No. 1
May, 1918
PORTRAIT
The camera in the air
will play a most important part in the winning of the war. The exacting demands of the aerial photographer require extreme care in the selection of a printing medium.
GRADATION must he such that finest varin- tions in tonal quality shall he perf«'clly reccjrded and every ohject depicted perfect in every detail.
LATITUDE must be hroad enough to compensate for the varying densities of negatives made under dilTerent light conditions.
SPEED must be sufficient to permit prints to be made in record time with whatever light source is at hand.
ENLARGING CYKO
Regular and Contrast Grades
produces prints which fulfill these requirements by registering all that the observer can demand.
For commercial and studio photography a paper that is found satisfactory for aerial work cannot be far from the ideal.
ENLARGING CYKO
is a chloride, not a bromide, paper, possessing great speed, and unlike a bromide paper, gives, in projected enlargements, contact print quality. That is why it is such an overwhelming success.
ANSCO COMPANY
Ringhamton, I\. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART TN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN -PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y. Vol. X May, 1918 No. i
The Question of Permanence
CYKO is used by most of the belligerent countries. Its quality is such that the paper is well suited for the purpose of making the aeroplane, in combination with a camera, the eye of the army.
The paper print must be able to reproduce the minutest details contained in the film or plate negative , but besides the matter of quality — especially for records that must outlive several generations, the question of permanence is all-important.
The present situation wherein quality versus price tips the scale of the purchaser first one way and then the Other, brings to mind the utterances of several years ago made by one of the pioneer photographers of New York, and perhaps the most scientific, Mr. Geo. G. Rockwood:
'T am so sure of the permanence of the developing papers (he was using several grades of Cyko), that I am about to print a series of portraits of famous American educators for the Public Libraries of Wash- ington and New York, numbering several hundred subjects, and I shall pin my faith to the developing papers as being the most permanent form obtainable short of printers' ink! These pictures are to be kept in folios as a reference in perpetuo for historians and writers. I have an abiding faith that the prints will be in existence long after the originals have passed from the memories and interests of all that come after."
^\THS07?^
^^/V
PORTRAIT
1/BRAR^
Revised Prices of New York Studio Outfits
Effective April 26, 1918
New York Studio Outfit No. 1
When Ordered Complete
Outfit complete comprising New York Portrait Camera with Benster Holder, Automatic Cab- inet Attachment with Curtain Slide Holder, Ansco Upright Studio Stand and Curtain Slide Holder Rack
8x10 11x14
When Ordered Separately
?i 20.0c ^154.00
New York Portrait Camera with Benster
Holder 54 00 84.00
Automatic Cabinet Attachment with Curtain
Slide Holder 27.00 31.00
Ansco Upright Studio Stand 42.00 42.00
Holder Rack for Curtain Slide Holders .... 3.0c 3.00
Extra Benster Holders 12. or 20.00
Extra Attachment Holders (5x7, 4^4 x6K or
4Kx6K) each 3.50 3.50
New York Studio Outfit No. 2
When Ordered Complete
8x10 Outfit complete comprising 8x10 New York Portrait Camera, Ansco Sliding Ground Glass Attachment with 8x10 double Zephyr Holder, 5x8 diaphragm, 5x7 adapter, 5x7 Zephyr Holder and with 3^x5 diaphragm, Ansco Upright Studio Stand and Zephyr Holder^ ^^^'^ ,115.50
PORTRAIT
New York Studio Outfit No. 2
{Continued) When Ordered Complete
11x14 Outfit complete comprising 11x14 New York Portrait Camera with 11x14 Benster Holder, 11x14 adapter frame, Ansco Sliding Ground Glass Attachment with 8x10 double Zephyr Holder, 5x8 diaphragm, 5x7 adapter with 5x7 Zephyr Holder and sH^S diaphragm, Ansco Upright Studio Stand and Zephyr Holder Rack
$42 . 00
When Ordered Separately
11x14 New York Portrait Camera with Benster
Holder
8x10 New York Portrait Camera without Ben
ster Holder
11x14 adapter frame
Ansco Ground Glass Attachment with 8x10
double Zephyr dry plate holder and 5x8
diaphragm
5x7 Sliding Back with 5x7 double Zephyr dry
plate holder and 3>^x5 diaphragm
Ansco Upright Studio Stand
Holder Rack for Zephyr Holders
Extra Benster Holder
Extra double Zephyr dry plate holder 8x10 . . Extra double Zephyr dry plate holder 5x7 . . .
The foregoing prices show increases only in the Ansco Upright Studio Stand, formerly $33, and in the prices of complete Outfits, which are uniformly $3 higher than heretofore.
All prices are subject to change without notice. 3
23.00
11.00
42.00
350
2.25 1.50
^161.50
4.00
23.00
42.00 3-50
20.00 2.25 1.50
PORTRAIT
**A Great Net of Mercy Drawn Through an Ocean of Unspeakable Pain"
What Your Red Cross Dollars Do
An Accounting of Expenditures of the First Red Cross War Fund
Every one of the twenty million and more Red Cross members is entitled to this Statement. Your local Red Cross Chapter can give you further details.
First War Fund Appropriations up to March 1st, 1918
Foreign Relief
Relief in France $30,936,103.04
Relief in Belgium 2,086,131 .00
Relief in Russia 1,243,845.07
Relief in Roumania 2,676,368.76
Relief in Italy 3,588,826.00
Relief in Serbia 875,180.76
Relief in Great Britain 1,885,750.75
Relief in other Foreign Countries 3,576,300.00
Relief for Prisoners, etc 343,304.00
Equipment and expenses in U. S. of Personnel for
Europe 113,800.00
Total Foreign Relief $47,325,609.38
Restricted as to use by Donor 2,520,409.57
PORTRAIT
United States Relief
U. S. Army Base Hospitals $ 54,000.00
U. S. Navy Base Hospitals 32,000.00
U.S. Medical and Hospital Work 531,000.00
U. S. Sanitary Service 403,000.00
U. S. Camp Service 6,451,150.86
U. S. Miscellaneous 1,118,748.41
Total U. S. Relief $ 8,589,899.27
Working capital for purchase of supplies for resale
to Chapters or for shipment abroad 15,000,000.00
Working cash advances for France and United
States 4,286,000.00
Total of War Fund Appropriations $77,721,918.22
At the close of the first year of the War the Red Cross goes to the public for the raising of the Second War Fund with a record of appropriations which war- rants continued contributions to this great relief work. As an influential citizen of your community, join with your local Red Cross Chapter to make this campaign successful. Your Red Cross is the Army behind the Army. Give till your heart says stop.
Second Red Cross War Fund Week May 20-27
^^ Efficiency'' is today the hardest worked word in the English language, and has become so mixed up with manufacturing, salesmanship, hypnosis and lunacy that like "Psychology,'' it is becoming synonymous with "gold brick," Beware of the product of any manu- facturer who claims that "efficiency" enables him to sell you a gold dollar for fifty cents.
PORTRAIT
June for New Members
The Photographers' Association of America is now completing plans for a big membership drive in the month of June, to increase its rolls to 10,000 active members.
Every state in the Union and the Dominion of Canada will be ambitious to make a big showing, and so each city and each town is urged to prepare for this drive and be ready on the moment when the call comes.
There will be state and city chairmen and working under them will be cohorts of representative photog- raphers in every city, who will personally call upon the members of this profession and sign them up for the great work that photography has in hand.
The committee urges that photographers individu- ally take this up as a personal responsibility now and anticipate the stronger effort to be made in June through personal appeals to their fellow photographers, and send the memberships, with checks, to the National Headquarters at Washington at once. They will be credited as of the membership campaign for the month of June.
The committee arranging for the membership drive consists of President Ryland W. Phillips, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Pirie MacDonald, New York City; Geo. W. Harris, Washington, D. C; Henry Fell, Rochester, N. Y.; J. B. Schriever, Scranton, Pa.; and Chas. J. Columbus, general secretary, Washington, D. C.
Vice-president Charles L. Lewis of Toledo, Ohio, in appealing to photographers everywhere to rally to the support of the National Association, declares that ''Hundreds have been benefited and built up through their membership in the Photographers' Association of America. All the really successful men of the pro- fession are, or have been, members, and I have yet to find the man who would not say he got more out of the association than he ever put in."
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
V. THE "INTERIOR" DEVICE
TO get away from the sameness of pose of bust and single figure portraits, artists are constantly trying to combine portraiture with the painting of interiors, in a similar manner as so many photog- raphers practice home portraiture. The amalgamation of two distinct motifs is a difficult proposition; it is very much like the score and libretto in an opera — one or the other is sure to strive for superiority. But after all, one may argue as much as one likes, the music remains the main thing just as in a portrait composition the face and figure should reign supreme.
This, however, is rarely the case. An interior which shows a room in a perspective view with side walls and vistas through windows is in itself an intricate proposi- tion. It has to suggest atmosphere to look real and interesting, and to place figures that are good portraits in this atmosphere is almost an impossibility. The more natural the grouping is (and it ought to be natural), the less will the attitudes of the figures con- form to what we generally understand by portraiture. Take, for instance, Tarbell's ''My Family." Edmund C. Tarbell is one of our best figure painters and has experimented a good deal with figures in interiors.
In "My Family" he had the advantage of depicting familiar territory, his own home, and models whom he could subject to all the whims and liberties of re- arrangement. And yet there is only one figure which would pass as a regular portrait — the girl sewing in the wicker armchair. Besides this full figure profile view, there are three heads in three-quarter which, taken separately, might fill the demands of bust portraits. The female figure to the right has merely a decorative value. In legitimate portraiture this would never do.
PORTRAIT
Even in group portraits of twelve figures or more, as those of Franz Hals, there should occur no omissions of faces. A composition like Tarbell's is too good a pic- ture to be a good portrait, yet the aim was portraiture. Aside from this the picture has great charm. It is a natural scene rendered with clearness and sympathy.
"My Family" By Edmund C. Tarbell
Instead of amalgamating figures and furniture into a massive effect, he disengages the separate forms, as it were, and delicately connects and blends them by light tonal values. The moderation, that rejected anything harsh or superfluous, with which the picture was painted, is one of its principal merits.
The less the artist shows of an interior the easier the problem becomes. In Miss Hale's ''Lavender and Old Ivory" there are plenty of accessories, even more
PORTRAIT
than in Tarbell's picture, yet the figure holds its own. And this is due, first, to the clever spacing or spotting
of the principal objects, and second, to the elimination
"Lavender and Old Ivory" By Lillian Westcott Hale, United States
of perspective. The vista of the corridor to the right is a mere incident and enters into the composition as a detail of pattern design and not as a factor of atmos- phere and space. The selection of merely one wall as
PORTRAIT
a background, if properly selected and arranged so that it looks absolutely natural, is apt to be sufficient for the suggestion of an interior and a home atmos- phere. In the Hale picture the mantelpiece is Httle more than a decorative incident. Still, it makes the picture what it is , a truly pictorial composition , harmoni- ous and refined, and there is no reason, despite a cer- tain vagueness of representation, why it should not be considered a portrait.
Much depends on the arrangement. In this case the balance of the main figure with the seven or eight accessories is perfect. Each object is isolated, and yet the combination of all the various shapes and accents . has the effect of a compact whole, of an indestructible harmony from which nothing can be detached. It is in this direction where the "interior" device can be of real value, as it discloses new possibiUties of attitude and arrangement in the treatment of figures without overstepping the boundary lines of portraiture.
Prints by Projection
One of New York City's most successful photog- raphers, one whose Studio has been turning out the kind of work which Fifth Avenue so readily absorbs at high prices, owes a large part of his success to skillful manipulation of his negatives.
From comparatively small negatives, 8 x lo being the largest, he produces for his surprised and pleased patrons ''prints by projection" that always equal and often surpass the contact prints in quality and artistic merit. He explains to his trade just how, from the small negatives, two methods of printing may be employed — contact and projection, and how by the latter method not only a picture of larger size may be produced, but also how with some subjects, in prints by projection, desirable qualities can be enhanced and
PORTRAIT
weaknesses minimized, to obtain a result much more pleasing than when printing ''in contact."
Never once does he say "enlargement," for the reason that to most people, as he analyzes their psy- chology, the word conjures up visions of the crayon monstrosities foisted on the public by unscrupulous solicitors in past years, or the cheap bromide enlarge- ment of the amateur finisher's display window.
Enlarging Cyko is the unrivaled medium for "prints by projection," whether they are portraits of highest art, the simple little genre pictures or landscapes of the amateur, or commercial subjects. Its dependa- bility under all sorts of working conditions, its speed, comparable with that of the bromide papers gener- ally selected on account of their speed alone, its ease of manipulation and latitude, account for the ever- growing demand for Enlarging Cyko.
The making of "prints by projection" is a profitable adjunct to the business of any studio photographer. They bring good prices, are the means of increasing the volume of each order, and are extremely gratifying to the customer.
Enlarging Cyko in its two grades and four surfaces is the one medium in favor with all who are doing this kind of work. It is the paper which gives contact print quality to prints made by projection — something that is impossible with other mediums of photographic expression.
Its use is not confined to professional studios alone, but it is also being employed more and more extensively by commercial photographers, many of whom are doing Government work, and also by the Government itself in the various branches of the military and naval service.
It will pay every reader of Portrait who is not already using this Ansco product to determine for himself the merits of this medium prepared especially for the production of ''prints by projection."
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by J. D. Strickler
PORTRAIT
An Appreciation
It is gratifying to us to learn from our readers that we are really serving their needs in a practical manner through the series of educational articles we are pub- lishing in Portrait. If some few of the photographers who receive this publication have not been reading the articles perhaps the following letter will inspire them to seize the offered opportunity to turn to profit the many ideas advanced by Mr. Hartmann.
THE FREE STUDIO
Davenport, Iowa
Ansco Company March 12, 191 8.
Bingham ton, N. Y. Gentlemen:
I would respectfully enquire if the articles running in Portrait by Hartmann will appear in book form, or if they have already been published in book form.
If not could you furnish the complete files since these have been appearing in your little journal. I think this is the best stuff of the kind ever written and is of great value to the photographer, not only in his composition but in talking intelligently to people who know, or think they know, something about art. It's great stuff.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) F. A. Free
A home without portraits of Father and Mother destitute of reverence for the Fifth Commandment.
PORTRAIT
Portrait by J. D. Strickler Awarded Middle Atlaotic States Salon Honor, 1918
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
IF Mr. J. D. Strickler of Pittsburg had received a medal for every honor in photography which has been awarded him on his work, and if he pinned them in true mihtaristic style across his manly breast, his picture on our front cover this month would look just like the breastplate of King Solomon or some other old-time wizard, and no one would be able to recognize the real J. D. behind them.
Like all real artists, Mr. Strickler's temperamental inclination appeared in early childhood and continues to incline in true bent-twig fashion toward the shaping of his career.
After being graduated from the Randolph-Macon Academy at Front Royal, Va., Mr. Strickler decided to make photography his life work and became asso- ciated with Mr. F. W. Guerin of St. Louis, Mo. After several years' experience in some of the leading studios of the country he went to Pittsburg in 191 1 and took charge of the Everton Studio there. His exceptional work soon brought him fame in the city of Pittsburg and in the profession at large. Later, Mr. Strickler became the proprietor of the Everton Studio which, completely rejuvenated in equipment, continues now under his own name.
Mr. Strickler confines his efforts to just one grade of photography — the highest — and Cyko Paper has helped him to attain the ideal in his work. The awards Mr. Strickler has received are as follows:
National Salon, Photographers 'Association of Amer- ica, 1915 and 1916.
Grand Portrait Trophy, North Central Photographic Association, 191 6.
Pittsburg Salon Academy of Science and Art, 1916.
Middle Atlantic States Salon, 191 7 and 191 8.
Pittsburg Salon, Academy of Science and Art, 191 7 and 1918.
There^s no substitute for
HAMMER PLATES!
Rich in fine silver and pure chemicals, they possess great speed, latitude of ex- posure and uniformity. They develop and dry quickly with little tendency to frill.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
^:ri!IJ;lil;kV-Jfai^g)
REQ. TRADE MARK
Hammer's little book
"A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
1 29-1 3 1 West Twentv-second Street
New York City
ANSCO
CAMERAS (L SPEEDEX FII>1
As Unerring in Action as a Fine Jewelled Watch
and almost as convenient to carry, is the Ansco V-P No. 2, the smallest and lightest camera made to take 2J4 X 33<4 inch pictures.
The illustration shows in detail the recently added im- provements in this popular model:
S%ui-vel Spool Holding Device to insure even winding
and taut film ; Steel Rollers to make winding frictionless ; Leather Handle to facilitate carrying in the hand ; fVire Release Attachment in addition to finger release,
for operating shutter without jar or vibration.
The Ansco V-P No. 2 is the only vest-pocket camera that combines fast, clear-defining, anastigmat lenses with a simple, easily operated micrometer focusing device. This unusual combination assures fine, clean-cut pictures which make perfect enlargements.
Write for a specimen picture on Cyko Paper Then ask the Ansco dealer for a demonstration
Ansco Company » Binghamton, N.Y.
OUR BRANCH OFFICES, WHOLESALE
DISTRIBUTORS
AND WHERE LOCATED
ANSCO COMPANY
Ansco Bldg., 1 29-131 W. Twenty-second Street New York City
ANSCO COMP.\NY
325 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner Market Street
Chicago, 111.
ANSCO COMPANY Q 20-9 2 2 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSCO COMPANY 171-173 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal.
ANSCO COMPANY
347 Adelaide Street, West, Toronto, Ont.
SOUTHERN PHOTO-MATERLAL CO.
22 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
SCHAEFFER PHOTO SUPPLY CO. loii Capitol Avenue, Houston, Tex.
WOODARD, CLARKE & CO. Portland, Oregon
ANSCO LLMITED
143-149 Great Portland Street
London, W., England
June, 1918
PORTRAIT
BINGHAMTON, N.Y.
^.jisa
The camera in the air
will play a most important part in the winning of the war. The exacting demands of the aerial photographer require extreme care in the selection of a printing medium.
GRADATION must he such that finest varia- tions in tonal quality shall be perfectly recorded and every object depicted perfect in every detail.
LATITUDE must be broad enough to compensate for the varying densities of negatives made under difTerent light conditions.
SPEED must be sufficient to permit prints to be made in record time with whatever light source is at hand.
ENLARGING CYKO
Regular and Contrast Grades
produces prints which fulfill these requirements by registering all that the observer can demand.
For commercial and studio photography a paper that is found satisfactory for aerial work cannot be far from the ideal.
ENLARGING CYKO
is a chloride, not a bromide, paper, possessing great speed, and unlike a bromide papt^r, gives, in projected enhirgements, contact print quahty. That is why it is such an overwhchning success.
