Decoding: A Guide to Kodak Paper Surface Characteristics
2018, Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals
https://doi.org/10.1177/155019061801400207Abstract
From 1880 to 2005, the Eastman Kodak Company manufactured black-and-white fiber-based gelatin silver paper in a wide variety of weights, grades, and formats. Kodak manufacturer records and sample books include details about Kodak paper surface characteristics and are an invaluable resource for understanding photographic paper materials. Using the extensive number of Kodak data books, manuals, and manufacturing records spread out in the collections of three Rochester, New York-based institutions—George Eastman Museum, University of Rochester Special Collections, and Image Permanence Institute—I created a chronological guide to Kodak photographic paper surface characteristics. This guide is not an approximate identification guide for Kodak papers but rather a resource that can be used to fill in gaps and propose questions about Kodak manufacturing history that is no longer easily accessible. The guide aims to help researchers, photography archivists and historians, conservators, colle...
References (84)
- Edward Weston, The Daybooks of Edward Weston, ed. Nany Wynne Newhall (New York: Aper- ture, 1961).
- Information can be found in writings of artist photographers in the mid-and late 20th centu- ries. For example, Ansel Adams and his writings on specific photographic papers may be found in The Print (New York Graphic Society, June 1984).
- See chapter 1 in Kit Funderburk, A Guide to Surface Characteristics: Kodak Fiber Based Black and White Papers, 2nd ed. (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 2008).
- Paul Messier, Image Isn't Everything: Revealing Affinities across Collections throughout the Language of the Photographic Print. Object: Photo: Modern Photographs (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2014).
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers, Data Manual (Rochester: Eastman Kodak Co., 1930).
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Salesman Announcements (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 1944).
- The card catalog was donated to the George Eastman Museum in December 1991 by the East- man Kodak Company Patent Museum. Todd Gustavson, e-mail message to author, March 13, 2017.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers, Data Manual (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 1935).
- Kit Funderburk, meeting with the author, March 9, 2017.
- Baryta is a special barium sulfate coating that is traditionally applied to a fiber photographic paper base prior to coating with the emulsion layers.
- Funderburk, A Guide to Surface Characteristics, chapter 4.
- For more information about Kodak papermaking, see Kit Funderburk, History of the Papermills at Kodak Park (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 2006).
- Ibid., chapter 4.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers, Data Manual (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 1937).
- Ibid., chapter 4.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers (1937).
- Funderburk, A Guide to Surface Characteristics, chapter 4.
- Funderburk suggests that early "rough" papers were intended to be "smooth" textures but did not pass Kodak quality standards of "smooth. " Kit Funderburk, meeting with the author, March 9, 2017.
- Funderburk, A Guide to Surface Characteristics, chapter 4.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers, Data Manual (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 1947).
- Ibid., chapter 4.
- Ibid.
- Paul Messier writes about the various types of matting agents added to alter texture in his article "Les émulsions industrielles au XXe siècle, " in Le vocabulaire de la photographie, ed. Anne Carti- er Bresson (Paris: Marval, 2008).
- Paper-finishing process in which damp paper passed through several heated rollers to give the paper a smooth and shiny finish.
- Ibid., chapter 4.
- For more information about carbon printing, see http://graphicsatlas.org/identification/carbon (accessed March 9, 2017).
- Eastman Kodak Company, Kodak and Kodak Supplies (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 1912).
- Kit Funderburk, meeting with the author, March 9, 2017.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers (1935).
- Ibid., chapter 4.
- Ibid.
- Funderburk, A Guide to Surface Characteristics, chapter 4.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Data Book on Kodak Papers: Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook, Data Manual (Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co., 1951).
- Ibid., chapter 4.
- Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman Kodak Photographic Papers (1935).
- Ibid.
- Ibid, chapter 4.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Kit Funderburk, meeting with the author, March 9, 2017.
- M. Mauri, T. Elli, G. Caviglia, G. Uboldi, and M. Azzi, "RAW Graphs: A Visualization Platform to Create Open Outputs, " in Proceedings of the 12th Biannual Conference on Italian SIGCHI Chapter (New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 2017), 28:1-28:5.
- Every year does not include texture images. The images that are included are ones that demon- strate variation in surface characteristics from 1930 to 1955. Using texture images for each specific year would have been repetitive since textures did not change significantly every single year. Advice from Kit Funderburk, meeting with the author, March 9, 2017.
