Chapter 11Pigmented and Alternative Processes
Gum Bichromate Process
John Pouncy patented the first workable gum bichromate photo process in the late 1850s. This printing process was a favorite of the Pictorialists from the 1890s until the advent of f/64 and its overwhelming “straight photography” aesthetic in the 1920s. Gum printing experienced a revival in the late 1960s when photography started being offered in university art departments and incorporated with other media, which lead to the rise of the Alternative Photography Movement.
The gum bichromate process operates on the principle that colloids (gelatinous substances) become insoluble when they are mixed with certain light-sensitive chemicals and exposed to UV light. This effect ...
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