ANSCO COMPANY
Rin<;haniton, N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN -PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y. Vol. X June, 1918 No. 2
The Much- missed Noko Paper
SO many former buyers and users of Noko Paper have asked us whether we intend to put Noko back on the market that we deem it necessary to make a general announcement that Noko Paper will be furnished again just as soon as the abnormal con- ditions prevailing now, are over.
The Noko trade-mark is very valuable because it is associated in the minds of photographic users as the best paper that has ever been sold for the price. The paper furnished under the Noko trade-mark was only second in quality to Cyko Paper, which means that it was superior in our estimation to the highest priced paper of any other manufacturer and sold under any trade-mark other than Cyko.
When NoKO is again marketed it will be of the same high grade quality as formerly. We would furnish it now only that the grade of its raw materials is so difficult to obtain, and so dear, that the cost of produc- ing it would be a great deal in excess of its list price.
The NoKO trade-mark indeed stands so high in the estimation of the photographer, that an attempt has been made to supply a paper under a brand which is spelled so nearly like Noko that this notice may well serve two purposes — the one already mentioned herein, and the other to apprise anyone that may contemplate infringement of our trade-mark , that he will be vigor- ously prosecuted.
PORTRAIT
Acetic Acid Substitute
Mr. J. S. Cummings, of 1546 Broadway, New York City, submitted a sample to us of what he terms Acetic Acid Substitute, dry form, the formula of which he gives us as follows :
No. I
Acetic acid substitute i lb.) Stock
Hot water 80 oz.J Solution
Shortstop
No. I 3 oz.
Water 128 "
Fixing Bath
Hypo I lb.
Water 64 oz.
Hardener
Water 5 oz.
Sulphite of Soda >2 oz.
No. I Solution 3 oz.
Alum /^ oz.
(Hardener turns sHghtly yellow but clears up when added to hypo fixing bath.)
Our Research Laboratory tried Mr. Cummings' Acetic Acid Substitute and its findings are as follows:
"There is no tendency for this substitute to cause bleaching in the hypo bath. Prints sepia tone after this bath just as well as in other fixing baths. As a shortstop it is not quite so active as acetic acid, but by increasing the concentration of the shortstop bath can be made so. In the formula sheet given there is a ten- dency all through to use not quite enough of the acetic acid substitute.
"Chemically this substitute should be in the propor- tion of three times No. 28 Acetic Acid, but as the for- mulae given appear to work quite satisfactorily, there is no need to use the theoretical amount necessary to replace acetic acid.
PORTRAIT
"This substitute is crude sodium bisulphate (NaHS04) . This material is most frequently obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of nitric acid and is practically valueless as a market commodity. Probably its only use outside of photography is as a control in dyeing. As far back as ten or fifteen years ago this ma- terial was recommended by the French workers, and a Httle later by The British Journal of Photography.^^
A supplemental report based on further experiments reads as follows:
"With further reference to the Acetic Acid Substi- tute of Mr. Cummings, we have had this in use in the darkrooms for some days and have used it for fixing a quantity of paper and films.
"The bath that has been used for fixing paper does not appear to work any different from the standard bath made with acetic acid, but the bath that has been used for fixing plates and films does not hold up so well.
"After the first day or two there is a tendency to make the film appear milky, and there are spots un- equally fixed which, however long the film is left in the solution, do not clear. In a day or two there is a flocculent precipitate formed in the fixing bath. This is troublesome because it clings very tenaciously to the surface of the film.
"The bath used for fixing paper also turns milky but this does not seem to interfere with its action. It is, of course, not so easy to see the results of unequal fix- ation on prints, and though practical, it would be bet- ter to use citric acid even though its price may be higher. The Cummings substitute is, as reported, a by-product and is in a very crude state, and therefore in our estimation its acidity is likely to vary greatly throughout the package. Citric acid might cost a Httle more but it would be more rehable in the long run.
"Two oz. of 28 per cent, acetic acid can be replaced by .59 oz. of citric acid. Two oz. of glacial acetic
PORTRAIT
acid can be replaced by 2.13 oz. of citric acid."
Our reason for publishing the preceding report is that we have received a great many inquiries from cus- tomers requesting suggestions from us in regard to a reliable substitute for acetic acid. It appears that acetic acid is not as plentiful and easy to obtain as in former years owing to the war requirements of our Government.
If any substitution is to be made for acetic acid in our formulae we recommend, by all means, citric acid in preference to anything else.
Artcraft Photo Company
Studios, 428 Ryan Building, St. Paul, Minn.
Ansco Company, May 6, 191 8.
Gentlemen:
This spring I decided to give Cyko Paper a trial in our amateur finishing work. Professional photogra- phers of my acquaintance informed me that while the quality of prints would be excellent, the price of the paper would be too high.
I notified Ansco Company of my intention and they sent Mr. Jens Ries, one of their demonstrators, with the necessary supplies. That the trial might be fair I insisted that he use Monomet, the Ansco developing agent. A period of one week was enough to prove that the lesults were satisfactory. The price question then had to be considered.
My experience in the amateur finishing business was received in the credit and accounting departments, in which work it was necessary for me to do considerable cost accounting. This experience helped me greatly in getting my figures together.
The results of our trial proved that our printers could make a third more prints with Cyko in a nine-
PORTRAIT
hour day than with the other standard paper. This would mean that in one year, four printers could accompUsh as much as six had previously done. As I work one developer to two printers, I could, by using Cyko, eliminate the expense of two printers and one de- veloper. It was also necessary to reduce the wattage of the lamps, and this, together with the speed of the paper, meant much less electricity used. In this period of labor scarcity, the financial saving should not be the only consideration. I do not, however, allow anything for the worry saved me in meeting my labor needs.
If the amateur finisher will apply these proportions to his own costs, he will find that the price of Cyko is practically the same as that of other paper. Then, if he beheves as I do — that quality of work and worry about labor are worth something — he will not hesitate in making the change to Cyko Paper.
As "beauty is only skin deep," so the difference in
the price of Cyko Paper is in the Hst price, and not in
the final cost. ,^ ,
Very truly yours,
Artcrapt Photo Company,
(Signed) H. A. Reedy.
Finishing Department Requirements Itemized
The Northern Photo Supply Company of 902 Nicol- let Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn., has just sent us an interesting little booklet entitled "Commercial Photo Finishing," the contents of which are devoted exclu- sively to information concerning the necessary equipment and requirements of a modern finishing department. The book covers so many points of this work that it is well worth while to obtain a copy, which will be sent free on request to the Northern Photo Supply Co.
PORTRAIT
Read the Official U. S. Bulletin
OWING to the enormous increase of Govern- ment war work, the governmental departments at Washington are being flooded with letters of inquiry on every conceivable subject concerning the war, and it has been found a physical impossibility for the clerks — though they number an army in themselves now — to give many of these letters proper attention and reply. There is published daily at Washington, under authority of and by direction of the President, a Government new^spaper — The Official U.S. Bulletin. This newspaper prints every day all the more important rulings, decisions, regulations, proclamations, orders, etc., etc., as they are promulgated by the several departments, and the many special committees and agencies now in operation in the National Capital. This official journal is posted daily in every post-ofhce in the United States, more than 56,000 in number, and may also be found on file at all libraries, boards of trade and chambers of commerce, the oflices of mayors, governors, and other Federal officials. By consulting these files most questions will be found readily an- swered; there will be little necessity for letter writing; the unnecessary congestion of the mails will be ap- preciably relieved; the railroads will be called upon to move fewer correspondence sacks, and the mass of business that is piling up in the Government depart- ments will be eased considerably. Hundreds of clerks, now answering correspondence, will be enabled to give their time to essentially important work, and a fundamentally patriotic service will have been per- formed by the public.
Do not forget that June 28th will be National War Savings Stamp Day. Buy as many as you can. 6
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
VI. A REALISTIC GROUP
THE ''Portrait Saglio Family" by the French painter Prinet is an example of story -telhng portraiture; or, in other words,' the artist chooses to use his sitters like models in a genre picture. I have seen quite a number of European pictorialists put this style of interpretation into actual practice and have also come across a few examples in this country; still, I doubt whether it will ever meet with general public approval.
Let us investigate the mechanism and effect of this innovation. The subject matter necessitates clear definition. This is desirable, but can scrupulous accuracy not go too far? Art, even when it attempts expression, should never offend the eye; it should charm it and, in short, always remain art. And this is particularly true of portraiture. We do not want moral caricatures such as Hogarth has produced. And it is of no particular interest to see such and silch a personality delineated in a certain mood with which we are unacquainted. But this is just what is going to happen.
Let us look at our picture. The whole treatment is realistic. The scene is laid in the corner of a sitting- room. There are present three persons, the father, the mother, the daughter. Apparently the old lady has said something of import to her daughter and watches the effect it has upon her. The daughter weighs the information in her mind, has folded the hands on her knees and stares into space. The old gentleman — well, it is difficult to state whether he is interested in the discussion or whether he is merely listening and looking at the two figures on the sofa.
PORTRAIT
The incident which produces these various facial expressions is so vaguely suggested that it does not detract our attention from the actual outward ap- pearance of the sitters. This is a merit. And yet we wonder why it was necessary to render special sentiments and characteristic traits more visible, and
"Portrait Saglio Family" By Auguste-Emmanuel Prinet, France
to excite the spectator to reflect on qualities that assist our appreciation of the individual sitters as httle as that of the general group arrangement.
There is no doubt that these faces and figures possess likeness quahties, even very pronounced ones, nevertheless quahties that are specialized to a certain note of temperament and sentiment, so that really very little is gained thereby. Does the expression of the mother's face really enhance it? Surely the young
PORTRAIT
woman's physiognomy displays no increase of beauty or expression, and the father's features have a dull and stereotyped look about them. It is surely not the vocation of portraiture to accentuate realities. The portraitist has always been anxious to mend or hide. A projecting chin, a too prominent nose, wrinkled and obese features, the over-large head and diminutive limbs of a child are undesirable attributes. And the same is the case with facial expressions that do not show the structure and proportions of a face under more favorable conditions than the quiet and normal ones of everyday life.
The group taken as a composition is not without merit. The dark planes are well balanced with the lighter parts of the picture; furthermore, each figure holds its own. They are three distinct personalities, and none can be said to be of more importance than the others. This is probably one of the reasons why this style makes an appeal to certain discerning por- traitists. It allows more freedom in the treatment of groups. What portraiture gains, therefore, by ar- rangements of this kind is not greater beauty or truth, but a wider field for its scope — that is greater variety of form and larger liberty. Its aim, despite its ex- aggerations, is most sincere, it advocates stronger illusions of detail and finish, but its spirit is apathetic to our spirit, feeling and artistic taste, and nothing, I presume, will ever make it anything but a stranger in our land.
Still, it is well to know the various phases of the restless and troubled art of today, and to accept all efforts as valuable object lessons, what to sponsor and what to avoid.
PORTRAIT
Join the P. A. of A. This Month
DURING this month the Photographers' Associa- tion of America is conducting a Membership Drive by which it is hoped 10,000 members will be gained for the Association, and if the plans of the campaign committee are carried out as originally de- signed every photographer in America will receive a personal invitation to join the Association during the time the drive is in progress. The committee feels that if the photographers of America could be brought to realize the vast amount of good that can be brought about in the profession and in the war work of our country through a large, wide-awake, progressive As- sociation, numbering thousands on its rolls instead of hundreds, no one would fail to accept the invitation to become a member.
The Photographers' Association of America has a wonderful opportunity ahead of it for nation-wide ser- vice, and we hope that every reader of Portrait will receive open-mindedly the solicitations of the members of the Association who are directing the campaign. The dues are nominal and the possibilities of benefits from active membership are great.
Here is what Secretary of War Newton D. Baker thinks of the efforts of the P. A. of A., as expressed to the general secretary, Mr. Chas. J. Columbus, in a recent letter:
"Let me congratulate the photographers of America upon the loyal response which they have made to every call from the Government for assistance in their im- portant fields of war work.
"At a time when all classes of citizens were vying in loyalty, the photographers have made an outstanding record. They have given the photographic section of the Signal Corps more men than the section could use, and they have met the call for photographic lenses with contributions that have supplied every immediate need.
PORTRAIT
"It is such practical patriotism as this that makes it possible for America to meet successfully the cen- tralized power of a military autocracy with the free efforts of free citizens voluntarily associated in a war for the defense of liberty and peaceful right."
Ansco Sodas
Purity of photographic chemicals is absolutely essen- tial for high class work, and photographers generally recognize that the best is always the cheapest.
Ansco Sodium Sulphite and Sodium Carbonate have been the standard in the trade and profession for years, and the quality of these products is being maintained today despite wartime uncertainties and emergencies in the chemical field.
Ansco Photographic Sodas are supplied at the fol- lowing prices in one- and five-pound containers as listed: Ansco Sodium Sulphite (dried-powdered)
Price per one-pound container $ -35
Price per five-pound can i .45
Ansco Sodium Carbonate (pure photographic)
Price per one-pound container 25
Price per five-pound can i .05
C^KO Soda Mixture (correctly mixed for use in
any Cyko or other developing paper
formula)
Price per one-pound container 35
Cyko N-A Soda Mixture (non-abrasion, for the
prevention of friction marks on glossy
paper)
Price per one-pound container 40
Price per five-pound can 1.65
All prices subject to change without notice.
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by John A. Erickson
PORTRAIT
Expert News Photographers Needed by Our Government
1. The Signal Corps is in urgent need of expert news photographers. Men selected for this branch of the service must furnish satisfactory evidence as to their actual experience as staff photographers with some newspaper or news syndicate company, furnish three letters of recommendation, and must be American citizens by birth. It is essential that they be thor- oughly familiar with the use of a Grafiex and other speed cameras, as well as various makes of lenses, their speeds, focal lengths and the manipulation of various makes of view cameras in connection with ordinary photography and telephoto work.
2. General Pershing has made a request for the best available news photographers in this country to make photographs of important happenings in France. These pictures are to be preserved for future educational work in our schools and colleges and for a pictorial history of the war. It is intended to send the men selected overseas as soon as they have completed a short course in military training in this country. Upon the completion of this course they will be commissioned sergeants, first class.
3. Photographers who desire to see actual service in the near future should immediately communicate with the Air Service, Training Section, Photographic Branch, marking their communications, "For the attention of the Officer in Charge of Personnel."
4. It is requested that this matter be brought to the attention of all photographers and given the widest possible publicity.
By direction of the Chief of Air Service.
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by John A. Erickson
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
GENIUS often manifests itself early in life, and the little, perhaps unnoted tendencies and trends of childhood will often indicate to those of pro- phetic vision, the budding of the successful career which in maturer life reaches its fullest development. Thus, when John A. Erickson as a youngster, im- provised his first photographic darkroom in order to develop his first negative, by draping a heavy curtain aroimd his bed and then crawling under it, to those who could project the act into the future, the career of the successful photographer was plainly foreseen.
At nineteen years of age Mr. Erickson made his decision to take up photography as his life work, and associated himself with a studio in McKeesport, Pa., where after three months' apprenticeship he decided to become his own master, and with no capital other than seven dollars and a good character, he bought the studio which he conducted successfully for thirteen years. Seven years ago opportunity called him to Erie, where his work instantly brought him favor and profitable patronage, so that today his studio is a recognized center of photographic advancement.
Mr. Erickson is a careful and painstaking work- man, and his high ideals find their expression in the product of his ability. He attributes his material success largely to the business acumen of his wife, whose daily help as his working partner in the re- ception-room and as the ' 'general manager" of the financial end of the business, has brought prosperity to them both.
From the month, if not the day, that Professional Cyko was placed on the market it has been exclu- sively used by Mr. Erickson, who beHeves that there is no other paper of the developing class that truly records all of the values in a negative.
Avoid Lost Motion!
HAMMER PLATES
with shortest exposure and least effort,
produce negatives of highest quahty.
Permanence, brilhancy and rehability
are their chief characteristics.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
RES. TRADE MARK
Hammer's little book
**A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
1 29-1 3 1 West Twenty-second Street
New York City
The Master Camera
All the knowledge and skill of sixty years' camera making has been concentrated in the Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 — a superb pocket companion for anyone who appreciates that which is the best of its kind.
With the finest of fine lenses and shutter equipments, it produces sharp, clear 2^ x3/4 inch pictures in rain, sunshine or shadow.
ANSCO
CAMERAS C. SPEEDEX FILM
The user of the V- P Speedex No. 3 can quickly change the speed, the lens opening and the focus without losing sight of the image in the "finder" — an exclusive Ansco feature which makes picture-taking easier and more certain.
The Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 is extremely simple in opera- tion, exceptionally beautiful in appearance and extraordinarily efficient.
Write for specimen picture on Cyko Paper. Then ask the Ansco Dealer for a demonstration.
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamf on, New'Vbrk
Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3
Equipped with B. & L. Tessar lens, F 4.5, $65.00; Ansco Anastigmat, F 4.5, $56.00; F 6.3 ; $40.00; F 7.5, $31.00; in Acme Speedex shutter (maximum speed, 1/300 second). Other Ansco Cameras, $2.75 up.
OUR BRANCH OFFICES, WHOLESALE
DISTRIBUTORS
AND WHERE LOCATED
ANSCO COMPANY
Ansco Bldg., 1 29-131 W. Twenty-second Street New York Cit}'
ANSCO COMP.\NY
325 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner Market Street
Chicago, 111.
ANSCO COMPANY 920-922 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSCO COMPANY
1 71-173 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal.
ANSCO COMPANY
347 Adelaide Street, West, Toronto, Ont.
SOUTHERN PHOTO-MATERIAL CO.
22 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
SCHAEFFER PHOTO SUPPLY CO. loii Capitol Avenue, Houston, Tex.
WOODARD, CLARKE & CO.
Portland, Oregon
ANSCO LIMITED
143-149 Great Portland Street
London, W., England
M. X
July, 1918
PORTRAIT
BINGHAMTON, N.V.
The camera in the air
will play a most important part in the winning of the war. The exacting demands of the aerial photographer require extreme care in the selection of a printing medium.
GRADATION must be such that finest varia- tions in tonal quality shall be perfectly recorded and every object depicted perfect in every detail.
LATITUDE must be broad enough to compensate for the varying densities of negatives made under difTerent light conditions.
SPEED must be sufficient to permit prints to be made in record time with whatever light source is at hand.
ENLARGING CYKO
Regular and Contrast Grades
produces prints which fulfill these requirements by registering all that the observer can demand.
For commercial and studio photography a paper that is found satisfactory for aerial work cannot be far from the ideal.
ENLARGING CYKO
is a chloride, not a bromide, paper, possessing great speed, and unlike a bromide paper, gives, in projected enlargements, contact print quality. That is why it is such an overwhelming success.
ANSCO COMPANY
Binghamton, N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN-PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y. Vol. X July, 1918 No. 3
A New Fixing Bath
THE following shortstop and fixing bath recom- mended as a substitute for the hypo-acetic fixing bath which everybody has been using, has been found by us to work correctly for those who are unable to secure acetic acid.
