Processes > Carbon Print

Carbon Print

1855–1930

Introduced in the mid-1850s, carbon prints are the result of a transfer process. First, a sheet of paper or tissue was coated with a light-sensitive layer of pigment suspended in gelatin, which hardened when exposed to light. After a development in warm water, dissolving the unhardened material, the remaining pigmented gelatin was transferred onto another paper support, creating the final positive image. Photographers admired the process for its stability, its deep tones, and the soft, drawing-like quality of the carbon pigment.

  • All
n
AIC_1949-690_Ta
Alfred Stieglitz

The Net Mender, 1894

n
AIC_1949-878_T
Julia Margaret Cameron

Sir John Herschel, 1867, printed 1875

n
AIC_1949-680_T
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson

Dr. Chalmers, 1843/46, printed 1890/1900

n
AIC_1949-683_T
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson

Sir John McNeill, 1845, printed 1890/1900

n
AIC_1949-684_T
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson

Portrait of James Nasmyth, c. 1844, printed 1890/1900

n
AIC_1949-686_T
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson

Lord Robertson, 1843/46, printed 1890/1900

n
aic_1949-689_t
Alfred Stieglitz

An Icy Night, New York, 1898

n
AIC_1949-875_T
Julia Margaret Cameron

Robert Browning, 1865, printed 1875

n
AIC_1949-876_T
Julia Margaret Cameron

Robert Browning, 1865, printed 1875

n
aic_1949-877_t
Julia Margaret Cameron

Thomas Carlyle, 1867, printed 1875

n
AIC_1949-879_T
Julia Margaret Cameron

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1869, printed 1875

n
AIC_1949-880_T
Julia Margaret Cameron

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1868, printed 1875

n
aic_1949-881_t
Julia Margaret Cameron

Charles Darwin, c. 1868, printed 1875

n
aic_1949-882_t
Julia Margaret Cameron

Herr Joseph Joachim, 1868, printed 1875

n
AIC_1949-883_T
Julia Margaret Cameron

Sir John Herschel, 1867, printed 1875

n
n
n
n