Collodion
Collodion is a ammable, syrupy solution of pyroxylin
(a.k.a. nitrocellulose, cellulose nitrate, ash paper,
and gun cotton) in ether and alcohol. There are two
basic types: exible; non-exible. The exible type is
often used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in
place. When painted on the skin, collodion dries to form a
exible nitrocellulose lm. While it is initially colorless, it
discolors over time. Non-exible collodion is often used
in theatrical make-up.
1 History
In 1846 Louis-Nicolas Mnard and Flors Domonte
discovered that cellulose nitrate could be dissolved in
ether.[1] They devised a mixture of ether (ethoxyethane)
as the solvent and ethanol as a diluent that rendered
cellulose nitrate into a clear gelatinous liquid. Col-
lodion was rst used medically as a dressing in 1847
by the Boston physician John Parker Maynard.[2][3]
The solution was dubbed collodion (from the Greek
(kollodis), gluey) by Dr. A.A. Gould of
Boston, Massachusetts.[4]
Anonymous A Veteran with his Wife, ambrotype
2 Wet-plate collodion photography
plate in a silver nitrate sensitising bath (for 35 min-
Main article: Collodion process utes)
In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer, an Englishman, dis-
covered that collodion could be used as an alternative to Lift the plate out of the bath, drain and wipe the
egg white (albumen) on glass photographic plates.[5] Col- back, load it into a plate holder and protect from
lodion reduced the exposure time necessary for making light with a dark slide.
an image. This method became known as the 'wet-plate
Load the plate holder into the camera, withdraw the
collodion' or 'wet collodion' method. Collodion was rel-
dark slide and expose the plate (can range from less
atively grainless and colorless, and allowed for one of
than a second to several minutes)
the rst high-quality duplication processes, also known
as negatives. This process also produced two types of Develop the plate (using a ferrous sulfate based
positives: the ambrotype; the tintype (also known as developer)
ferrotype).
The process required great skill and included the follow- Fix the plate (with potassium cyanide or sodium
ing steps: thiosulfate)
Clean the glass plate (extremely well) All of this was done in a matter of minutes, and some
of the steps in (red) safelight conditions, which meant
In the light, pour salted (iodide, bromide) collo-
that the photographer had to carry the chemicals and a
dion onto the glass plate, tilting it so it reaches each
portable darkroom with him wherever he went. After
corner. The excess is poured back into the bottle.
these steps the plate needed rinsing in fresh water. Fi-
Take the plate into a darkroom or orange tent (the nally, the plate was dried and varnished using a varnish
plate is sensitive only to blue light) and immerse the made from sandarac, alcohol and lavender oil.
1
2 7 REFERENCES
5 Other uses
Collodion is widely used to glue electrodes to the
head for electro-encephalography.
Non-exible collodion is used in theatrical makeup
for various eects. When applied to the skin, it
shrinks as the solvent (usually ether or alcohol) evap-
orates, causing wrinkles and is used to simulate old
age, or scars.
Collodion is used in the cleaning of optics such as
telescope mirrors. The collodion is applied to the
surface of the optic, usually in two or more layers.
Sometimes a piece of thin cloth is applied between
the layers, to hold the collodion together for easy re-
moval. After the collodion dries and forms a solid
sheet covering the optic, it is carefully peeled away
taking contamination with it.
Collodion is a pure type of pyroxylin used to em-
bed specimens which will be examined under a
microscope.
While in Paris Ren Dagron became familiar with
Julia Margaret Cameron's "Alice Liddell as a Young Woman the collodion wet plate and collodion-albumen dry
print from wet collodion negative plate processes which he would later adapt to his
microlm and Stanhope production techniques.
Dark tents to be used outdoors consisted of a small tent Collodion was used by Alfred Nobel in his develop-
that was tied around the photographers waist. Otherwise ment of blasting gelatin, a more powerful, exible,
a wheelbarrow or a horse and covered wagon were used. and water resistant variation on his highly successful
product, Dynamite.
Some types of nail polish also contain collodion.
3 Dry collodion plates
Richard Hill Norris, a doctor of medicine and professor 6 See also
of physiology at Queens College, Birmingham (a prede-
cessor college of Birmingham University),[6] is generally Collodion baby
credited with the rst development of dry collodion plate
in the 1860s. In 1894 he took out a new patent for dry
plate used in photography.
7 References
[1] Initially, the French referred to cellulose nitrate as xylo-
4 Medical dine and pyroxyline:
Pelouze announced to the French Academy of Sci-
Many wart-remover preparations consist of acetic ences that Mnard and Domonte had discovered
acid and salicylic acid in an acetone collodion base that cellulose nitrate could be dissolved in ether in:
used in the treatment of warts by keratolysis. Pelouze (9 November 1846) Observations sur la
xylodine, Comptes rendus , 23 : 861-862.
Nitrocellulose (pyroxylin) solution is also used in Mnard and Flors Domonte (1846) Sur la pyrox-
liquid bandage products. yline (On pyroxyline), Comptes rendus , 23 :
1187-1188.
EEG electrodes are commonly attached to the pa- [2] John Parker Maynard (1848) Discovery and application
tients scalp with rigid collodion for long-term treat- of the new liquid adhesive plaster, The Boston Medical
ment and Surgical Journal, 38 : 178-183.
3
[3] This claim was contested by the Swiss chemist Christian Compound W data sheet
Friedrich Schnbein, one of several investigators who
had independently discovered nitrocellulose. See: C. F. Civil War Reenactors Photography Forum
Schoenbein (1849) On ether glue or liquor constringens;
and its uses in surgery, The Lancet, 1 : 289-290. Getting started in Wet Plate Collodion Photography
[4] John P. Maynard (1867) Collodion, The Boston Medical Origins and the process of creating a collodion print
and Surgical Journal, 75 : 36-39; see footnote on page 36.
[5] Frederick Scott Archer (March 1851) On the use of col-
lodion in photography, The Chemist , new series, 2
(19) : 257-258.
[6] [Link]
8 External links
Rev. David Leavitt, ca. 1855, wet collodion negative, Library of
Congress
WATCH: George Eastman House The Collodion
Photographic Processes
The Getty Museum: The Wet Collodion Process
Step by Step Wet Plate Photography
Making a Photograph During the Brady Era
John Coer
Collodion
Collodion: Material Safety Data Sheet
4 9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
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File:1860_Anonyme_Un_vtran_et_sa_femme_Ambrotype.jpg Source: [Link]
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Archives de la photographie 1840-1940 Original artist: Unknown<a href='//[Link]/wiki/Q4233718' title='wikidata:
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