Fixing Bath
Recommended as a substitute for the hypo-acetic acid fixing bath for development papers.
Important. The use of a shortstop between developing and fixing of the prints is absolutely necessary, and a bath should be prepared as follows :
Shortstop Formula
Water 32 oz.
Citric acid >^ oz.
Rinse the prints in this bath immediately after de- veloping and before fixing. Fix the prints in a solution prepared as follows:
Fixing Bath Formula
Water 60 oz.
Hypo I lb.
When dissolved, add the following hardener:
Water 4 oz.
Sodium bisulphite 2 oz.
Powdered alum i oz.
PORTRAIT
Pittsburg the Place in 1919
THE executive board of the Photographers' Associa- tion of the Middle Atlantic States has selected Pittsburg as the city where the next convention will be held some time during the early spring of 19 19. Excellent convention hall and hotel accommodations are already assured, and the board looks forward to one of the finest and biggest conventions ever held by an amalgamated association.
Pittsburg is an ideal convention city. As an art center it occupies a prominent place in the life of this country. It is rich in historical interest and is a center of education and culture.
The Pittsburg section of Photographers is well organ- ized, and is sure to do its bit in making the convention a live meeting.
The board feels that it is not too early for all photog- raphers to begin to lay their plans to attend a conven- tion which wdll be of exceptional educational value , and one which will not omit any detail that will bring either profit or pleasure to those present.
A Remarkable Photograph
Probably of the thousands of readers of Portrait w^ho viewed the solar eclipse of June 8, only a very few thought of attempting to photograph it.
The interesting picture here reproduced was made by Mr. Goodrich of the Riverside Studio, Reno, Nev. A 26-inch extension bellows was used and the lens was an ordinary rapid rectilinear stopped down to 1{q inch. A yellow filter was used and an ordinary portrait plate. The exposure was i/ioo second. The image measured only a quarter of an inch in diameter on the original negative. The enlargement from which this reproduc- tion was made is on Enlarging Cyko Contrast Plat double weight.
PORTRAIT
The Solar Eclipse of June 8th
PORTRAIT
The Negative and the Printing Paper
WHILE there is the very great range of develop- ment printing papers — a great range, that is, as regards the degree of contrast produced — yet on the whole, papers of this kind are susceptible of being placed in one or other of two large classes — namely, those which are ''hard" in working and those which are "soft." In a general way the former are the choice of the amateur photographer and the latter that of the professional portraitist. Yet there is no essential reason why this should be the case except that in the great majority of cases negatives made in a professional studio conform more or less closely to a standard of quality which is a relic of the days when all printing was done on P. O. P., or even further back than that, when the albumen process was in vogue. Thus, the professional negative is usually of a kind which has a considerable range of tones from something like clear glass in the shadows to a fair deposit in the high lights, and therefore does not call for a printing medium of the "hard working" character which is the salvation of many of the over-exposed and insufficiently developed negatives made by the amateur worker. There is, however, no good reason why the possibilities which are afforded by the range of printing papers at the present time should not be utilized by the professional photog- rapher on lines more or less removed from those which are customary, and, as will be seen below, certain ad- vantages are discoverable in working along these lines. We are led to put these considerations into the above form by the opportunity which we have recently had of examining a number of negatives and prints therefrom, the work of Mr. A. H. Robbins of Malvern Link, and, we should say, the regular work of a photographic studio which is a one-man business, and owes its success to the personal labor not only in the studio, but in the printing-room, to Mr. Robbins. The negatives were of
PORTRAIT
a degree of softness which probably many photographers would call excessive, and would prompt them to com- plain of over-exposure in the studio and insufficient development in the darkroom. But this practice, in conjunction with the use of a fairly ''contrasty" printing paper, is the system which Mr. Robbins purposely employs, as perhaps will be most easily understood by quoting his own description of it:
"I take great pains to get a suitable negative for the work in hand and aim at a soft result, working on the old instructions over-exposure and under-development with a well-diluted pyro developer. I also avoid flat lighting if possible by the proper use of the blinds and diffusers, and do not over-retouch. I have come to the conclusion that there are two things necessary to get good results: first, a good negative; second, a good printing paper or card. The developer I use is made up as follows :
Monomet i6 grs.
Hydrochinon 30 grs.
Soda sulphite >^ oz.
Soda carbonate ^ oz.
Potass bromide 10 p. c. sol 50 drops
Water, boiled 20 ozs.
"I find it an advantage to use soft water. This is double strength. ^^
It requires to be said in reference to the above that the prints, while soft, are nevertheless brilliant and retentive of the textures and tones in the case of such subjects where light draperies and nurses' caps and collars occur in the portraits. And as regards re- touching, we are bound to admit that when we turned from the prints themselves to the negatives from which they were made we were astonished to find that the latter did not bear a single mark of the retouching pencil. It is not to be supposed that the recommenda- tion to expose fully, develop slightly, and to print on a
5
PORTRAIT
paper which gives distinctively bright results, is going to prove the formula by which anybody may secure similar results. Studio lighting naturally plays its part, and so also does the skillful balancing of the ex- posure and development of the negative in reference to the contrast-giving quality of the printing paper. But we have perhaps said enough to direct attention to a method of working which certainly obtains its best commendation from the quality of the work sent to us by Mr. Robbins. — The British Journal of Photography .
Photographic Conventions in War Time
THE Missouri Valley meeting, the second of the war-time conventions held by an amalgamated association, took place at Kansas City, July 8 to 12, 1918, and was successful from every point of view.
An attendance of nearly three hundred photog- raphers, all anxious to make the most of the meeting from both the educational and social sides, was greatly encouraging to the executive board which directed the convention activities.
All of the demonstrations and lectures were timely, interesting and enthusiastically received. The manu- facturers, although by agreement not making extensive exhibits, were fully represented and had an opportunity to meet the photographers informally at stated hours during the proceedings.
The officers for 191 8- 19 were elected as follows:
President, Harry Pottinger, Wichita, Kans.; Vice- President, Henry Moore, Kansas City, Kans.; Secre- tary, C. J. Fennell, Columbus, Nebr.; Treasurer, P. A. Miller, Arkansas Citv, Kans.
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
VII. ON FORESHORTENING
THE ability to draw figures in foreshortened posi- tion has at all times been considered an enviable accomplishment. One has only to look at the large religious and historical compositions of a Michel- angelo, Correggio or Tiepolo to realize how much it has been in favor, particularly so in mural decorations. It demands a thorough knowledge of anatomy and great manual dexterity, but it seems to be deprived of any special advantage when introduced into the domain of portraiture. At least, one would think so. Nor has it ever been utilized to any extent, as far as I can remem- ber, in this branch of art. And yet if we look at the accompanying illustration, a portrait of a young girl, by Thomas P. Anschutz, one of our American painters, we are surprised to find a figure in an attitude that dis- plays a strange amount of foreshortenings — in fact, al- most nothing but foreshortenings. The leg from the hip to the knee is foreshortened, and so is the forearm resting on the lap, as well as the upper part of the arm supporting the head. Even the face leaning sideways is taken from a similar viewpoint. It is done in mas- terly fashion. There is nothing cubistic about it. It is good drawing throughout, smooth and flowing, clear and precise, and not without grace and elegance. A rare accomplishment. But to what purpose! No doubt, to do something out of the ordinary, something that takes special skill to perform, and for that reason is not so easy to imitate. Is it worth the pains, may be asked by some photographer who realizes how difficult it would be to make such a composition by photographic means. Everything in art is worth the pains, provided the result is as satisfactory as this one. Besides, the public is not concerned with the labor in- volved in the production of a work of art, only the result.
PORTRAIT
The question is, whether this picture is as good as other simpler compositions, and whether it has some
•A R<wc •• l.y Thomas P. Anschutz. Unite.l States
special pleasure to convey. It seems to me that the main enjoyment of any representation of this kind lies in the technical skill, and only, if accurately done, in
PORTRAIT
an increased impression of naturalness. The figure is apt to look more round. Any decided line seen in per- spective, as that of the leg, in this instance, increases the feeling of actual dimensions. One becomes con- scious of a certain distance from one point of the body to another.
Foreshortening, furthermore, produces unusual com- binations of lines and planes, and thereby renders the object more picturesque. Anschutz's figure is com- posed in a sort of S shape, and the numerous undulating lines in the drapery produced thereby are pleasing to the eye, while the upper part of the body has the charm of attenuated lines. The lines are, as it were, pressed more closely together than they would appear in a more normal attitude.
There is really nothing extraordinary about the posi- tion of the arms and head. They are such as occur in many portraits. And if we regard matters from this viewpoint, we will arrive at the conclusion that mild forms of foreshortening are not as uncommon in por- traiture as we might think at the first glance. In a way, all three-quarter and all near- and far-profile views are foreshortened. But we are so familiar with this sort of representation that we do not regard it as such. It is really only the full face and clear profile views that are exempt from perspective diminution, and they are the most unwieldy and prosaic poses known to the por- traitist.
For, as mentioned before, the picturesqueness of the human figure depends largely on slight shifts of the figure, foreward, backward or sideways as it may be, that destroy the absolute symmetry of proportions and permit the display of receding planes.
The painter of "A Rose" has made the most of this element of shght distortion. He was fully aware of the dangers of foreshortening, but courageously went to work, and mastered it in a new and delightful fashion.
PORTRAIT
An Ingenious Vignetter for Enlarging
OFTENTIMES we receive descriptions of novel methods of increasing efficiency in studio work, which we are always glad to publish in Por- trait. There now comes to hand from Mr. John Baer, 1 2 13 Lydia Street, Kansas City, Mo., a sketch and a letter describing an enlarging vignetter that is so good we pass it along for the benefit of all.
The accompanying diagram of this vignetter practi- cally explains itself, so there is little need for an ex-
tensive description here. It consists of a large sheet of cardboard, 18 x 24 inches, to which is attached two disks, 18 inches in diameter, also made of cardboard. These disks are held in place on the large sheet, and can be moved to whatever position is desired by means of a milled screw.
The cardboard sheet has a square opening in the center, and each disk likewise has the same size open-
PORTRAIT
ing to correspond. The disks, besides, each have six openings of various shapes and sizes which, when used, alone permit of twelve different vignettes, and when used in combination, of an almost unlimited number. When projecting prints, this vignetter is suspended between the enlarging camera and the easel at the required distance, and produces very effective results.
The cardboards are fastened to the ceiling by a rope and pulley arrangement, as shown, and the counter- balancing weight makes it extremely simple to handle the vignetter easily and run it up out of the way when not in use.
Such a device could be made in whatever size a photographer would find convenient for his require- ments.
Photographers' Association of New England
The plans that have been made for the coming New England convention, which will be held in Springfield, Mass., August 20 to 23, 1918, give promise of a meeting which will go down in history as a huge success. The educational program and the recrea- tional diversions provided by the board assure both a profitable and a pleasant time to all who attend. Ar- rangements have been made to accommodate an ex- pected attendance of between four hundred and five hundred professional photographers, manufacturers and dealers.
The Columbian Rope Company, Auburn, N. Y., have written us that they are in the market for good news pictures illustrating their products in use. De- tailed information will be given to any photographer who may be interested upon application to the Colum- bian Rope Company at the address given above.
PORTRAIT
The Texas Convention
The Professional Photographers' Association of Texas will hold its annual convention at Fort Worth, August 6, 7 and 8, 1918. In order to condense the important business items into the three days, the session hours will be devoted solely to business purposes and the playtime will come afterwards. An interesting program
has been planned, and through the incentive of a gen- erous prize list, keen competition in the exhibits is expected. The executive board consists of A. M. Howse, President, Ladonia, Texas; C.I. Browne, Vice-Presi- dent, Dallas; A. L. Blanchard, Secy.-Trcas., Hillsboro.
PORTRAIT
Mildew on Photographs and Prints
AS photographers we are very fond of talking of l\ the permanence of prints, as though we had no ^ ^ other consideration to bear in mind than the constitution of the photographic image. The effect of time with the train of deleterious influences it brings is often lost sight of. We have, for example, the enemy mildew, which attacks not only photographs, but per- haps to a greater extent engravings, water colors and other art productions. We have seen old silver prints under cut mounts, the print in a good state of preserva- tion and the mounts speckled all over with spots of mildew. It is probable that the early photographic workers took especial care to employ pure mounting boards, paste treated with some antiseptic preservative, and, when framing their work, to paper the glass into the frame so as to exclude not only dust and moisture, but the spores or other means of propagation of the fungoid growths which we refer to as mildew.
Nowadays the mounting boards commonly used are made of very poor stuff indeed, very largely of wood pulp or esparto grass, if we may judge from the rapid way in which they discolor when exposed to light. The board is surfaced with smooth paper, but we have no means of knowing what putrescence there was in the adhesive employed. It has often been remarked that any mounting board will do for carbon or platinum prints, as they are permanent, but the mildew possibihty has been overlooked when this remark is made. The dry-mounting method with the water-proof shellac tissue, of course, insulates the print quite effectively, and would, we believe, be valuable in the case of water colors. — The British Journal of Photography.
Prepare now to meet the Fourth Liberty Loan the latter part of September.
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by Julius B. Pearlstein
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
YE Colonial Studio, Brooklyn, is easy to find be- cause its location at No. 508 Fulton Street, is so well known. This is not due entirely to its being located in the heart of the best retail section of the city, but because its proprietor, Mr. Julius B. Pearlstein, is a real live wire and his studio has long been recognized as the home of the highest standard of photography and numbers among its patrons the eclat of Brooklyn's society.
Mr. Pearlstein is possessed of high ideals, and only the very best work that can be produced is permitted to leave his exacting art shop with the impress of his name.
A great many leaders today in the photographic art, we are told, looked about for some time, engaging first in one occupation and then another before finally taking up photography and following it as a life work, but Mr. Pearlstein began his photographic career in the same town in which he now lives and works some twenty- two years ago, and he has enjoyed marked success, both artistically and financially. The wisdom of conducting his business on a broad and liberal policy is shown by the very marked increase in the volume of business which Mr. Pearlstein does each year, and he has no hesitation in saying that a large measure of his success is attributable to the use exclusively of Cyko Paper, which has stood the most severe comparative tests to which it could possibly be subjected and still remains at the "top of the heap."
By consistently applying the principles of the Golden Rule in connection with delivering the highest quality of portraits by photography, Mr. Pearlstein hopes to play the winning game for many years to come.
The photograph reproduced on the opposite page is a characteristic example of Mr. Pearlstein' s work.
HAMMER PLATES
are daily demonstrating their su- premacy. Speed, color-range and reliability make them an ab- solute necessity to the up-to-date photographer.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
REG. TRADE MARK
Hammer's little book
"A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
1 29-1 3 1 West Twenty-second Street
New York City
The Master Camera
All the knowledge and skill of sixty years* camera making has been concentrated in the Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 — a superb pocket companion for anyone who appreciates that which is the best of its kind.
With the finest of fine lenses and shutter equipments, it produces sharp, clear 2V4 x3V4 mch pictures in rain, sunshine or shadow.
ANSCO
CAMERAS €. SPEEDEX FILM
The user of the V-P Speedex No. 3 can quickly change the speed, the lens opening and the focus without losing sight of the image in the "finder'' — an exclusive Ansco feature which makes picture-taking easier and more certain.
The Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 is extremely simple in opera- tion, exceptionally beautiful in appearance and extraordinarily efficient.
Write for specimen picture on Cyko Paper. Then ask the Ansco Dealer for a demonstration,
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamion, New'Vbrk.
Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3
Equipped with B. & L. Tessar lens, F 4.5, $65,00; Ansco Anastigmat, F 4.5, $56.00; F 6.3 ; $40.00; F 7.5, $31.00; in Acme Speedex shutter (maximum speed, 1/300 second). Other Ansco Cameras, $2.75 up,
OUR BRANCH OFFICES, WHOLESALE
DISTRIBUTORS
AND WHERE LOCATED
ANSCO COMPANY
Ansco Bldg., 1 29-131 W. Twenty-second Street
New York City
ANSCO COMPANY
325 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner Market Street
Chicago, III.
ANSCO COMPANY
920-922 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSCO COMPANY 1 71-173 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal.
ANSCO COMPANY
347 Adelaide Street, West, Toronto, Ont.
SOUTHERN PHOTO-MATERL\L CO.
22 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
SCHAEFFER PHOTO SUPPLY CO. loii Capitol Avenue, Houston, Tex.
WOODARD, CLARKE & CO.
Portland, Oregon
ANSCO LIMITED
143-149 Great Portland Street
London, W., England
l.X
No. 4
August, 1918
PORTRAIT
BINGHAMTON N.Y.
The camera in the air
will play a most important part in the winning of the war. The exacting demands of the aerial photographer require extreme care in the selection of a printing medium.
r.HADATION nmst be such that finest vHria- lions in tonal quality shall he perfectly recorded and e\t'ry object (le{)icte(l perfect in e\cr\ detail.
LATITUDE must be broad enough to compensate for the varying densities of negatives made under different light conditions.
SPEED nuist be sufficient to permit prints to be made in record time with whatever light source is at hand.
ENLARGING CYKO
Regular and Contrast Grades
produces prints which fulfill these requirements by registering all that the observer can demand.
For commercial and studio photography a paper that is found satisfactf)ry for aerial work <annol l)e far from the ideal.
ENLARGING CYKO
is a chloride, not a bromide, paper, possessing great speed, and unlike a bromide paper, gives, in projected enlargements, contact print quality. That is why it is such an o\ erwhelming success.
ANSCO COMPANY
Hinghaintoii. N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN-PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y.
Vol. X August, 1 91 8 No. 4
Raw Paper and Finished Papers of All Kinds
WE have received notice from more than a dozen leading manufacturers of paper that a further increase in price, averaging about 40%, will take place at once. We mention this so that photog- graphers may understand the position of manufacturers of sensitized photographic papers, especially those man- ufacturers using the highest grade only. This is no intimation that Cyko Paper will be advanced in price, but is only a reminder that the photographer has not suffered as much as others in the matter of cost of producing what he has for sale — ^photographs.
The demand for photographs has increased very materially during the war because nothing is prized so highly as the portrait of the dear boy who is leaving home for the Front. And what an inspiration it is to the soldier-boy to get portraits of dear ones he has left behind! Photography is certainly a blessing in these days of strife and tenderness.
If the enemy alone had the means of making photo- graphs in the air, on land and everywhere, he could win the war in a couple of months and could pin the world to the cross.
PORTRAIT
* 'Pictures Can Help Win the War"
SOUNDS foolish, doesn't it? We have had food and ships and men and munitions and coal and rail- roads and blankets and W. S. S. and the Red Cross and the "Y" and gas masks and airplanes and grape juice and bond issues, all to win the war. And now here comes this deluded writer for the Bulletin of Photography and says pictures can help win it.
