Mudshark Loc: Illinois

I spent three years and did three deployments to Vietnam aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. I was a second class photo mate and I got to move about a great deal...From Da Nang to lots of Yankee Station ships, tin cans to bird farms...I then spent two more years running a one man lab, flag staff, at Great Lakes...that was tough duty...:)
There are times I miss shipboard life. But there were some really bad times...fire, explosions, mayhem, dead shipmates and pilots shot down...stuff I don't miss...not even a little bit.
I thought they were going to rate photographers aboard subs and I wanted to be a bubblehead but they decided not to go that route and I said...adios and went back to college.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

I am quite sure was was still breathing as he died at 53 in 1907. He certainly doesn't look to be a man of that age in the photo. I looked it up in the family records to be sure of the bith and death date.

Mudshark Loc: Illinois

Good! I just remember seeing old photos from the 1800's and learning the people were actually dead...it was a common practice at one time...sort of spooky.

ArgusSnap1 Loc: Indiana

Hi --I want to take a minute and thank all of you that have served in the Armed forces and I greatly appreciate your hard work and sacrifices. Thank you all very much and God bless or what ever Higher Power you may use.

Bunko.T Loc: Western Australia.

I know that there were negatives on glass way back early last century. My grandfather had some. They will be mine soon & I hope the scanner I've ordered [Epsom V500] will digitalise them.
Never heard of those ones. I wonder if they're 'one offs' for a special place in their hearts & protection of pic.??

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

i don't know if these could have been printed or not. They are in essence a negative on glass that is backed with either black paint on the back of the glass or put in a case with a black velvet backing to make them show as a positive. I suppose they could have been printed in the same way as other glass negatives if they were not painted black on the reverse side. A good question and worthy of some research. The one I put on this thread is in a closeable case like a book, lined with gold velvet and measures about 2 3/4" wide x 3 1/2" high. Closed it is about 5/8' Thick. Certainly small enough to be carried easily or opened and displayed on a shelf.

Bunko.T Loc: Western Australia.

When you say it has glass on both sides, I assume it's sealed between them & not separable?
I doubt that a positive could be used as a negative or vice versa. The neg's i have are neg's. You know, Black is white & V Versa. I plan to scan some old Celluloid B&W Neg's soon. Have had some done by a photo shop but quite costly. Mainly time consuming.
What you're describing is a presentation case.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

You are correct but they are a negative turned into a positive by the black backing. Where they were backed by black velvet in the presentation case when the glass was removed you would in effect have a normal negative printed on glass. The negative is sandwiched by a matching plate of glass in order to protect the negative, the base mixture of which was egg white or albumen and therefore fragile. I do suspect that could be prnted in the normal fashion using the negative to obtain a positive. I am not absolutely sure of this but I believe it would be feasible.

ArgusSnap1 Loc: Indiana

hi-I doubt that they could print them do to the fragility of the emulsion. Think of the chemicals on the printing paper--cyanotypes,salted paper,platinum printing etc could damage the emulsion quite a bit. I have some glass plate negatives that have pretty strong emulsions on them and are in good condition that they have very little damage and survived all these years. I am not sure when they started useing them but I think it was later in the 19 Century. Dauguerotypes, Ambroytypes and tintypes date much earlier around the Civil War era and before. A good book on the history of photography is by Beaumont Newhall a contempory of Ansel Adams. It is a good read and and easy one too. John Wood has a number of books on old process especialydaugerotypes. But if you have study the chemical process of these old-time processes they use some strong materials. The book "The Keepers of the Light" by William Crawford is a very good book on subject with instruction on how to print old processes. There are a number of artists today that are still using wet plate Colloidion method most notably Sally Mann. There was a magazine called Fuzion that had an issue totally about current artists who are still using wet plate colloidion which is what a glass plate is made from.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

ArgusSnap1 thank you for the info. Thankfully those folks put up with some of those arduous processes and strong chemicals to save a piece of history for us to enjoy. I enjoy doing family research but it is ever so much more fun when you can actually see an image of ancestors that you are studying. I was very fortunate as I not only have photos daing back to the 1860's but also diaries that give me an insight into their lives.

Expresso12 Loc: Franklin, IN

I am humbled to know many who have served in WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Afganistan, Irak and other unnamed battles since the 1940's. A number have shown me their military photos standing by their helocopters, planes, ships and other places of duty. Each one, with a little chuckle, says they've changed since the photo was taken. The only thing that has changed is the color of the hair and maybe a few pounds have been added. But, look at the eyes... you will see the same drive and determination that was in the eyes of the military photograph taken 40 or 50 years ago is still there today; don't miss that, don't turn away from that, don't deny that, that drive and determination gave me the free world I live in today and gave you the free world you live in today. Don't forget that and start now if you aren't doing it, to thank those in the military as well as those who you know are our treasured veterans... do so with a handshake and if they are willing, a hug.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Bad dog!

Bunko.T Loc: Western Australia.

I'm not trying to be pedantic but by puting a black background behind a neg doesn't make a positive.
A Negative of your original post should look like the att'd.
Black is white etc. To put black behind it makes it all black.

alliebess Loc: suburban Philadelphia

The negatives for ambrotypes were typically underexposed and they really do read as positives when placed against a black background although the tonal range tends to be somewhat muted. An acquaintence who does wet plate photography shows his negatives (just after they are developed) against a black cloth and the images read as positive.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.