A List for needed photochemicals 1941

<p>I found a 1941 <em>Popular Photography </em> article on "Fun with Photochemicals" that reminded me of Subbarayan Prasanna's experiments in the Classic Manual forem (the magazines were less into reviews of cameras and more into darkroom stuff in those days).<br>

It gives chemicals, but no formulae for developers as such, just a stock list for messing around. Anyhow I thought it might interest some here. I'm sorry for the pdf size (484K), but zipping it didn't result any significant reduction, and trying to get Acrobat to "optimize" it resulted in unreadability.</p>

<p>This has nothing to do with trying to go cheap, but merely a service to "home-brew" workers who like to tinker with ingredients and proportions for different effects as hinted, but not discussed in detail, in the article.</p>

<p>Just to give a few actual developer formulae, here are some out of another article in the same issue of <em>Popular Phtography</em> a multipart series by Herbert C. MacKay, FRPS entitled "the Photographic Negative, Part III". Of course, similar formulae are widely available, especially in older books on developing from the days when, and in lab guides of various sources.</p>

<p>MacKay gives the avoirdupois to metric conversion as grams-per-liter X 2.19 = grains-per-ounce.</p><div></div>

<p>Very interesting reading. I love these old articles. Thanks for sharing.</p>

<p>Not too much has changed. Of course another good source is the Darkroom Cookbook. What I find fun is to read a list of ingredients and try to figure out what common name the developer is most like.</p>

<p>Well, I don't think it will be very easy to get "Uranium Nitrate" today! Was Mercuric Iodide the stuff they used to make Mercurochrome?</p>

<p>Gee Russ, I had no bzzzt...bzzt...zAP trouble at all getting the uranium nitrate. Why are my lights flickering? AAAeeeeeeeeeee ;)</p>

<p>Russ, I order mine from North Korea.</p>

<p>That's amazing - and note there's <em>no</em> mention of safety at all - and I'm pretty sure that mercuric chloride is rather toxic. Maybe as bad or worse than the uranium nitrate?</p>