Well, please notice the quotation marks about the title. I didn't say it. At least I haven't said it first. The Committee on Public Information said it — printed it on the back of its latest catalog of pictures. And if the Committee says it, it must be so.
Now, just a minute. In a somewhat extensive acquaintance among publications and newspaper and magazine people I have yet to find anyone singing any startling praises of the C. on P. I. They are more apt to knock than to boost. I want to say at the outset that this yarn isn't a knock. It's meant for a boost, and it's meant to help you help the C. on P. I. to help pictures help win the w^arl
Here is the argument.
People take things into their minds through smells and feels and sounds and tastes and — seeing things. The two most potent ways to reach the mind are sound (or printed word) and sight.
But no matter how skilful a man may be with words, description is only putting into words some ideas, which the putter has in his mind. No one ever gets from a word the same meaning you put into it — in description, anyway. If you don't believe this, try describing one person to another then bid your hearer go pick your describee out of a crowd. Can't be done, of course, unless said describee is nine feet high or thirty feet in girth or has three eyes or a nose a yard long or something like that.
PORTRAIT
Well, then, no description of a battlefield, of a charge, of the horrors of warfare, or a gas attack, of anything at all at the front or near it can by any stretch of the imagination really give an adequate idea of what is there going on.
Pictures can .
You are a picture man. It's your job in life to make pictures. You understand pictures. And you ought to throw a large chest and have to buy an oversize hat when you reflect that it is your profession which is playing so vitally important a part, not only in winning the war (aeroplanes, pictures of enemy activities, etc.), in recording the war for history and as a most potent argument against there ever being another war (motion pictures and official records), but is that profession which is doing so much to form and lead public opinion without which no war is ever fought to a successful conclusion.
If there had been photographs of the sinking of the Lusitania, would we not be better prepared for war today ?
All right, then. Photography is playing a vital part in the war. Isn't it your job to help the public realize not only the part your profession is playing in winning the war, but as a picture exponent, to show pictures to your patrons — ^pictures which may help them to realize, as no words can help them, what the war really is like?
Your first impulse may be to say, "But the news- papers and the magazines do that." So they do. But not all that can be done. And the C. on P. I. offers you the chance to help. "Official War Pictures are your best help in doing patriotic work," says the C. on P. I., and they said a whole earful.
Now, for ways and means. The C. on P. I. spews out pictures as a Browning gun does bullets. These pictures are taken by the Signal Corps of the United States
PORTRAIT
Army, the United States Navy, the Marine Corps, as well as other branches of the service, and also come from the French and Belgian Official Photographs collec- tions. They are issued or "released," as newspaperese has it, every day. There is a catalog to be had for a five- cent piece, titling all those which have so far been issued, and there is a monthly catalog and a daily announcement sheet. The photographs are six-half, eight-half, on heavy paper, glossy and squeegeed.
They cost ten cents each, postpaid.
Suppose you have a screen or background empty, or empty wall space in your studio. Suppose you invest five dollars a month or five dollars a week or one dollar a month or one dollar a week in war pictures. Suppose you make an exhibit of war pictures in your studio. Won't people come to see them? Of course they will. Now, never mind the advertising feature of this idea — I'm not suggesting it as a means to draw people to your studio, though it will have that effect. But won't it help many people to visualize war and what war means? Won't it help impress your friends and customers both with the fact that your profession is doing its full "bit" in the Big Game, as well as show them things they may never see in print?
Write to the Committee on Public Information, Division of Pictures, lo Jackson Place, Washington, D. C. Ask them for a catalog (be sure to send the five cents in cash — not stamps) . Then, from this catalog, pick out a dozen or a hundred interesting titles and send for the pictures. Hang them up. Put some in your showcase. Advertise them. Talk about them. Spread yourself — you are a photographer and this is a photog- rapher's work — work you are proud to show. And not only will you create interest, do your part, help pictures win the war, assist in educating people to the realities of the front, but you will also put yourself before your clientele as both patriotic and up-to-date.
PORTRAIT
If you can't wait another minute, go to the nearest postoffice or pubHc hbrary and ask to see the Official Bulletin of the C. on P. I., which lists the daily releases of the available pictures.
Now, / think this idea of having photographers help show the pubUc the war pictures photographers take is Sirealidesi. I think iVs sl mighty fine idtSL. / think it's an idea that's going to be taken up by a lot of you fellows who don't think anything of a dollar or so or a little trouble where your patriotism is concerned.
I wish it was my idea.
But it isn't. It was suggested to me by a photog- rapher— a photographer in a small town. And it is with much pleasure and real admiration that I hand over all the credit to Mr. A. A. Richardson, of Bemidji, Minn. — and that, for a wonder (for usually I don't tell tales and names, too), is his real name and his real address, and this is really his, real idea.
— C. H. Claudy, in Bulletin of Photography.
The O. M. I. Convention
The Cedar Point convention, as usual, was very well attended and the meeting was a very successful one from the photographers' point of view. Interesting talks and demonstrations and attractive social features made it possible for everyone to have an instructive and pleasurable time.
The officers elected for 1918-19 are: President, D. D. Spellman, Detroit, Mich. Vice President, L. G. Rose, Toledo, Ohio Vice President, R. E. Smith, Attica, Ind. Treasurer, W. H. Littleton, Muncie, Ind. Secretary, A. E. Riley
PORTRAIT
An Autumn Offensive
WAR in these days is conducted on so vast a scale that every major operation, whether financial or miUtary, must be planned months in ad- vance. Men and money must be marshaled and munitions manufactured long before the signal is given to open the engagement.
Far behind the lines, in Berlin, Hamburg and other financial centers of Germany, the enemy financiers last winter prepared the Eighth Tyranny Loan, which brought in $3,600,000,000 in money of one sort or another this spring. Today they are getting their people in line for the ninth loan. Since the fall of 19 14, the German war loans have been offered regularly at intervals of six months or so. If they work on schedule this time, the Germans will be floating the ninth issue about the time the Government of the United States offers the Fourth Liberty Loan to Americans this autumn. Thus both nations will be tested at the same time and the American dollar will compete with the German mark. But this Government plans the greatest loan of history. It is expected to be twice as much as the Eighth Tyranny Loan and a billion more than Great Britain's Victory Loan of $5,000,000,000, which is the largest yet floated in any country.
So stupendous an undertaking as the Fourth Liberty Loan requires the most careful planning on the part of every American, of whatever age or condition of bank- roll. The time to meet the cafl of the Fourth Liberty Loan is now, and the way to meet it is by preparing a program of saving. The Germans are busy right now on their loan. Are you preparing for yours? To be thrifty and forehanded at this time is the task of every American who wishes to take part in Uncle Sam's financial offensive next autumn. To conserve resources, not only of labor and materials but also of credit and cash, is to perform a war service of the first magnitude.
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
VIII. THE SO-CALLED '' PAINTER-LIKE " TECHNIQUE
THE so-called painter-like technique has haunted the efforts of many ambitious photographers, and has been the Waterloo of many a good, even excellent, print. Its quahty is strictly of the artistic order and for that reason so desirable. By painter-like technique are meant those clever daubs and flourishes of the painter's brush that look so spontaneous as if they were produced by accident, and that enhance so greatly the textural quality of a picture. In photog- raphy the sketchy portrait is hardly ever a pronounced success. It usually looks a trifle amateurish. This effect is not without a cause. In plain words, it is mostly due to lack of manual skill.
The painter who prides himself on being a master of brushwork is sure to "sling paint" for several hours every day, if for nothing else but to keep his arm in trim, not unlike the piano virtuoso who is forced to practice half a day to make his fingers flexible and capable of that almost unconscious mechanism which is obedient to the slightest suggestions of his mind. It requires a thorough mastery of draughtsmanship and constant practice. The best effects, true enough, are produced accidentally in many instances, but they are based on superior manual dexterity. And the photog- rapher has neither the leisure nor opportunity to acquire this accomplishment.
Frank Duveneck and J. Frank Currier, who furnish the illustrations for this discussion, are both American pupils of the Munich School and have played an im- portant part in the technical revival which occurred in this country in the eighties. The Munich School laid special stress on draughtsmanship. Both artists have profited by this training; they belong to our foremost
PORTRAIT
'Whistling Boy" by Frank Duveneck, United States
PORTRAIT
technical exponents. Their brush work, however, is so virile and brilliant that it is more Gallic than Teutonic in character.
To them the essence of a visible object consists of the spot of interesting shapes and flourishes. All spots are endowed with distinct definite character, and it is the artist's task to weave them into harmonies in precisely the same manner that a composer combines the tones of the musical scale. Each stroke must possess a beauty of its own, some delicacy of touch, some happy grace, so that their combined effort enters the eye by a thou- sand little paths. All this is based, it is claimed, on the scientific truth that each part of a picture as it is re- corded in the field of sight, appears but as a single spot modified by those that surround it.
But it is a difficult problem to play thus at will with details and then to gather them together into a con- sistent whole. The complexity, the independence, and the fantastic caprices of the different parts are apt to play havoc with the final and total effect.
Notice how the sleeve and apron are treated in the "Whistling Boy," and how wilfully the tie is arranged in the Currier portrait sketch (of the same title). I advisedly use the term "sketch," as there is always something unfinished about this kind of work. Of course, this is a merit rather than a shortcoming — in this method of interpretation, for its principal aim is to fascinate and captivate the beholder by minor technical impressions. The first idea is to please by the delightful manner in which each part is executed.
In photography this is most easily attainable by omitting all manipulations by hand, that is, additions which resemble actual drawing, etched lines and brush strokes, and to try to achieve these spontaneous and
PORTRAIT
'Whistling Boy" by J. Frank Currier, United States
PORTRAIT
picturesque effects by contrast, as shown in the cap and shirt-front of the Currier sketch and the dark waistcoat and the white patches of the shirt in the Duveneck study, which even in monochrome almost suggest color. Of course it will not produce the spottiness of effect; this may be regrettable, but as each medium has some qualities that are intrinsically its own, it is wisest to leave them where they belong and to strive for the development of such accomplishments as lie within the reach of one's chosen medium.
Uncle Sam Offers Commissions for Good Photographers
Photographers are urgently needed by the signal corps of the army to engage in the compilation of a pic- torial history of the war. Until the immediate needs are met, some commissions will be given to experienced men from civil life, in addition to sixty lieutenants and as many first class sergeants who are to be selected for the work.
Other men will be sent temporarily to the signal corps school of photography at Columbia University, New York, where they will be taught not how to take pic- tures but what kind of pictures to take. The success- ful newspaper photographer represents most nearly the type of man needed. For this work a "nose for new^s" is required, as well as the technical ability.
Many of the men commissioned will become staff officers of army divisions, and as such will be in charge of the work of making a pictorial history of the activities of the divisions from the time of organization through active participation in the conflict.
PORTRAIT
Photographic Salon of the California Liberty Fair
YOU are invited to submit photographic prints or transparencies (autochromes, pagets, etc.) to the Photographic Salon of the CaHfornia Liberty Fair.
Prizes will be awarded for the best pictures as judged by the jury of selection composed of artists, art critics and photographers. Only photographs showing artistic merit will be exhibited. The prints are to be divided into four classes, with awards as follows: Portrait — first prize $25.00 second $15 .00 third $10.00
|
Genre — '' |
25.00 ' |
15.00 ' |
' 10.00 |
|
Landscape — " |
25.00 ' |
' 15.00 ' |
' 10.00 |
|
Marine — " |
25.00 ' |
' 15.00 ' |
' 10.00 |
|
Natural color \ Transparencies / |
25.00 * |
' 15.00 ' |
' 10.00 |
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY
No. I — All pictures must be mounted on sheets not larger than 24x36 inches, none to be framed. Trans- parencies must be bound with cover glass.
No. 2 — On the back of each mount must be written the number, title, price if any, and name of photog- rapher to correspond with entry blank. Number, title and name of photographer to be written on narrow label on each transparency.
No. 3 — All photographs or transparencies must be shipped by mail or express, charges prepaid, addressed to Chairman of Photographic Salon Committee, Room I , Promenade 10, Brack Shops, Los Angeles, Cal. They will be repacked on close of exhibition and returned, charges prepaid. All prints or transparencies must
PORTRAIT
reach destination on or before September j, 191 8, to allow sufficient time for judging, printing catalog and hanging.
No. 4 — Special care will be taken of all exhibits but responsibility for loss or damage will not be assumed while in transit. The exhibit as a whole will be insured while on the walls of the Salon.
No. 5 — A commission of 15% will be charged on all sales made during the Exhibition. A catalog will be mailed to each exhibitor.
Entry blanks may be procured by writing to George F. Clifton, chairman Salon Committee, Los Angeles, as mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3, above.
A Course in Photography Free
We are just in receipt of a communication from Daddy Lively, president of The Southern School of Photography, McMinnville, Tenn., asking us to an- nounce in this pubhcation the fact that in their desire to help our boys "over there" they will give, free, an intensive training in photography to the wives of pho- tographers enlisted in the service whose desire it is to continue the studios in the absence of their husbands.
Such an offer is likely to benefit not only the wives of photographers but the Government as well, in prompting photographers to join the military forces of Uncle Sam, feeling assured that their wives are not left helpless.
This free special course is to be given the first two weeks in October, and without doubt there are many who will wish to take advantage of this special offer .
13
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by Dwight Chambers
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
ABOUT a year ago in the heart of Chicago's business district, where competition is so keen and strenu- ous that nothing but abihty and strictly business methods can exist, Mr. D wight Chambers, an unas- suming artist, started his business known as the Cham- bers Studio. Being a firm behever in modern methods and the fact that the seeds of success must grow from good ground, he fitted his studio in the most attractive manner possible, and it is a gem of decorative art which stands second to none.
Mr. Chambers is very modest in regard to his personal abihty as an artist, but he fully demonstrates his capa- bility by the work he turns out as it all has the true mark of an individuality and quality that pleases his patrons. His technical education was acquired and completed through his study under such masters as Root, Walinger, Matzene and Moffett, and he always worked and studied with the one thought in mind of some day establishing his own business on the solid foundation of merit and quality.
As further proof of his good judgment and concen- trated efforts his business rates today with the success- ful studios of Chicago, and he proudly states that Cyko has been an important factor in his success through the correct portraying of his photographic efforts. His individuality pleased customers, and through organiza- tion and conducting his studio on strictly modern business methods Mr. Chambers feels that his success from the beginning was due to efforts and determina- tion.
HAMMER PLATES
fill every requirement of modern photography. They excel in speed, crispness, color -range and keep- ing qualities. Their record proves their worth.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
Hammer's little book
"A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
1 29-1 3 1 West Twenty-second Street
New York City
The Master Camera
All the knowledge and skill of sixty years' camera making has been concentrated in the Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 — a superb pocket companion for anyone who appreciates that which is the best of its kind.
With the finest of line lenses and shutter equipments, it produces sharp, clear 2V4 x3^/4 inch pictures in rain, sunshine or shadows
AN SCO
CAMERAS (L SPEEDEX FILM
The user of the V- P Speedex No. 3 can quickly change the speed, the lens opening and the focus without losing sight of the image in the "finder" — an exclusive Ansco feature which makes picture-taking easier and more certain.
The Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 is extremely simple in opera- tion, exceptionally beautiful in appearance and extraordinarily efficient.
Write for specimen picture on Cyko Paper. Then ask the Ansco Dealer for a demonstration.
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamton, Newark
Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3
Equipped with B. & L. Tessar lens, F 4.5, $65.00 ; Ansco Anastigmat, F 4.5, $56.00; F 6.3 ; $40.00; F 7.5, $31.00; in Acme Speedex shutter (maximum speed, 1/300 second). Other Ansco Cameras, $2.75 up.
OUR BRANCH OFFICES, WHOLESALE
DISTRIBUTORS
AND WHERE LOCATED
ANSCO COMPANY
Ansco Bldg., 1 29-131 W. T\vent>--second Street
New York Clt>-
ANSCO COMPANY
325 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner Market Street
Chicago, III.
ANSCO COMPANY 920-922 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSCO COMPANY 1 71-173 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal.
ANSCO COMPANY
347 Adelaide Street, West, Toronto, Ont.
SOUTHERN PHOTO-MATERIAL CO. 22 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
SCHAEFFER PHOTO SUPPLY CO. ion Capitol Avenue, Houston, Tex.
VVOODARD, CLARKE & CO. Portland, Oregon
ANSCO LIMITED
143-149 Great Portland Street
London, W., England
No. 5
September, 1918
PORTRAIT
si
BINGHAMTON N.Y.
Cyko Conserves Labor
1 HE RESULTS of our recent trial of" Cyko Paper," writes Mr. H. A. Reedy, of the Artcraft Photo Company, of St. Paul, Minn,, **proved that our printers could make a third more prints in a nine -hour day than with the other standard paper. This means that in one year tour printers could accomplish as much as six had previously done."
Cyko Conserves Eleclric Current
'It was ALSO NECESSARY to reduce the wattage of the lamps, and this, together with the speed of the paper, meant much less ele6lricity used. In this period of labor scarcity the financial saving should not be the only consideration. I do not, however, allow anything for the worry saved me in meet- ing my labor needs."
Cyko Qiialitv Satisfies
*If the amateur finisher will apply these proportion^ to his own costs, he will find that the price of Cyko is pradicalK the same as that of other paper. Then if he believes as I do — that qua/its of work and worry about labor are worth some- thing— he will not hesitate in making the change to Cyko Paper. As 'beauty is only skin deep' so the difference in the price of Cyko Paper is in the list price, and not in the final cost."
Ansco Company
Bin2;hamt()n, N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN-PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL'
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y. Vol. X September, 191 8 No. 5
Your Chance to Hammer the Hun
THE only way to win a fight is to hammer the enemy until he quits. That's the way the United States is going about the war, but there is no sense in attempting to disguise the fact that the enemy will stand a lot of hammering. It is necessary for us to provide a gigantic hammer. Therefore we are extend- ing the age limits for military service so as to provide for an army of 5,000,000, and now the Government is asking us to absorb the Fourth Liberty Loan, far bigger than any of the others .
We can do it. We must do it, for if we should not there would be such rejoicing in Germany overAmerica's inability to finance her program as would be humiliating and positively dangerous for us . Their troops would be heartened and ours discouraged by the thought that America was not enthusiastically in the war, determined to win at any cost.
So we must prepare to buy Liberty Bonds of the coming fourth issue (campaign opens September 28) with every dollar we can rake and scrape together. If we do that, we shall back up the soldiers at the front as they need to be backed up and we shall serve notice on the Central Powers that they will have to quit, no matter how hard they may fight.
PORTRAIT
The North Central Convention
September 18-19-20, 1918, are dates that will be long remembered by the photographers of the North Central Association who seize the opportunity to attend the convention which will be held in St. Paul at that time. The executive board has styled the meeting ''The Efficiency Convention," and the program that has been planned is such a strong one that the convention ought to be one of the biggest and best of the year.
