum from a Friar’s Bible, from the 13th Century.

Leaf from a Friar’s small portable Bible, ca. 1275. Provenance: Ex collection Herbert Fleishhaker (1872-1957), San Francisco (banker & philanthropist), bought in Venice in 1929. 188x136 mm.

In the incunabula collection we have this interesting item. Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493.

A leaf from Hartmann Schedel, Das Buch Der Chroniken und Geschichten, Nuremberg, July 12, 1493. This Latin edition was followed by a German edition on Dec. 23, 1493. 40.5x27.5 cm.

Physionotrace. 1816.

Physionotrace by Quenedey, Paris, 1816. It made use of a complicated pantograph system to engrave a copper plate in intaglio. Image 60 mm, case 90 mm.

The photography collection includes specimens of early color processes such as the Uvachrome, a dye-mordanting process that relied on copper compounds as mordants for transparency dyes.

Uvachrome transparency, early 1900s, 85x100 mm. The Nadeau collection is rich in items that were originally supplied by manufacturers as specimens of their products. This greatly simplifies the identification process.

The three-color carbro process was preferred by high-end color studios during the period 1920-1960. The process, being very difficult and expensive, was almost exclusively used for illustrations that were color-separated for photoengraving in popular magazines and catalogs. These photographs are highly desirable today partly as they were usually unique and made with permanent color pigments that will last for centuries.

Three-color carbro portrait of Gina Lollobrigida, ca. 1950. Photographer unknown. 375x294 mm.

The collection also has samples of Vivex prints from the Art Deco era and Nadeau’s own permanent three-color carbon prints, reputed by many to be among the most beautiful color prints ever made, on account of the unique, thick relief (~0.5 mm) in the dark areas of the pigmented reliefs. Such prints (PDF) of Dean Brown's work, are in the collection of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, U.S.A.

A three-color Vivex carbro print. Photographer unknown, ca. 1937. 295x205 mm.

Other photographic pigment processes represented in the collection include gum prints, bromoils and Fressons such as this beautiful print by José Ortiz Echague.

José Ortiz Echagüe, “Aquadoras Andaluzas.” Fresson, prior to 1955. 420x300 mm. Ortiz Echagüe’s Fresson coating equipment and formulas are now owned by Luis Nadeau.

Photomechanical technologies are well represented in the Nadeau collection. These include early Albertypes.

Albertype (collotype family) showing the interior of Albert's printing establishment in 1870. This original albertype was inserted in the June 24, 1870 issue of Photographic News. Under magnification this print has no visible sign of reticulation unlike later collotypes.

The first practical half-tone process was commercialized in Canada by the Leggo brothers.

Leggotype from a photoengraving block, 1871. 160x240 mm.

There were many different types of photogravure. The following is a rotogravure produced from a square half-tone screen.

Robert Demachy, “Behind the scenes.” 1905. 115x127 mm on 122x135 mm.

The following is a fine example of the earliest photomechanical process used in England:

"The Cedars, Monmouthshire," etched after a photograph by Roger Fenton (?), using the photogalvanograph process as developed by Paul Pretsch, published in Photographic Art Treasures, 1856. 215x175 mm.

This photochromy, by Léon Vidal, is a good example of early color printing in France.

Photochromy (photochromie) Léon Vidal, ca. 1875. "Paix de l'Autel du Saint-Esprit. Face Postérieure. XVIè Siècle.” 168x121 mm.

The most popular photomechanical process in use since the end of the nineteenth century has been the half-tone, originally adapted to letterpress (relief) printing. The process is also known as photoengraving.

A duotone photoengraving reproduction of a photograph by Puyo, 1905. 120x135 mm.

Woodburytype. The most beautiful photomechanical process ever invented.

Woodburytype of Victor Hugo. Ca. 1880. The image is screenless and looks like an actual carbon photograph. Image 94x75 mm.

THE FRESSON PROCESS

The Author's Fresson Coating Lab.

The coater is in the background. The process requires several coatings, ranging from relatively thick to extremely thin. Shown here is the paper drying after the baryta coating operation. Note in the foreground on the floor, a roller-mill used to grind solid pigments. Unlike typical “pigment prints” made by photomechanical inkjet printers which often rely on dyes, Fresson uses pure pigments resulting with permanent images that are not sensitive to the  nature of the support.

This Fresson operation will be looking for a new home in the upcoming years.

Development (wash-off) with water and sawdust to remove the unhardened parts of the image.

After exposure the pigmented paper is ‘developed’ with an abrasive solution of water and sawdust. The operation takes place in white light, as shown here, and can last from 2 to 20 minutes. It can even be resumed after the print has dried, days later. No other photographic process offers this kind of control.

The finished print.

The grain effect in this print comes from the original 35 mm infrared film.

MORE ON THE FRESSON PROCESS

(1899-today) A proprietary direct carbon process, invented by Théodore-Henri Fresson in France, around 1899, after some seven years of research. It is owned by his descendants in France and by ourselves in Canada. We acquired it through lengthy negotiations with the industrialist José Ortiz Echagüe in 1979, shortly before his death.

The process belongs to the dichromated colloid group, in which a mixture of a colloid, pigment and dichromate compound creates a light-sensitive emulsion. After exposure under a negative, the non-exposed parts of the emulsion are relatively soluble and can be removed with a slight abrasive. This is usually done by pouring a mixture of sawdust and water over the print until the desired density is achieved.

The process provides extraordinary control as development occurs in bright light, typically under a 200 Watt flood light, and can take anywhere from three to 30 minutes. The process offers a wide range of effects, by varying the type of pigment, support or developing procedure, etc.

Fresson was very popular among pictorialists, who could buy the paper in a variety of colors. The paper was imported and sold in America for a period of time before WW II. C. Puyo in France, was one of the early pictorialists who used the Fresson process. Frank Horvat, Bernard Plossu, Lucien Clergue, Sheila Metzner and Sarah Moon are contemporary photographers who have had some of their work printed using this process. The best known exponent of the Fresson process, however, is the late José Ortiz Echagüe, whose fabulous work can be seen in major museums, including that of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, England, the Photographic Society of America, in Philadelphia, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The highly coveted Fresson process has attracted considerable attention, as it can provide superb permanent result in monochrome or color, and is the last early proprietary photographic process of importance still jealously guarded by a handful of people, namely the descendants of the inventor, in France and ourselves in Canada, even though we have not had time to exploit it commercially in recent years. If we keep this process we intend to print and publish one or two portfolios a year.

Many companies and individuals have tried to imitate the Fresson paper for the past 100 years. They all failed in their attempts but their efforts are documented in our book Gum Dichromate and Other Direct Carbon Processes, from Artigue to Zimmerman.