- For the complete guide of charts from 1930 to 1955, see https://urresearch.rochester.edu/ browseCollectionItems.action?collectionId=260.
- Berghmans, Tamara, Sandra Janssens, A. D. Coleman, Paul Messier, and Jennifer Sexton. 2015. Pho- tography Inc.: Your Image Is Our Business. Tielt: Lannoo Publishers.
- Dune, Corinne, Lene Grinde, and Ralph Wiegandt. 2005. "Characterization of Black and White Gela- tin Fiber-Based Photographic Prints. " Topics in Photographic Preservation 2: 38-56.
- Eastman Kodak Company. 1930. Catalogue of Eastman Professional Photographic Apparatus and Ma- terials 1930. Manual. George Eastman Museum Conservation Library. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1931. Condensed Price List 1931. Price List. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1932. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1933. Price List of Professional Films, Plates and Papers 1933. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1934. Condensed Price List 1934. Price List. Kodak Historical Collection #003, University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1934. Price List of Professional Films, Plates and Papers 1934. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1935. Price List of Professional Films, Plates and Papers 1935. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1936. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1937. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1938. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1939. Condensed Price List 1939. Price List. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1940. Condensed Price List 1940. Price List. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1940-1949. Data Book on Kodak Papers: Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manu- al. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1941. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1941. Kodak Photographic Papers for Professional Use: Kodak Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1942. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1943. Condensed Price List 1943. Price List. Kodak Historical Collection #003. University of Rochester Rare Books and Special Collections. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1944. Eastman Reference Manual Photographic Papers. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1945. Eastman Reference Manual Photographic Papers. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1946. Eastman Photographic Papers. George Eastman Museum Library. Rochester, NY: East- man Kodak Co.
- ---. 1947. Kodak Photographic Papers for Professional Use: Kodak Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1948-1949. Kodak Photographic Papers for Professional Use: Kodak Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1950. Data Book on Kodak: Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1950. Sample Book of Kodak Enlarging Papers. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1951. Data Book on Kodak Papers: 5th Edition Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1952. Data Book on Kodak Papers: Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1953. Data Book on Kodak Papers: Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1954. Data Book on Kodak Papers: 6th Edition Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 1955. Data Book On Kodak Papers: 6th Edition Punched for Kodak Reference Handbook. Data Manual. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- Funderburk, Kit. 2006. History of the Papermills at Kodak Park. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- ---. 2008. A Guide to Surface Characteristics: Kodak Fiber Based Black and White Papers. 2nd ed. Rochester, NY: Eastman Kodak Co.
- Hostetler, Lisa. 2016. A Matter of Memory: Photography as Object in the Digital Age. Rochester, NY: George Eastman Museum.
- Mauri, M., T. Elli, G. Caviglia, G., Uboldi, and M. Azzi. 2017. RAWGraphs: A Visualisation Platform to Create Open Outputs. In Proceedings of the 12th Biannual Conference on Italian SIGCHI Chapter, 28:1-28:5. New York: Association for Computing Machinery.
- Messier, Paul. 2005. "Notes on Dating Photographic Papers. " Topics in Photographic Preservation 11 (2005): 123-130.
- ---. 2008. "Les émulsions industrielles au XXe siècle. " In Le vocabulaire de la photographie, ed. Anne Cartier Bresson. Paris: Marval.
- ---. 2014. Image Isn't Everything: Revealing Affinities across Collections throughout the Language of the Photographic Print. Object: Photo: Modern Photographs. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2014. Passafiume, Tania. 2000. Kasebier: A Paper Sample Book. Advanced Residency Program in Photo- graph Conservation Research Report. Rochester, NY: George Eastman House.
- ---. 2001. A Silver Gelatin DOP Sample Book and Character Catalogue of the Edward Weston Col- lection at the George Eastman House. Advanced Residency Program in Photograph Conserva- tion Research Report. Rochester, NY: George Eastman House.
- Robison, Andrew. 1979. Paper-Art and Technology. Transcribed lectures presented at an internation- al conference on papermaking organized by the World Print Council. Washington, DC: World Print Council.
- Weston, Edward. 1961. The Daybooks of Edward Weston. Edited by Nany Wynne Newhall. New York: Aperture, 1961.