Photographers in the states covered by the associa- tion, namely, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, and all others within a radius of five hundred miles of St. Paul are invited to attend.
A new idea in regard to the exhibit by the photog- raphers has been adopted which should provide an incentive to a great many to display their best work in competition for the honors. In place of cups and medals, as has been customary, the board will buy pictures outright selected by the judges, and pay ten dollars each for the best pictures exhibited, not to exceed ten in number.
Each exhibitor having pictures selected will receive an engraved certificate and ten dollars for each picture chosen. Such pictures will be the beginning of a per- manent salon of the association and will be added to each year. Each exhibit may consist of from one to six pictures, 5 by 7, or larger, unframed. Address all enquiries to J. R. Snow, Secretary, Mankato, Minn.
Advance in Price of Ansco 8x10 Printer
We are obliged to advance the price of the Ansco 8x10 Professional Printing Machine live dollars, from September i, 1918. The machine after that date will be listed as follows:
In United States, $25.00. In Canada, $27.50.
PORTRAIT
Save Your Film Spool Ends
We frequently receive letters from dealers and photographers who do developing and printing, asking if we could not allow them something for the vast quantities of Ansco film spools that they accumulate. Heretofore we have not been able to use the spools, for the very good reason that they must practically be remade in order to be usable and the labor necessary for the operation is too great to make it pay.
Even at present the wooden dowels are of no use to us, but all dealers and photo-finishers who wish to send us the metal flanges, removed from the spools, may do so and we will allow them five cents a pound for all metal film spool flanges, of our make, in good condition. These we will then refinish and use a second time. All packages should be sent to Ansco Company, Bingham- ton, N. Y., transportation charges prepaid.
The flanges of all spools size 6 A or larger run 136 to the pound, 4A flanges, 185, and 3A flanges, 239 to the pound.
We will also take back complete spools for 2C Ansco Film at 5 cents a pound. There are 85 of the spools in a pound.
Wanted: Pictures of German and Austrian Territory
Readers of Portrait who have made pictures of bridges, buildings, towns and localities now occupied by the German forces in France, Belgium, and Luxem- burg, also in that part of Germany west of the line running north and south through Hamburg, should send such photographs by parcel post or express to Col. A. B. Coxe, 11 56 Fifteenth Street, Washington, D. C. Pictures of the Rhine and of towns situated along its course, and views in Austria, are also of value. These are requested by the War Department.
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
IX. UNUSUAL ARRANGEMENTS
UNUSUAL arrangements have been introduced in- to portraiture principally for the purpose of start- ling the beholder by something that is new and out of the ordinary, far away from the practices of every- day routine. These artists who venture forth on new paths complain of the limited methods employed in the portraiture of their time and proceed to enrich them. Innovations of this kind, no matter how seriously thought out and soHdly constructed, have something haphazard about them. They do not follow or set any standard; they are in most instances show-pictures whose success depends on the approval of public opinion.
Their composition may seem rather daring to those who rely upon the old rules and think that they should be always observed. But it should be remembered that art is made to please the eye, and that the funda- mental laws of composition, of balance and proportional relations, always remain the same, no matter how un- conventional the new combination may be. It should be agreed, therefore, that that which is pleasant to the eye is within the rules of art. It is the eye that should be consulted for the final verdict.
Still, the situation is slightly different in portraiture. The latter has certain regulations of likeness and clear- ness of definition, of direct representation and repro- duction of actualities, which cannot be brushed aside. The painters are aware of this and try to escape criti- cism by labeling their eff"orts with pictorial titles as ''Promenade" and "Village Rider," that have but little to do with portraiture.
These modern painters certainly do not suffer from poverty of imagination. They put all the variety they can into their portraits, and they quite well understand
PORTRAIT
to make them unusual when the sitters give them the chance. Gustave Pierri's attempt of depicting a mother with her six children and a dog taking a walk in a winter landscape resembles a humorous illustration. He made use of a certain flatness of tone and a decora- tive design that repeats triangular shapes throughout the composition. There are five elongated triangular shapes of which the eye becomes conscious at the first
"Promenade" by G. Pierri, France
glance. But not satisfied with these, he introduced all sorts of triangles, in the smaller children, in the feet of the dog and the three little ones, and in the details of the costume (noticeably in the caps) . Even the upper contour of the group produces a zigzag fine. The faces are shown either in profile or liberal three-quarter views so there is no reason whv thev should not be faithful
PORTRAIT
records of resemblances. Quite a daring performance displaying considerable skill in composition!
The handling of a group of seven is at no time an easy task. The question is solely whether people care to be represented in such a mardi-gras fashion, whether it is in good taste and fulfilling the purposes why it was made. That such a procession — as a motif as well as in treatment — is stepping outside the boundary lines of portraiture is indisputable.
"\'illage Rider" by John C. Johansen
The ''Village Rider" is a more favorable theme. It has a charm of its own. Besides, we have seen so- called equestrian portraits by Velasquez and others. People accept more readily what they have seen before, as it seems to them ''like traveling in a country they know and love." The innovation in this picture con- 6
PORTRAIT
sists in the peculiar manner in which the lower margin cuts into the figure of the horse. It is a mannerism we have learned from the Japanese. The broad division of the subject matter into a few lines and large planes is excellent. The introduction of the tree is masterly, only the right side of the picture is very weak . Although the suppression of the horse's head may have been necessary in order not to detract the interest from the child, the foreshortened view is anything but beautiful. The two examples suffice to reveal the danger of too drastic innovations . On the whole it is better to practice less variety of arrangements than inadequate ones. If we feel that we cannot invent new devices without making them seem affected, forced and inappropriate, we should not abandon what is fit and natural for the sake of novelty.
A Substitute for Bromide of Potassium
An effective substitute for bromide of potassium is mentioned by The Amateur Photographer hom. which the following is quoted: "The quantities of bromide of potassium available for photographic purposes are — during the progress of the war — becoming less and less; and those who use this valuable salt in various operations may have had cause for alarm at the steady rise in price. They can be reassured, however, and will find that bromide of sodium — a chemical that is much cheaper than the potassium salt and is more freely obtainable — will serve practically the same pur- pose in photography. We have used this chemical recently with complete success as a restrainer in various developing-formulas for plates, films, and papers, and found that its action differed but very little from that of bromide of potassium. In the various bleaching- baths for sulphide- toning, it replaces the potassium salt, weight for weight, and the results are indistinguishable from those for which the original formulas were em-
PORTRAIT
ployed. We have used it also in both the ferricyanide and copper bleaching-baths for the bromoil-process, and here again no difference in the action is discern- ible. Bromide of soda is obtainable in the form of a white powder, which readily dissolves."
Eliminate Your Printing Troubles by Following Directions
IN view of the variation in quality of the many different developing agents in use and the uncertain purity of other products entering into developing solutions, the exercise of extreme care and caution is most essential in compounding photographic solutions and in all manipulation of negatives and prints during the war period.
Be sure to use developing agents and sodas which have the guarantee of purity stamped on the containers by the manufacturers; and only formulas advised for a particular brand of plates, films or paper should be used for best results.
In Regard to Bromide
In adding bromide of potassium to developing solu- tions do it with this fact in mind: it is a stabilizer forming a compound when combined with the silver salts, making them less easily reduced by the develop- ing agents. That is, to prevent the breaking down or blackening of all the silver salts of both the unexposed and exposed portions during a stated time of develop- ment. With a given amount of bromide there is a cer- tain fog-free period in development during which time the print desired should be produced with correct exposure. With overexposure the print comes up too rapidly and all that is desired in shadow, detail and minute gradation in highlights is sacrificed.
With short exposure, the print requires forcing beyond
PORTRAIT
the fog-free period, causing the print to be weak and flat with the ever-present danger of veiled highhghts or serious fog. Only sufficient bromide to keep the emulsion from fogging is necessary within a certain time of developing and correct exposure. Beyond this point further addition is only required when more color in print is desired.
Always bear in mind that as bromide is increased the developing action is retarded proportionately, produc- ing color by slower formation of the silver image and that no increase in exposure is required, or is it ad- visable, although more latitude in manipulation is given.
Experience has proven that 5 grains or 5 minims saturated solution to each 40 ounces of developer is usually sufficient to prevent fog in a reasonable develop- ing time or within a fog-free period indicated by this amount, and we advise it for prints on all regular grades of Cyko and cold tone prints on Professional grades. With this amount (the minimum) the following table shows the approximate time of development within the fog-free period with correct exposure on different grades of Cyko at a temperature of 65° F.:
Contrast. . . .25 sec. Soft 35 sec.
Normal 35 '' Professional. . .40 "
Longer time indicates underexposure; shorter time indicates overexposure.
With Professional grades the bromide may be in- creased as desired to obtain more warmth in tone, or to the maximum amount of 80 grains or 80 minims sat- urated solution. This extreme amount is not advised ex- cept under special conditions when the extreme olive tone is required. For regular work in portraiture we advise the standard amount 40 grains or 40 minims saturated solution, as this produces a pleasing warm-black tone.
This table gives the approximate time of develop- ment within the fog-free period of Professional Cyko
PORTRAIT
with different amounts of bromide, correct exposure, temperatures 65° F.:
5 grains or minims 40 sec.
10 " " " 5° "
^^ '' ^' " A^ "
20 00
40 " '^ " 13^ min.
60 " '' " 2
80 " " " 3 to 4
If the foregoing conditions are adhered to the very best possible prints will be produced, and the color of black and sepia may be controlled as desired.
The following standard formulas for development of Cyko should be used:
Regular Grades Professional Grades
Water 40 oz. Water 40 oz.
Monomet 15 gr. Monomet 15 gr.
Ansco Sodium Sulphite . i oz. :^nsco Sodium Sulphite .K oz.
■rj , 1 . . Hvdrochinon 60 gr.
Hydrochinon 60 gr. Ansco Sodium Carbonate M oz.
Ansco Sodium Carbonate 34 oz. Bromide, 5 to 80 drops satu-
Bromide Potassium 5 gr. ^ated solution
The New England Convention
That photographic conventions in war times can be pleasant, profitable and at the same time patriotic, was well demonstrated last month at Springfield, Mass., where the Photographers' Association of New England held its twentieth annual convention. Verbatim reports of the proceedings are published both in AbcFs Photo- graphic Weekly and the Bulletin of Photography, which should prove interesting reading to those who were not privileged to attend the sessions.
Every one had a good time and in their enthusiasm bestowed the well-earned honor of re-election upon president L. B. Painting, to whom the Association is deeply indebted for his untiring services.
PORTRAIT
Our Service Flag
ON July I, 1918, Ansco Company's Service Flag bore seventy-eight stars and a new banner was unfurled at our office . All of the boys whose ser- vice is commemorized by a star were permanent em- ployees of the company. Their places in our office and plants have been filled by young women, wherever prac- ticable, or by men above military age, so that there has been no duplication. Of the seventy-eight, our offices and stockroom force has supplied twenty-seven, or more than one- third of the whole num- ber. The next larger group com- ing from one unit of our organiza- tion is from the Cyko plant and the third largest from the camera works. Ansco
C OMPANY
is proud of the record of sending sev- enty-eight of her very best into the World War for Right- eousness.
PORTRAIT
The Acetic Substitute Avalanche
WHEN the war in Europe first broke out and a scarcity of mono-methyl paramidophenol sul- phate, called Metol by the German manufac- turers, became apparent, the numberless substitutes which were offered kept our research laboratory busy for months making analyses and publishing the results of such analyses, and the same thing is now happening with acetic acid substitutes because of the shortage of this article due to our war requirements.
Our preferred substitute is citric acid; and citric acid, as far as we know, may be procured without incon- venience. The following formula may be used in place of the standard Cyko fixing bath:
SOLUTION A
Water 64 ounces
Hypo 16 ounces
Dissolve and then add:
SOLUTION B (hardener)
Water 5 ounces
Sodium sulphite (dried powdered). .3^ ounce
Citric acid (to replace 28% Acetic Acid as recommended in Cyko standard formula) 390 grains
Alum (powdered) >^ ounce
We received recently from the Hachmeister-Lind Chemical Co. of Pittsburg, Pa., a sample of what they designate as Acetric Acid 2S° . Acetric is of course a trade name, there being no such acid. Apparently this product is a solution of sodium alum with a small amount of some acetate, or perhaps acetic acid, added to give it an acetic smell. This conclusion is borne out by the fact that we get decided reaction for sodium and aluminum and there is iron present as an impurity; also the material, when evaporated, gives a crystal which is
PORTRAIT
characteristic of the alums. From calculations based on its acidity, it is necessary to use 2)4. times as much of this product as 28% acetic acid. This product prac- tically amounts to the same thing as using sodium bisulphite for making up an acid fixing bath, or can be duplicated by the fixing bath recently recommended by "Studio Light," and which formula is given on the first page of the July, 1918, number of Portrait.
Samples have also been submitted to us by Messrs. W. H. & F. Jordan, Jr., Inc., of New York, of 10% acetic acid. We have analyzed this product and ob- tained the following data:
Acetic acid. 9-555%
Specific gravity .1.0127
Organic matter Trace
Metals and alkahne earths None
Sulphuric acid Trace
Hydrochloric acid Trace
Empyreumatic impurities None
This acetic acid has the general character of that produced in vinegar factories and appears to be made from light wines or light beers. It is fairly pure and would be sufficiently good for photographic work if used in the necessary quantity. It would take prac- tically three times as much of this article as is necessary with 28% acid.
The Texas Convention
At the recent convention of the Texas Photog- raphers' Association of Texas which was attended by about one hundred photographers, much interest was displayed in the exhibits. The following officers were elected for the year 1918-19: President, C. I. Browne, Dallas; Vice-president, W. D. Orr, Memphis; Secre- tary-Treasurer, A. L. Blanchard, Hillsboro, Texas.
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by A. H. Diehl
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
SOME men reach the pinnacle of fame in their chosen profession by devoting the best that is in them to the attainment of that object, while others lay their all on the altar of civic achievement to the neglect of personal affairs, but comparatively few in a community find time to cover both these fields of use- fulness so successfully as does the subject of this sketch.
In the realm of photography Mr. A. H. Diehl has distinguished himself as few have done. He served his apprenticeship under B. L. H. Dabbs, at that time the dean of his profession in the Pittsburg district, with whom he was associated for over twelve years. Durng those years he studied the art and laid the foundation for the reputation he was afterward to achieve.
Cyko has been a constant companion of Mr. Diehl, and he is unstinting in his praise of its adaptability. He keeps abreast of the progress constantly being made in photography, utilizing new methods, and some of his "little journeys" into color work, tinting, ex- pression and the like have given the product of his studios a niche in the best salons of the land. Several years ago he opened a studio in Woodlawn, Pa., to meet the needs of his rapidly increasing patronage.
Mr. Diehl has been signally honored in recent years in his profession. He is a member of the Pittsburg section of the Middle Atlantic States Photographers' Association, and in March, 191 6, he was elected secre- tary of that association, and the following year he was chosen as its president. He is a member of the National Photographers' Association, and has served as a dele- gate in the local and national conventions. He has been secretary of the Sewickley Valley Board of Trade, a member of the Board of Trustees of Sewickley Valley Hospital, and was president of the Borough Council for two terms and a member for nine years.
Speedy, Brilliant and Reliable
HAMMER PLATES
are unsurpassed. They are honest in every smallest detail of production. Purity of chemicals, finest of silver, perfection of emul- sion and the last word in manufacturing methods and machinery have made them what they are.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
Hammer's little book
'A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
I 29-1 3 I West Twenty-second Street
New York Citv
The Right Camera
x>
for These Stirring Times
Picture opportunities are plentiful. Be ready for them with the Ansco V-P No. 2. It rests so lightly in your pocket, and gets into action so quickly, that you will want to carry it with you always. Its fast anastigmat lens, in exclusive combination with a simple micrometer focusing device, assures pictures sharp and clear in every detail.
ANSCO
CAMERAS €.SPEEDEXFII>I
The watch-case cover protecting the high grade lens, the genuine fine grain leather covering and the superb work- manship are in perfect harmony with the pictures It takes, and unite in making the Ansco V-P No. 2 a camera which you will be proud to own.
Write for specimen picture
on Cyko Paper. Then ask
the Ansco dealer for a
demonstration.
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamton. New'^jrlc
Ansco Vest-PocTcet No. S makes SV* xSV* inchpictures.
Equipped with Modico Anastigmat lens, F7.5, $20.00;
with Ansco Anastigmat lens, F6.3, $27.50 ; in Extra- ^
speed Bionic shutter f maximum speed 1/JOO
OUR BRANCH OFFICES, WHOLESALE
DISTRIBUTORS
AND WHERE LOCATED
ANSCO COMPANY
Ansco Bldg., 1 29-131 W. Twenty-second Street New York City
ANSCO COMPANY
325 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner Market Street
Chicago, 111.
ANSCO COMPANY 920-922 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSCO COMPANY
1 71-173 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal.
ANSCO COMPANY
347 Adelaide Street, West, Toronto, Ont.
SOUTHERN PHOTO-MATERLAJL CO.
22 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
SCHAEFFER PHOTO SUPPLY CO. ion Capitol Avenue, Houston, Tex.
WOODARD, CLARKE & CO.
Portland, Oregon
ANSCO LIMITED
143-149 Great Portland Street
London, W., England
No. 6
October, 1918
PORTRAIT
BINGHAMTON. N.Y.
Cyko Conserves Labor
''The results of our recem trial of Cyko Paper," writes Mr. H. A. Reedy, of the Artcraft Photo Company, of St. Paul, Minn., ** proved that our printers could make a third more prints in a nine -hour day than with the other standard paper. This means that in one year four printers could accomplish as much as six had previously done."
Cyko Conserves Eleftric Current
'*1t was also necessary to reduce the wattage of the lamps, and this, together with the speed of the paper, meant much less eleftricity used. In this period of labor scarcity the financial saving should not be the only consideration. I do not, however, allow anything for the worry saved me in meet- ing my labor needs."
Cyko Quality Satisfies
If the amateur finisher will apply these proportions to his own costs, he will find that the price of Cyko is praftically the same as that of other paper. Then if he believes as I do — that quality of work and worry about labor are worth some- thing— he will not hesitate in making the change to Cyko Paper. As 'beauty is only skin deep' so the diiference in the price of Cyko Paper is in the list price, and not in the final cost."
Anscp Company
Binghamton, N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN-PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y.
Vol. X
October, 1918
No. 6
PORTRAIT Photographers and the Draft
Gall a Meeting of Photographers in Your City and Lay This Before Them
PHOTOGRAPHY IS A PROFESSION, THE LACK OF WHICH WOULD PREVENT AMERICA FROM ^\^N-
NING THE WAR. THE ESSENTIALITY OF PHOTOGRAPHY HAS NEVER BEEN AND CANNOT BE QUESTIONED. PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE NOT INCLUDED OR CON- TEMPLATED IN THE "WORK OR FIGHT" REG- ULATION OF THE PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL. PHOTOGRAPHER DR.\FTEES WTLO ARE GIVEN DEFERRED CLASSIFICATION ON ACCOUNT OF DEPENDENTS OR OTHER CAUSES CANNOT BE FORCED TO SEEK OTHER E^IPLOYMENT UNDER
PRESENT LAW.
