A brief history of the cyanotype process – John Herschel’s invention.
The cyanotype process, also known as the blueprint process, was first introduced by John Herschel (1792 – 1871) in 1842. Sir John was an astronomer, trying to find a way of copying his notes.
Herschel managed to fix pictures using hyposulphite of soda as early as 1839. In the early days the paper was coated with iron salts and then used in contact printing. The paper was then washed in water and resulted in a white image on a deep blue background. (Apart from the cyanotype process, Herschel also gave us the words photography, negative, positive and snapshot.)
Her book therefore precedes Fox Talbot’s own “Pencil of Nature” in 1844.
Another, relatively unknown early cyanotype artist was Henry Bosse. His image Mouth of the St. Croix River from the series Upper Mississippi River was printed in 1885. It is held in the National Museum of American Art a Smithsonian Institution.
The process became popular with pictorialists, for whom a commercial paper called ferro-prussiate was marketed. The process was also used extensively for copying architectural plans until it was recently made obsolete by photocopying and computer printers.
The cyanotype process has remained virtually unchanged since its invention but a few variations have been developed, one of which is the New Cyanotype II by Mike Ware.
Cyanotypes were sometimes used as cheap and easy proof copies before creating a final print
I have 2 early cyanotypes. In each case I have “regular” photographs taken of same subjects at the same time. One sitting was c. 1892, the other c.1910. I am wondering why a photographer would use both processes for same subject at the same time.
Thanks for any thoughts…..Mary Lou Gifford