MALE photographers 1 8 to 45 will take their places in the selective service in the same manner as men of other professions.
Photography makes possible and maintains com- munication in the army and navy, and here at home it is the nation's bulwark for defense, for identification and for record purposes.
Photography is an invaluable ally of the nation for pubhcity for Liberty Loans, the propaganda work of the food, fuel and other arms of the nation, for the Com- mittee on Information of the U. S. Government, the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A. and the other organizations that are ministering to the boys in khaki.
All civilian employes of the Government are re- quired to have photographs of themselves attached to their identification cards. All civilians going overseas, even the Secretary of War, are required to have pho-
PORTRAIT
tographs attached to their passports. All employes in munition plants are required to have photographs attached to their identification cards.
Every officer in the service must file a photograph with the War Department. The Department of Jus- tice and the police forces of the country depend upon the records of photographic studios for the tracing of alien enemies, slackers and criminals. The General Staff of the United States Army is depending upon the photographers of the country to supply a history of the war, and through the National Council of De- fense representatives of the Photographers' Asso- ciation of America have been duly selected by state councils to handle this work in each state for the period of the war. This was completely set forth in a letter from the War College that was reproduced on pages 281 and 282 of the issue of Photographers^ Association News of September i last.
Essential manufacturers and purveyors in all lines, require photography in the distribution of merchandise.
Newspapers and magazines depend upon the photog- raphers of America for a current and necessary service .
The boys overseas depend upon photographers at home to supply them with pictures of the home folks, of the mother, wife, sweetheart or baby left behind.
When filling out questionnaires draftees of the photo- graphic profession are urged to indicate their own pro- fession as a preference for military service. The army finds increasing need for photographers, and as soldier units increase there will be additional photographic units formed.
All draftees should register at once with National Headquarters. General Secretary will be glad to answer any queries.
PORTRAIT
Enlist Immediately Convertible Protar Lenses
THE Signal Corps at Washington issues a strong appeal for every available Convertible Protar Lens in this country. Nos. 13 and 17 are especially needed in sizes eleven to nineteen-inch focus for use overseas. Full list price will be paid for the lens if in good condition. It is our war and the lenses are one of the many instruments our boys Over There are using to blast the way to Berlin.
There is no more Protar glass and the manufacturers cannot produce even one more lens of this particular type and size. If you have such a lens and will turn it in at once you will render a service which can hardly be measured in terms of its value. The Government must have lenses immediately, but it does not wish to be forced to commandeer them as the European countries have done with lenses they needed. American photographers have shown themselves most patriotic in all demands made on them and we believe they will respond cheerfully and without delay to this appeal.
Address: Signal Corps, Granite Building, Rochester, N. Y. (not Washington). Do not send your lens on until you have written and heard from them.
The Pittsburg Salon
The Sixth Annual Pittsburg Salon of Photography will be held in the Carnegie Institute, Department of Fine Arts, during the month of March, 1919.
The conditions of entry and entry blanks will be forwarded on request addressed to Charles K. Archer, Secretary, 141 2 Carnegie Building, Pittsburg, Pa. The last day of entry will be February 10. 191 9.
PORTRAIT
Expert Photographers Register
Expert photographers including pictorial, commer- cial, motion and news, are urged to register for military service at once with the National Headquarters of the Photographers' Association of America, Star Bldg., Washington, D. C.
Photography has been foremost in the war. With the enormous increase in the army more photographers are required for oversea and domestic service.
Men in deferred classification only can be inducted.
A number of limited service men are required for this country, also good laboratory men. They must be in deferred classifications.
All photographers in the new draft should register at once, stating qualifications minutely and preference of service, land or air. They should set forth their particular professional qualifications in draft registry and should make application to their commanding officer on reaching camp.
Photographers have made a wonderful record in service and equipment. A larger army requires more "eyes for the army."
The Photographers' Association of America makes all men in Uncle Sam's photographic service honorary members of the organization. The Association is pledged to look after the welfare of all dependents of photographers in service and to see that their business is not placed in jeopardy in their absence.
ACTION'S STRENGTH IS IN ITS FOOD SUPPLY
Eat Less — "^^^ste nothing Create a Rg^crve
AMERICA tmSt FEED lOO.OOO. OOOAUJES
PORTRAIT
Interesting Views from Overseas
''Pictures tell the story better than words" is aptly illustrated by the following reproductions from photo- graphs taken by our men overseas under direction of the Committee on Public Information, who have kindly consented to our pubhshing them.
These views are not only interesting as depicting what the soldier is doing and witnessing but also have a world of meaninij and convey a message of appeal
f^rr^"^
Copyrighted by Commilke on Public Information
Scene ix Streets of Xervesa
to us at home to back up in a practical way the boys who have left the comforts of home and their loved ones to save our people from going through the ex- periences suffered by Belgium, France and Italy.
The above is one of the many ghastly scenes being met with in the invaded territory, and clearly depicts the desolation and havoc being wrought by the 6
PORTRAIT
barbarous Hun. This illustration is reproduced from an official Italian photograph secured through the Committee on Public Information, and shows the re- mains of what was the quaint old town of Nervesa, Italy, where once resided contented humans.
The next view is self-explanatory and brings the horrors of war to our immediate homes. Bishop Brent is speaking at the Decoration Day ceremonies ''somewhere in France."
Copyrighted by Committee on Public Information
Decoration Day Services Somewhere In France
Airplanes are a necessary adjunct of the army, play- ing a very important part in the maneuvers, and a view of one is always of interest. The cut on page 8 gives an idea of the Handley-Page ("Langley") bombing plane, one of the big fellows that is doing such wonder- ful work in destroying not only German efficiency but also its morale. The illustration shows one of those
PORTRAIT
''Langleys" in the act of ascending in preparation for its errand of destruction, and that it is accompHshing all that has been expected of it is clearly evidenced by the newspaper reports concerning the horror with which the inhabitants along the Rhine territory are imploring the German Government to enter into some agreement with the Allies with a view to the cessation of airplane raids on cities.
Copyrighted by CommiUee on Public Injormalion
Haxdley-Page Bombing Plane
Balloons seem to be slighted in the news reports, as they seldom are mentioned. That they are being utilized is clearly proved by the view shown on opposite page of an American observer at 3,000 feet elevation in an American stream-line observation balloon near the front.
The Committee on Public Information has dis- continued the service of furnishing war pictures to individuals at 10 cents each.
PORTRAIT
:\ ■ W /
\S
tr
i "JJ
Copyrighted by Committee on Public Information
An American Observation Balloon
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmaxx
X. theatrical EFFECTS
THEATRICAL portraiture is really in a class by itself. In its domain all sorts of devices, unusual light effects, bolder shadows, and more varied ac- cessories aside from the costume, which, in itself, is an attraction, seem to be permissible. It is the very opposite of careful moderation and classic convention. Its tendency is literary and descriptive, and it is sus- tained by foreign ideas coming from all parts. And instead of trying to get rid of all these embellishing influences, this style of representation thrives by utiliz- ing them to the fullest extent. All that is necessary is that the glare and the caprices of the footlights are held in rein by the judgment of the portraitist. Still, there is always something affected about these produc- tions, but it is more the fault of the person represented than of the portrayer. It is the translation of a world in which forced attitudes and colorful effects are the order of the day.
Our illustrations depict two theatrical celebrities by two of our best American portrait painters. The ''Lit- tle White Dancer" by Ben Ali Haggin is an exhibition picture, such as are used as advertisements in the lobby of theaters. It has the true flavor of the stage about it. The dancer stands before the curtain and the foot- lights throw a huge shadow on the same. It does not depict any particular incident, for when a dancer is called out before the curtain to acknowledge the ap- plause bestowed upon her performance she is not apt to stand in such a rigid attitude.
It is here where the portrait proposition enters, as bowing or picking up the flowers would hardly consti- tute a portrait pose. In pictures of this kind one does not reason so exactly. The main thing is a strong and
PORTRAIT
picturesque effect. The lighting from below always conveys the impression of something weird and dazzling and a young woman in the regular ballet costume, al- though not a lofty vision, is sure to prove attractive. There is nothing delicate and effeminate about this
"Little White Dancer" by Ben Ali Haggin
representation. There was no chance for half tones or a delicately drawn image. The direct and somewhat crude lighting prevented this. The qualities that strike me in this picture are its cheerful vigor, its clearness
PORTRAIT
of form, and the unusual virile force of the lady, and indeed of the whole treatment.
The portrait of Mme. Gerville-Reache by Irving R. Wiles, is a costume picture with ordinary studio light- ing. The face is kept in due prominence, in this in- stance not an easy task, as the costume is quite elab- orate. It is for that reason, no doubt, that the painter treated the arms and hands apparently so negligently. One arm is foreshortened and hardly shows the hand; of the other only the hand holding the fan is visible. If the arms and hands had been depicted with greater animation, sporting the fan for instance, the face would have suffered thereby. This is another instance where the portrait idea asserted itself. The painter was, after all, more interested in the portrait of Mme. Gerville- Reache than in the depiction of a stage character. The pose is not at all characteristic of Carmen as we know her from Bizet's opera or Merimee's novel. The excuse, of course, is that portraiture is not illustration. But why then don the costume? ^Merely for the pictorial effect?
These are the incongruities of theatrical portraiture. The latter rarely possesses simphcity and dignity. It does not strive for naturalness and truth. It is inter- ested in minor artificialities of representation.
And yet it has one merit that cannot be undervalued. It affords greater variety of subject matter. Poverty of invention is almost excluded, and repetition can be more easily avoided. And if judiciously applied many of its little varied expressions could be introduced into legitimate portraiture. Still, artists who explain them- selves best in their works generally use more repeti- tions than others. This is because all good portraitists search for the best poses and the best lighting by which to express their conception of people, and they find it difficult — although they know that variety is pleasing — to quit their best formulae of expression for less good
PORTRAIT
Madame Gerville-Reache as "Carmen" by Irving R. Wiles
Cyko Portrait by Dan Zintsmaster
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
DAN ZINTSMASTER is a Westerner by nature even though he was born and bred in the East. For many years the call of his real home kept summoning him, now stronger, now fainter, until one day back in 191 5 he anchored in Minneapolis and came into his own. Minneapolis had been the battleground where Dan first tasted real success, and where, in 1910, he took his life partner, whose association and helpful cooperation in his business have brought, together with growth and gain, a joy in life which is enviable.
From 191 1 to 1915 in Syracuse, N. Y., under the name of The Rembrandt Studio, Mr. and Mrs. Zints- master worked steadily and hard to create a business in photography that would give them a field for expres- sion. The years in Syracuse were profitable ones and the volume of business that came as the result of their hard work there brought the Zintsmasters much satisfaction.
Today the product of the Reynolds Studio in Min- neapolis is becoming better and better known. An in- creasing number of pleased parents whose children's first portraits were made there, return year after year bringing the little ones, with the result that as a pho- tographer of babies and children a high reputation is being built up. Mr. Zintsmaster's portraits are natural, lifelike and invariably pleasing to his patrons.
Adoption of progressive ideas and methods has never been wanting in Mr. Zintsmaster's business. With the advent of Professional Cyko he instantly recog- nized its merit and he has been one of its strongest partisans ever since. Cyko for him, as for many others, has been the foundation stone of success, for no matter how sincere the effort, nor how painstaking the work may be, without a perfect medium of photo- graphic expression, achievement is impossible. Cyko means all this and more to Daniel W. Zintsmaster.
From Equator to the Poles
HAMMER PLATES
have set the record for Speed, RehabiHty and Keeping Quahties. They have tri- umphed over every condition of cold, heat and humidity the world over.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
REG. TRADE MARK
Hammer's little book
'A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
I 29- 1 3 I West Twenty-second Street
New York Citv
The Right Camera for These Stirring Times
Picture opportunities are plentiful. Be ready for them with the Ansco V-P No. 2. It rests so lightly in your pocket, and gets into action so quickly, that you will want to carry it with you always. Its fast anastigmat lens, in exclusive combination with a simple micrometer focusing device, assures pictures sharp and clear in every detail.
ANSCO
CAMERAS C.SPEEDEXFILM
"1 he watch-case cover protecting the high grade lens, the genuine fine grain leather covering and the superb work- manship are in perfect harmony with the pictures it takes, and unite in making theAnscoV-PNo. 2 a camera which you will be proud to own.
Write for specimen picture ^■ji on Cyko Paper. Then ask the Ansco dealer for a demonstration.
ANSCO COMPANT Binghamton, Ne\v"\brk
Ansco Vest-Pocket No. 2 makes SV* xSVa, inch pictures.
Equipped with Modico Anastigmat lens, FT. 5, $20.00;
tcith Ansco Anastigviat lens, F6.3, $27.50; inExtra-
eed Bionic sJiutter f maximum speed 1/200
second J. Other Ansco Cameras $2.75 up.
.X
No. 7
November, 1918 ^
^1
PORTRAIT
BINGHAMTOI\L N.Y.
Cyko Conserves Labor
1 HE RESULTS of our recent trial of Cyko Paper," writes Mr. H. A. Reedy, of the Artcraft Photo Company, of St. Paul, Minn., ** proved that our printers could make a third more prints in a nine-hour day than with the other standard paper. This means that in one year four printers could accomplish as much as six had previously done."
Cyko Conserves Eleclric Current
"It was also necessary to reduce the wattage of the lamps, and this, together with the speed of the paper, meant much less eleftricity used. In this period of labor scarcity the financial saving should not be the only consideration. I do not, however, allow anything for the worry saved me in meet- ing my labor needs."
Cyko Quality Satisfies
"If the amateur finisher will apply these proportions to his own costs, he will find that the price of Cyko is pradlically the same as that of other paper. Then if he believes as I do — that quality of work and worry about labor are worth some- thing— he will not hesitate in making the change to Cyko Paper. As * beauty is only skin deep' so the difference in the price of Cyko Paper is in the list price, and not in the final cost. ' '
Ansco Company
Binghamton, N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN -PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A " SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton,N. Y.
Vol. X November, 1918 No. 7
What Kind of Printing Paper Is the Photog- rapher Looking Forward To?
THIS question represents somewhat the attitude of mind of our publishers who have heretofore taken the lead in regard to the kind and quahty of paper supplied to the photographer.
Cyko Paper stands today as in the past — pre- eminently the paper for beautiful sepia prints (van Dyke brown) and rich platinotype black-and-white prints. There have been times during the crucial periods brought about by the war when absence or scarcity of certain raw materials has interfered with standard quality, but on the whole almost insurmountable obstacles have been bridged over. The outlook is now brighter and we all are warranted in looking forward to normal conditions ere long.
In looking over the portfolios of platinotype prints in our archives made by photographic masters of yore, such as H. P. Robinson, Rene LeBeque and others, one cannot fail to admire their beautiful tones so devoid of any olive warmth, and we wonder whether in some directions the taste of some photographers has not wandered away from the true conception of beauty as regards the proper black monotints. Some photog- raphers— among them one or two whose opinions we value in the highest degree — ^have suggested to our publishers putting out a paper for black-and-white prints only — in fact, such a paper as they have made in an
PORTRAIT
experimental way for the purpose of showing what can be done when the sepia tone is to be ignored — a paper with a very long scale of well-balanced steps and gradations but with an extreme warmth. We doubt very much whether there would be a very large demand for such a paper, because however much some photog- raphers may wish to indulge their own notion the public will continue to admire and demand beautiful van Dyke brown prints; but that is also an individual opinion, and what we are seeking is to get the mind of the majority of the photographers themselves from the point of view of their patrons. Our publishers' aim is to please the photographers by giving them what they want, and it would be interesting to learn from them the ideal which they have set for the future regarding a photographic printing medium.
Will whoever may read this take the time and trouble to write to our publishers, the Ansco Company, express- ing his unbiased opinion ? The Ansco Company can do wonders; they can produce anything that is wanted in the photographic line when proper raw materials are ob- tainable. As an instance of their easy faculty to meet requirements and conditions we think we may cite with propriety their success in producing for the Aircraft Department of the Government at the outset of the war, a certain kind of paper for aero work. All manu- facturers were given the opportunity of producing what was needed. The specifications and requirements were rather severe, it is true, but Ansco Company, after a few experiments, produced the kind of Enlarging Con- trast Cyko which was ordered by the Government as the standard in that particular field. They can do for the photographer what they did for the Government if they can find out exactly what the photographer will be looking forward to when times become normal, and when everyone will be looking around for something "just a httle different" to attract business.
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
XI. THE GRACEFUL POSE, ITS MECHANISM AND PICTORIAL VALUE
IN the portraiture of women the graceful pose enjoys the greatest popularity. It is the accepted method. A lady sitter, no matter how easy and free in her movements and gestures, rarely makes a perfect composition which would allow copying without the addition of further embellishments. There is in this style little opportunity for the invention of new pictorial devices, and the artist must possess a remark- able capacity for assimilation. Our modern idea of gracefulness and elegance is still infused with the spirit of the great English and French portrait schools.
The capricious moods and nervous gayety of the French classics, the smooth and flowing style of Gains- borough's drapery effects, the sentimental poses of Romney and Greuze, and all the various pictorial inventions of a Reynolds, Raeburn, Kneller, Hoppner, Lawrence, as well as the exquisite hand-posing of van Dyck and the Old Masters, still sway our memory with astonishing pertinacity. Nobody can escape these influences. Although we may have never visited the European galleries, we are well acquainted with their works and cannot but feel their charm.
The artist who is most successful in this style of interpretation seems to be the one who idly follows his inclinations, does not trouble to enter so very deeply into the spirit of the people he meets, but gleans all he can and then reproduces it from a modern view- point. This is never deliberate imitation. It is the artist's memory that serves him as he pleases. The ., traditions reappear unbidden. They may impress us at times as being a trifle forced, but in a line, in a gesture or some part of the arrangement there will
PORTRAIT
"Girl in Pink" By Wallace W. Gilchrist Jr.
PORTRAIT
shine out a clear reminiscence of the accompHshments of former times.
Take, for instance, the hand on the dark cushion in Gilchrist's "Girl in Pink." Comparatively few ladies can pose a hand with such perfect relaxation from the wrist and manipulate the finger in such a fastidious fashion. It needs careful arrangement, suggestion and guidance, and actual placing, and is prompted unmis- takably by some Old Master idea that haunted the mind of the artist . The tilted head reminds one shghtly of Romney and the arrangement of the bust has something of Lawrence about it. Even the way the girl is seated gives us an impression of artificiality. But all these various factors welded together by some dominant idea help to produce the desired effect of a graceful pose. Ecclecticism, i.e., knowledge and appli- cation of previous styles, is not harmful as it enhances the composition. Nor does it, if well done, ever bear any direct resemblance to the specific work of another artist. The portraitist who carries all the Old Masters in his mind is the last one to copy; he selects, and it is rather his spirit that is akin to theirs.
Edmund C. Tarbell's portrait, "The Dreamer," is a much simpler composition. The pose is not unlike the other but more naturally taken. Also the technique is broader, and the way- in which the right margin line cuts into the figure gives it a more modern aspect. Nevertheless, there is not the slightest doubt that the pose is not an accidental one; on the contrary, that it has been posed and rearranged and altered until it acquired the effect of a compact entity which satisfied the demands of grace and refinement. One feels that the painter experienced considerable difficulties, that he wished to assert his technique (as seen in the background, which, despite slovenly treatment, con-
PORTRAIT
"The Dreamer" By Edmund C. Tarbell
PORTRAIT
veys distance and atmosphere), but that his hand was halted by all sorts of considerations.
The much desired quality of making a portrait "sparkle with life" is difficult to obtain in this manner. Whenever gracefulness is made the main object of a representation, the pictorial harmony becomes tightly bound to the despotic laws of traditional beauty. It is naturally somewhat superficial, sentimental and polished, but it pleases the eye.
Of Interest to All
The Portland (Oregon) Spectator recently printed the following article, and as it is of interest to you, why not cut it out and have your local paper print it? It will do you and the public good.
PHOTO-GRAFTERS AT WORK
"Mothers and wives of soldiers should be on their guard against an invasion of sharks who are practicing a compara- tively safe but very contemptible species of robbery by a revival of the old photograph. Going to homes where service flags are displayed, the swindlers make an agreement for a specified and apparently reasonable sum to enlarge the photos of the absent soldiers. The pictures are enlarged and enclosed in cheap and flashy frames; and it is in the enforced purchase of these that the wives and mothers are robbed. For the frames, the can- vasser demands an exorbitant price, and when the intended victims refuse to pay he becomes insulting and abusive.
"The wives and mothers of soldiers should have nothing to do with the photographers, who usually represent out-of-state principals. There are plenty of legitimate photographers in Portland who, for a reasonable sum, will enlarge and frame the pictures of absent soldiers." — Bulletin of Photography.
Don't Quit
Remember, the soldiers are still in the camps, So keep right on buying your War Savings Stamps.
— Exchange.
PORTRAIT
Photographic Enlargements as an Appeal in the United War Work Campaign
ONE of the best publicity features employed in Ansco Company's home town, Binghamton, N. Y., during the recent United War Work Cam- paign consisted of a series of photographic window dis- plays made by a local photographer, in which cut-out Cyko enlargements of home boys in service were the principal figures. The publicity committee of the war work campaign in Binghamton appealed to each of the photographers of the city to make up a window display to help stimulate interest in the work for which the campaign stood, the same as was done here and in other cities in the Red Cross drive last spring. The photographers all responded and many beautiful dis- plays resulted. Mr. L.J. Buckley conceived the idea of utilizing his negatives in an entirely novel way, and after securing the cooperation of a competent window dresser, set about constructing a series of huts, seven in number, each one bearing the emblem of the organi- zation represented in the united campaign.
The huts were made of paper to imitate wooden buildings and were provided with doors and windows. Evergreens used in the background gave an out-of- doors effect. In front of each hut stood one or more cut-out figures of officers and men, enlarged to fifty- four inches in height from Mr. Buckley's negatives. The enlargements, on double weight Enlarging Cyko, were mounted on heavy board and cut to outline with a band saw.
For the activities within the hut special poses were taken. The illustration on the opposite page shows this feature — the boys around a phonograph and writing table within the hut.
The foreground of the window was filled with framed portraits of Binghamton soldiers. At night the display
< M
c
p
PORTRAIT
was softly lighted with red lamps, and in order to keep traffic open police guards had to be stationed to see that the crowds kept moving. The success of this display was so phenomenal and the possibilities in its use so many that it has occurred to us that photographers elsewhere would be glad to adopt the idea when called upon to do something for their com- munity as an aid in furthering the interests of the Red Cross or other war-time activities.
A sad element in regard to this particular display came through the news that one of the boys whose likeness appeared in the window, a captain of infan- try, had just lost his life in France. A gold star was immediately placed upon his portrait and may be dis- tinguished in the accompanying illustration.
The careful working out of such a display by a sin- gle photographer or several in cooperation should prove of wonderful value in stimulating local interest whenever it is attempted.
Countless ideas should suggest themselves for use in connection with Red Cross campaigns, Libert v Loan drives or during periods of solicitation for local phil- anthropic or charitable institutions.
We publish this article with the thought that any town or city might receive much benefit from such a display made possible through the initiative of its photographers .
Boosting for the Middle Atlantic States Convention
Twenty-five Northern New Jersey photographers enjoyed the hospitality of William Parker at his studio in Morristown, on the evening of November 4. A big booster dinner will be held in January in antici- pation of getting out a big delegation to attend the Pittsburg convention.
PORTRAIT
EVERYBODY join up! This is not a dreary ceremonial. It is a cheerful reconsecration at the season of good cheer, and its collective force means strength, victory and final peace.
You are your brother's keeper. You are the Red Cross. The whole world needs you and is listening for the growing volume of your pledge.
In the lands where the tooth of war has bitten to the bone, where hitherto America had been only the un- meaning name of something very far away, you have carried healing and courage. Your name, the simple name of the Red Cross, has become a synonym of friendship and the surety of relief.
You are warmth to the frozen, medicine to the suf- fering, food to the hungry, and comfort to the bereaved. And to the American soldier you are ' ' the folks back home." He doesn't want to think that a quarter of you are with him and the rest don't care. He wants to know, and wants the world to know, that you are with him — to a man, to a woman, and to a child. That is what puts heart into him and gives him standing wherever he goes.
And you have got to look him in the face when he comes home.
In the great week before Christmas you will be called to the Red Cross colors, every man and woman, young or old. There will be no exemptions, just one great voice from all together. Let the answering message that '^ All is well," ring from every corner of a loyal land.
The American soldier has staked his life against every diabolical form of death. He is just a boy and he is human and he is ours , and he wants the ' ' hail from home . ' '
Let us be prompt , everybody , everywhere , to sound it . Let us stand by till the tattered old flag comes home. As you love the ' ' boy ' ' and the country , make it unanimous . — Red Cross Magazine.
PORTRAIT
Official Photographs Showing Activities of United States Forces in France
THE following reproductions are from photographs taken during the great offensive which was started by the Americans and which resulted in their driv- ing the enemy out of the St. Mihiel salient, and which culminated recently in Germany's agreeing to the armi-
'fi^o#M^V'^/7
Copyright by Committee on Public Information
Americans in support beside a road in the captured St. Mihiel salient
stice terms imposed by the Allied governments. Be- hind the men is seen a German narrow gauge railway for hauling supplies. This railroad was subsequently converted to the uses of the American Forces and greatly helped to keep them adequately supplied with the nec- essaries for successfully continuing their offensive. While it would be the heiorht of national conceit to
PORTRAIT
presume to say that the x\mericans were the principal cause of Germany's downfall, still we feel assured that this country will not be considered vain boasters in saying that the United States was a mighty factor in the final determination of Germany's quitting, for with- out the help of the United States in supplying the Allied governments with food and munitions the end probably would have been so far distant that no one would have been able to see it.
Copyright by Committee on Public Information
U. S. Sailors Fighting on Land
It is difficult for the average American to conceive of Uncle Sam's sailors doing any thing but fighting on the sea and familiar with none but the big guns aboard warships. But the illustration on this page fully demonstrates their versatility as they are here shown as adepts in the use of the powerful little weapons called machine-guns . The havoc wrought by these death-dealing instruments will never be known, but it is safe to say that a great number of Germany's casualties were the result of their use by the Allies.
PORTRAIT
i
Unconventional lighting. Subject standing in audience. Xo background used. Made by Felix Schanz and Ben Larimer at O. M. I. Convention
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
FELIX SCHANZ got his early training back in the Wet Plate days as an apprentice with D . H . Andrews of New York city, and it is there that he laid the foundation of a successful career.
In the early eighties Mr. Schanz formed his first acquaintance with the Anthony Company, and for several years was a weekly caller at their office , supply- ing them with photographs of noted actors and other celebrities of the day. These photographs at that time were in great demand by the public and were sold in large numbers by photographic stock houses.
Following the advice of Horace Greeley, "Go West, young man, go West," he struck out for the West and in 1882 landed in Ft. Wayne, Ind., where he de- cided to locate. Accordingly he opened a studio and for twenty-six years conducted his business on the main street of the city, occupying a whole building.
Mr. Schanz believes in keeping abreast of the times and is a member of the P. A. of A.; in fact he is one of the oldest from the point of continuous member- ship. He is also a member of various other photo- graphic societies, including the O. M. I.
One of the features of the O. M. I. convention held at Cedar Point, Ohio, this year was a joint demonstra- tion given by Mr. Schanz and Mr. Ben Larimer of Marion, Ind. Their aim was to show that very beautiful results could be obtained by working under unusual light conditions. Accordingly, two sets of negatives were made; one was made showing the conventional method of lighting used in the average studio, and in the other the subject was taken out into the audience and photographed under the light conditions found there .
On the opposite page is shown a reproduction of one of the negatives made at that demonstration.
The sharpest demand for Speed, ReHability and Color-range are met by
HAMMER PLATES
Purity of chemicals, skill in manufacturing
and modern methods of handling keep
them always "up to the minute"
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
REQ. TRADE MARK
Hammer's little book
"A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
I 29-1 3 I West Twenty-second Street
New York Citv
The Right Camera for These Stirring Times
Picture opportunities are plentiful. Be ready for them with the Ansco V-P No, 2. It rests so lightly in your pocket, and gets into action so quickly, that you will want to carry it with you always. Its fast anastigmat lens, in exclusive combination with a simple micrometer focusing device, assures pictures sharp and clear in every detail.
ANSCO
CAMERAS C.SPEEDEXFILM
The watch-case cover protecting the high grade lens, the genuine fine grain leather covering and the superb work- manship are in perfect harmony with the pictures it takes, and unite in making theAnscoV-PNo,2 a camera which you will be proud to own.
Write for specimen picture
en Cyko Paper. Then ask
the Ansco dealer for a
demonstration.
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamton. New'Vbrlc
^^ 'Pocket No. 2 makes SV* xSVi inchpictures. Equipped with Modico Anastigmat lens, F7.5, $20.00i with Ansco Anastigmat lens, F6.3, $27JJ0; in Extra- speed Bionio shutter (maximum speed 1/100
Answer the
Christmas Roll Call^
All you need is a heart and a dollar ^ ^ ^ _>
No. 8
December, 1918
PORTRAIT
^
BINGHAMTOM. N.Y.
M o n o m e t
The Developer of the Present
MONQMET IS THE ONLY DEVELOPING AGENT IDENTICAL WITH METOL IN RAPID, ENERGETIC ACTION
MONOMET develops in the same time as Metol and gives the same characteristic rich- ness and quahty — with a tendency to more briUiancy. This fundamentally essential point many are endeavoring to secure by the addition of a caustic alkali, as an accelerator, to developers of the paramidophenol class — which addition always tends to rob the print of the typical richness required in prints on developing paper.
MONOMET has been tried out thoroughly in comparison with other modern developers and its results are unquestionably superior.
MONOMET sepias are identical with those pro- duced from prints developed with Metol.
PRICE
One-pound container ---..... $^2.50
Half-pound container 11.50
Quarter-pound container (i.OO
One-ounce container - ] .50
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamton, N. Y.
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE, ALSO PROFIT- IN -PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y.
Vol. X December, 1918 No. 8
Greetings of the Season
THIS New Year we truly see the dawn of Peace, and it is not too much to say that there are better times ahead. Of course most of us cannot complain much — not at all when we compare our lot with that of the people of European countries who have waited man}' years for this great day. Peace ON Earth — Sublime words! And the lessons of patience taught by their Great Author long ago have been handed on to us by the noble men and women of war-stricken Europe who know better than we of this country what is meant by fortitude.
But now we are to begin again to enjoy the fullness of the earth's bount}'-, and our first wish is that those who have suffered most in the recent trying times may be the first to feel the spirit of tranquillity that is approaching.
The business of the professional photographer is certain to take on bigger proportions than ever before. With the many thousands of men returning home from the service there is sure to be an unprecedented demand for photographs of soldiers in uniform. These will not be the hastily made small size or post card "pictures," such as many of them had taken before their departure, for they will want something to serve as a souvenir or memorial of a great epoch in their lives. A well-made photo- graph of them now will be treasured for generations. The significance that such mementos will have, and the sentiment that relatives and friends will have for the portraits of men who participated in the great World War, will live forever. The photographic profession should prepare itself to meet the opportunity.
Good Will Toward Men — That is what we want to say to all our readers — and to wish each and every one a Christmas of real joy and a Happy New Year throughout all of 1919.
PORTRAIT
The Law of Precedence Among Chemicals
A PHOTOGRAPHER is not necessarily a chemist and, therefore, does not always appreciate the necessity in compounding a solution or mixing the chemicals in the proper order or sequence. ''After you, my dear Gaston" will not work in chemistry un- less "Gaston" is clearly entitled to come first and "Alphonse" next. Only two instances need be men- tioned to illustrate this point.
For example, in the old days, when the ferrous oxalate developer was in common use it was always, quite rightly, the rule to make the working developer by adding the iron to the oxalate solution and not ''vice versa."
The reason for that is that ferrous oxalate, which is the active substance in the developer, is freely soluble only in the presence of an excess of oxalate of potash. If the oxalate solution be added to that of the iron, it is clear that at the first instance there is an excess of iron-salts, and some ferrous oxalate must be thrown down as a precipitate , and may not afterward dissolve . The result in that case would be a muddy developing solution, which will lead to staining of the whites of the prints.
It is, in fact, a general rule in practical chemistry that in such circumstances as these it is much easier to keep a substance in solution than to re-dissolve it once it has been deposited.
Another good instance of right and wrong order is in mixing of a fixing bath composed of a mixture of hypo-sulphite of soda and acid.
Hypo is readily decomposed by acid, with the solitary exception of sulphurous acid. Hence, in making up the formula just mentioned for acid fixing bath, the
PORTRAIT
order should be such that the hypo is not brought in contact with the acid except in the presence of pro- tecting sulphite.
The proper course is thus to mix the acid and sulphite thoroughly together in solution, and then to add this mixture to the hypo, previously dissolved.
It is quite wrong to add first the acid and then the sulphite to the h}po solution, and even if the order of acid and sulphite be reversed, it is quite possible, owing to a local excess of acid before the whole is thoroughly mixed, to cause a certain amount of de- composition of the hypo. While it is impossible to deal at length with the reason for this or that order in making up photographic solutions, these instances will serve to remind the reader that there are reasons for adopting a given order, and, therefore, reasons why it should not be departed from.
Drop in When You Are Passing By
Ansco Company extends a cordial invitation to any photographer who may have occasion to pass through Binghamton to make this Company a visit, so that we may become better acquainted with each other and the business in which we are interested.
There is a great deal of satisfaction to all of us in personally meeting those with whom we are doing bus- iness, as it affords an opportunity of becoming famiUar with each other's point of view.
We must all do our best to make the change from War Work to Peace Work as easy as possible. Co-operation is the Big Thing needed NOW .
— Wm. B. Wilson, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Labor. 3
PORTRAIT
Pictorial Aims of Modern Portraiture
By Sadakichi Hartmann
XII. DECORATIVE INVENTIONS
THE decorative style in portraiture is largely a matter of embellishment, and quite often super- fluous embellishment. It attempts to heighten and enrich the impression we derive from a picture by the introduction of all sorts of beautiful ac- cessories that are beautiful in themselves, but that have really little to do with the main purpose of the representation, provided that the latter is supposed to be a portrait. The artist selects haphazardly a number of picturesque objects, and delights in the enjoyment of their form, color and texture for their own sake, for sincerity of expression takes a second place with this style . Its first idea is to please . What , for instance, has all the bric-a-brac, the candlestick and Japanese jar, to do with the subject in Neilson's "The Hand Glass," except to fill space?
Of course, this overloading of a picture with an incongruity of objects is meaningless. It is only of value when the artist makes them say something. Each object must have its own individuahty and im- portance as a part of the composition so that nothing can be taken away without spoiling the whole. In criticising such an effort we must not forget to dis- tinguish the leading theme from the decorative inven- tions that encase them. These additions may be sometimes rather commonplace, and yet be pleasing enough to be in good taste. They may be used in order to make an effect-loving public accept a beauty too refined or subtle for general appreciation. Some of the best portrait painters are guilty of this condescension. And so if we find some very ordinary accessories introduced into a composition we must not misjudge the sinceritv of the whole. The clever artist makes
PORTRAIT
concessions only in points of minor importance . He never tinkers with his original inspiration and the thing he values.
"The Hand Glass" By Raymond P. R. Neilson
There is no doubt that if the figure in the Neilson picture had been placed a trifle higher a much simpler
PORTRAIT
background would have done just as well. The hand- mirror and the powder-box would have been ample for any incident of occupation. Even the Japanese print behind the head of the sitter did not call for the spottiness on the left side of the picture. But as the expression in the face is an exceedingly virile and spontaneous one, the artist wished to balance it by a general animation throughout the picture. He ac- complished the balance, the face stands out clearly. Still we feel that this unusual variety of minor points of interest was hardly necessary. It is surely not a calm and tranquil harmony that has been achieved by this wald outpouring of accessories, but rather an exaggeration of decorative possibilities.
Louise Cox in her "^layflowers" proceeded with more moderation. It is not as brilliant but is a more rational composition. In the Neilson picture the equilibrium of proportional relations is almost upset; in this case the figure of the little girl is absolutely the center of attraction. It absorbs everything, even to the extent that we hardly notice the Venetian glass with the flowers. Accessories are used merely as accessories, and their decorative value consists solely in producing a more perfect harmony. The shape of the child without the cushion and the flowers would be unsatisfactory, and only through the combination it becomes a continuous shape that is agreeable to the eye.
But this method hardly carries out the true signifi- cance of the decorative idea. It must be a Httle less temperate and calculating than in this picture, and a httle more so in the other. The introduction of decorative elements presupposes wilfulness, an unrestrained play of imagination. Such a style can- not be bound bv ordinarv rules. It should be ex-
PORTRAIT
pressive rather by richness and force than by pro- prieties and niceties. Taste alone can be the reg- ulating power, and a sound sense of balance will
protect the artist against overemphasis and excess, and against anything that oversteps the limits of pictorial imagination .
PORTRAIT
Tinting Cyko Paper with Oils
(Reprinted at the request of many readers, from the December, 1913, number of Portrait)
THROUGH all the years of photographic manipulation, from the days of the daguerreot>T)e, the photographer has, to a more or less degree, endeavored to produce a life- like effect, lacking in the purely mechanical, chemical process, by touching up the faces, jewelr>% draperies and flowers with color and gold. When we look upon some of this crudely tinted imagery of early days we smile at the ridiculous attempts at realism. They did the best they knew and man has strived continuously since to improve methods.
Photography has not kept pace with other means of color reproduction; but there are very few workers today who have not access to, and chance to study, practically, perfect repro- ductions of the greatest colorists of modern times, through the medium of the three-color process engraving, and by this study gain inspiration and knowledge for their own work.
JVIany are bom colorists but not draughtsmen, and wish for a medium whereby they may give their photographic work a personal, purely man-made element, always lacking to a degree in the chemical image, and making the picture of more interest and value to the purchaser and to posterity. A colored photo- graph is more life-like and will hold interest for a longer time than a picture in monochrome.
There are many methods of coloring photographs in vogue, but the results usually lack something in atmospheric quality or the colors are unnatural, brilliant and startling and lack in the technique of the real painting. If dyes are used they im- mediately sink into the paper and cannot be removed or changed. Standard water colors require a special matte surface for correct rendition.
Oil colors have alwa>'s been considered the most plastic and have been found to give a richer and more life-like effect than other mediums.
All surfaces of Cyko Paper, with the possible exception of the Glossy, are well adapted to coloring in oils. Cyko Linen and the Studio surface require no preparatory treatment. It is
PORTRAIT
optional with the user whether a thin glue sizing be given to Semi-matte, Plat and Buff. Such a sizing is not essential but may be used for the purpose of giving greater luster to the print.
The method of tinting is simple and the worker with only a rudimentary knowledge of painting is given access to the realm of color previously closed to him by lack of a proper medium.
Remember that there are no strong, briUiant, startling colors in nature, but everything is blended in a low, harmonious tone. Colors should never be used raw, but always in tints and com- binations. No gold leaf' or bronze should be used to represent jewelry as it cheapens your work and gives it a quality of being unreal. No expensive outfit is required and only a few colors are necessary — a small palette and knife for mixing colors (a sheet of glass and a pocket-knife will do) , and the ordinary tube oil colors procurable at any art store. For a starter the following colors only are needed: Yellow ochre, vermilion, ultramarine blue and flake or silver white. Others may be added as foimd necessary. These practically include the colors of the spectrum and are those used so harmoniously in nature.
The colors are mixed and thinned to the correct consistency for application with turpentine, and for washes must be trans- parent so that all detail shows through.
A good flesh tint, or color for light or auburn hair, is made with vermilion and yellow ochre.
Yellow and blue make green, with red to warm the shade.
Blue for sky is warmed with yeUow.
Browns are combinations of the three.
Purple is composed of red and blue.
Pink is reduced red.
Other combinations will come to you by practice.
Two or three bristle brushes (size No. 4 or 6) are required for applying broad washes. The colors are, if found necessary, then wiped out or toned down with a lintless cloth to the desired tint.
The colors may be used heavy or opaque or made lighter with white for blocking out or working in sky, backgrounds or fohage.
For detail in laces, draperies, jewels, eyebrows, lashes, eyes or lips, the small No. 2 or No. 3 sable brushes are best.
PORTRAIT
White is used for tracing lacey draperies and should be mixed with color for the high lights in jewels, etc.
Shado^vy flesh tones are washed over with blue, }'ellow and red to give a warm, slightly greenish cast.
Reds in shadow usually take on a dark purplish tinge produced b}' mixing a little blue with strong colors.
Shadows are never black but usually take on an atmospheric blue on grass, rocks, fohage, yellow sand or snow.
Shadows in white draperies are always blue, sometimes inclined to green with a touch of yellow.
High lights on jewels are produced by a touch of solid white with trace of original color.
Gold is a reddish yellow made with yellow ochre and a trace of vermilion .
Diamonds, opals, jades or other stones may be reproduced with the changing tints or sparkle of reaUty with the colors given.
Tinting of cheeks must be very carefully and delicately executed as glaring color is not desired by others than the demimonde. Study your subject and act accordingly. The amount of color in cheeks should of course be governed by age, characteristic? and complexion of the individual. The cheeks of babies and young people should be tinted low, and of adults near the temples.
Lips should be delicately pink and blended softly with flesh tones. Eyebrows and lashes are best if not touched unless ver\- slightly.
If eyes are blue, gently touch iris with very transparent ultramarine. If gray — add to this a minute quantity of yello\\ ochre. For brown eyes use a combination of the three colors. Black eyes require no color.
Remember that the illusion of distance or perspective is pro- duced by combining the real colors with atmospheric blues, purples or warm grays, and that in a landscape subject, the colors become softer until they blend with the distant hills and sky.
Try it! — and you will have a new and better idea of your own latent ability; increase 3'our reputation as an artist and incidentally bring more shekels of the realm into your treasury.
PORTRAIT
Recruiting for the P. A. of A.
The great number of photographers who have for years been members of the P. A. of A. are aware of the advantages that such membership brings them; those who are not members are invited — and urged — to join in order that they too may share in the benefits to be derived by being one of the Association.
The journal which goes to the members of the P. A. of A. twice a month, free, tends to keep them fully informed on business-pulling methods and achieve- ments, legislation, regulations, etc., and the officers of the P. A. of A. have the interest of each individual member at heart, which goes to make up the success of the Association. Photography as a profession, open to both men and women, can well afford to give and receive the help that the parent body should expect from persons eager to better their own positions and those of their confreres.
A post card sent to the General Secretary of the P. A. of A., Mr. Chas. J. Columbus, Star Building, Washington, D. C, will bring a membership blank and information as to dues and other details.
A Special Mid -Year Course in Photography
We are in receipt of an announcement sent out by the Clarence H. White School of Photography by which we note that the School is in its fifth year and that the Special Mid- Winter Course, offering daily classes for a period of eight weeks, begins January 13, 1919. Various advanced methods of developing, printing and mounting will be taught. A course for professional photographers who, as the Clarence H. White School Calendar says "are no longer satisfied with the bald, hard portraits of the studio," is to begin on March 30, and will continue for ten weeks.
Spring and summer sessions of the school, to be held
PORTRAIT
at Canaan, Conn., beginning May ist, will give many from the larger cities an excellent opportunity to com- bine a pleasant summer outing with instruction in photography, which will mean in the end that they are the gainers in several ways. After having spent a profitable and restful six weeks of summer weather in the country one feels more ready to return to fall and winter work; and then too, new things learned at such a school means that one is better prepared to take advantage of bigger opportunities.
A catalog with full information will be mailed to anyone writing to Clarence H. White, 122 East 17th Street, New York City.
Pacific School of Fine Arts Pliotography The Only School on the Coast
With new conditions arise new problems and the Pacific School of Fine Arts Photography, located at No. 3014 South Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif., offers an excellent opportunity to those who would learn the Art and Science of Photography. This is a profession open to both men and women at all times.
The instructions for the Special Educational Course for the amateur covers a period of two months in field and laboratory work. The Complete Professional Course occupies a period of thirty weeks in lectures and practical work, including over sixty subjects. The Fine Arts Department includes oil and water color effects, and mediums for working out ideal conceptions, harmony of color tones, design and composition.
The Pacific School of Fine Arts Photography has ideal school equipment and thoroughly up-to-date instruc- tors. Exhibits of the ablest photographers' work are held in the class rooms, thus affording the students opportunity to familiarize themselves with the highest grade work. A comprehensive prospectus will be mailed on request to the above address.
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
MOST photographers will concede that the por- traiture of babies and young children is one of the hardest if not the most difhcult branch of the profession. To become proficient in the art of pho- tographing children requires tact, consummate skill and a deep knowledge of child-nature.
Mr. David S. Berns is recognized in the Washington Heights community, New York City, where his studio is located, as an exceptionally successful recorder of baby's cunning ways through photography. His methods are natural and easy. Confidence once gained means that more than half of the task is accomplished, so no matter how much time is required to gain that end Mr. Berns never begins to expose his plates until complete confidence and a mutual sympathy between artist and subject have been attained.
Mr. Berns is a real student of child-psychology, and in accordance with his knowledge of the child's mental processes are his methods varied to suit the tempera- ment and mood of his subject. As a result he produces portraits that please, and so great has his reputation become as a specialist in this one line that fully ninety- five per cent of his sittings are of children.
On his studio Mr. Berns has spent much time and money in order to make it a fitting place in which to carry on his successful work. It is a model from the sanitary point of view, and is completely equipped for the comfort and pleasure of his little friends. Mr. Berns' choice of Cyko Paper as a fitting medium for registering his work is simply in line with his care- ful thought in everything connected with his work .
Get the habit of doing things right. This will mean: Greater production, less waste, increased earnings. Work for good times all the time.
— Wm. B. Wilson, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Labor.
The Gift of Gifts at j4.11 Seasons
Ansco V-PNo. 2
O the soldiers of the American Ex- peditionary Forces no gift can take the place of a camera — and now that hostil- ities haveceased and the censorship lifted , Axsco cam- eras will be called for more than ever.
That the Ansco V-P No. 2 is the choice of the boys **over there" is well shown by the fol- lowing letter from one of them:
Somcirhcrc ?» France
October 4. 1918.
Ansco Company,
Binghamton, N. Y.
Gentlemen: — The enclosed cut of an Ansco Camera, together with Money Order for $27.50 and Christmas package coupon, tells what's wanted — Ansco V-P No. 2, with F6.3 lens. Stick the coupon on tight. No writing necessary. Sincerely,
Edgab C. Athey.
AXSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y.
Cyko Conserves Labor
1 HE RESULTS of our recent trial of Cyko Paper," writes Mr. H. A. Reedy, of the x4.rtcraft Photo Company, of St. Paul, Minn., **proved that our printers could make a third more prints in a nine-hour day than with the other standard paper. This means that in one year four printers Id accomplish as much as six had previously done."
cou
Cyko Conserves Elecftric Current
'It was also necessary to reduce the wattage of the lamps, and this, together with the speed of the paper, . meant much less eleftricity used. In this period of labor scarcity the financial saving should not be the only consideration. I do not, however, allow anything for the worry saved me in meet- ing my labor needs,"
Cyko Quality Satisfies
'If the amateur finisher will apply these proportions to his ow^n costs, he will find that the price of Cyko is pradlically the same as that of other paper. Then if he believes as I do — that quality of work and worry about labor are worth some- thing— he will not hesitate in making the change to Cyko Paper. As 'beauty is only skin deep' so the difference in the price of Cyko Paper is in the list price, and not in the final cost."
Ansco Company
Binghamton, N. Y.
The speed and quality of
HAMMER PLATES
do much to overcome the difficuhies of
winter photography. They give the
longest possible values with
the shortest exposures.
Hammer's Special Extra Fast (red label) and Extra Fast (blue label) Plates for field and studio work; and Hammer's Extra Fast Orthochromatic, and D. C. Orthochromatic Plates for color values.
Hammer's little book
**A Short Talk on Negative Making"
mailed free
Hammer Dry Plate Company
Ansco Building
I 29-1 3 I West Twenty-second Street
New York Citv
The Master Camera
All the knowledge and skill of sixty years' camera making has been concentrated in the Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 — a superb pocket companion for anyone who appreciates that which is the best of its kind.
With the finest of fine lenses and shutter equipments, it produces sharp, clear 2V4 x3^/4 inch pictures in rain, sunshine or shadow.
ANSCO
CAMERAS €. SPEEDEX HLM
The user of the V- P Speedex No. 3 can quickly change the speed, the lens opening and the focus without losing sight of the image in the ^'finder" — an exclusive Ansco feature which makes picture-taking easier and more certain.
The Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3 is extremely simple in opera- tion, exceptionally beautiful in appearance and extraordinarily efficient.
Write for specimen picture on Cyko Paper. Then ask the Ansco Dealer for a demonstration.
ANSCO COMPANY Binghamton , 'NewYork.
Ansco V-P Speedex No. 3
Equipped with B. & L. Tessar lens, F 4.5, $75.00; Ansco Anastigmat, F 4.5, $56.00; F 6.3 ; $40.00; F 7.5, $31.00; in Acme Speedex shutter (maximum speed, 1/300 second). Other Ansco Cameras, $2.75 up.
OUR BRANCH OFFICES, WHOLES.\LE
DISTRIBUTORS
AND WHERE LOCATED
ANSCO COMPANY
Ansco Bldg., 1 29-131 W. Twenty-second Street
New York City
ANSCO COMPANY
325 W. Jackson Boulevard, corner Market Street
Chicago, 111.
ANSCO COMPANY 920-922 Grand Avenue, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSCO COMPANY 1 71-173 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal.
ANSCO COMPANY
347 Adelaide Street, West, Toronto, Ont.
SOUTHERN PHOTO-IMATERIAL CO. 22 Central Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.
WOODARD, CLARKE & CO. Portland, Oregon
ANSCO LIMITED
143-149 Great Portland Street London, W., England
^ X
No. 9
January, 1919
PORTRAIT
BINGHAMTON N-Y
M o n o m e t
The Developer of the Present
MONQMET IS THE ONLY DEVELOPING AGENT IDENTICAL WITH :MET0L IN RAPID, ENERGETIC ACTION
MONOMET develops in the same time as INIetol and gives the same characteristic rich- ness and quahty — with a tendency to more briUiancy. This fundamentally essential point many are endeavoring to secure by the addition of a caustic alkali, as an accelerator, to developers of the paramidophenol class — which addition always tends to rob the print of the typical richness required in i)rints on developing paper.
MONOMET has been tried out thoroughly in comparison with other modern developers and its results are unquestionably superior.
MONOMET sepias are identical with those pro- duced from prints developed with Metol.
PRICE
One-pound container -------- $'>'?.50
Half-pound container 11 .50
Quarter-pound contain«r ------- »j.(M)
One-ounce container 1 .50
ANSCO CO^NIPANY Binghamton, N. Y
PORTRAIT
A MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO ART IN PORTRAITURE , ALSO PROFIT- IN- PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COMMITTED TO A "SQUARE DEAL"
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CYKO USERS, EDITED BY
PHOTOGRAPHERS, DEMONSTRATORS AND
SALESMEN AT THE EXPENSE OF
ANSCO COMPANY, Binghamton, N. Y.
Vol. X January, 1919 No. 9
New Hopes
THE year 19 18 has passed into history. For some it ended all things, for others all things have just begun. It marks the greatest of all epochs. It is said that no year A. D. or B.C. can compare with it in significance to mankind. It has marked the downfall of military ambition and brought closer than ever before the ideal of world government. And now that the victory bells are ringing we look forward to the realization of peace for all the world. What a wonderful time in which to live! During the year just past, photography has brought to all of us a visuaHzation of the making of history. How important to the world has been the peace time development of the camera, now near its perfection, which brings to us pictures from all the world — through the media of newspapers, books, magazines and cinema theaters. It brings us face to face with dear ones separated by long distances, gives us pictures that make us glad, that make us sad; pictures that teach, that preach.
There is a saying that "Printing is the art preservative of all other arts," but with the aid of illustrations from photographs caught while the "picture" was in the making there can be no changing of facts or distorting the actual happening as chronicled — the evidence is always there. Today, as never before, the art and the science of photography should be carefully studied and the wonderful possibilities put to the uses of mankind. We are entering an era pregnant with opportunities of service. Photography will grow during the next decade into a form and stature heretofore undreamed. The researches of the past four years of warfare have developed many things that can be applied successfully in times of peace. During these days of "recon- struction" professional photographers everywhere will find a reward in searching out the goal toward which these new channels seem to lead.
PORTRAIT
A National Convention in 1919
THE coming of Peace seems to promise not only a continuance of the prosperity of the profes- sional photographers of the United States but also to increase that prosperity. Every young man who has been in the service, either in the Army or Navy, will be anxious to have his picture taken before he lays aside Uncle Sam's uniform and re-enters the routine of civil life.
The photographers of the country realize that they will all be called upon to play a very important part in the reconstruction program. Interest in photo- graphic topics apparently never was greater than it is today and this fact was carefully considered recently by the executive board of the Photographers' Associa- tion of America, that met in formal session on Janu- ary 13 and 14 in Cleveland, Ohio.
At their meeting the board unanimously decided that there was an opportunity for the Photographers' Asso- ciation to render an inestimable service to the profes- sion which could best be accompUshed through the medium of a big national convention to be held some- time during the coming summer.
The convention plans were definitely laid at Cleve- land and the prospects are that the convention which will be held, will surpass previous meetings in many ways.
The program will contain many instructive features which will be worth a great deal to those who attend the national convention.
Particular attention is likewise being paid to the entertaining of delegates and, due to the fact that no national convention has been held since 1916, an ex-
PORTRAIT
ceptionally large attendance is anticipated. During the interval from 1916 to 1919 the art and science of photography has progressed at an amazing pace. The development of the different photographic divisions of the Army have meant that during the past two years much more has been accompUshed in the way of re- search than the previous decade had brought about. All of these facts mean that there is a great deal for the average photographer to learn in regard to the progress of the times. This very fact should induce every photographer who wishes to incorporate in his business new and progressive ideas to make a special effort to attend the 1919 National Convention. It is not too early to begin making definite plans now.
The convention will probably be held at a centrally located place in the Middle West, either late in July or early in August. Both the date and the place will be definitely announced later.
Series of 1919
Thrift Stamps and Government Savings Stamps (war savings stamps)
UNCLE SAM needs everybody's help in 191 9 just as in 1918. Thrift Stamps are for sale exactly as in 19 18. Government Savings Stamps are blue in color and bear the likeness of Benjamin Franklin. They cost, during January, $4.12, increas- ing one cent each month, and will be redeemable at $5.00 on January i, 1924.
Don't give up the best habit the War gave us. Keep on buying Government Savings Stamps.
PORTRAIT
New Studies of the Mechanism of Composition
By Sadakichi Hartmann
I. LOCAL VALUES
IN MOST art schools that I am acquainted with special stress is laid upon the rendering of correct values. Also painters seem to be fond of criticising one another's work from that viewpoint. By local values the painter means the accurate representation of the color of an object seen at a certain distance and its relation to the color of all the other objects that surround it. To render the color as the eye actually sees it rarely looks correct on the canvas; it needs some kind of calculation and sympathetic manipulation to bring the conflicting tints into a harmony.
In photography this is even more difficult as it necessitates translating the color value into mono- chrome. Certain plates perform the mechanical part well enough but of course do not guarantee any harmony of effect. The photographer ought to know how light or dark colors are recorded under different light con- ditions. Only this knowledge will make him the master of the situation, as it will enable him to avoid jarring notes and the too conspicuous rendering of certain parts. From a purely artistic consideration, however, the accuracy of local values is not as important in monochrome as it is in painting, as black and white really represent only the gradations of one color, and a yellow dress may be as dark gray in values as a red one. And anything that is not clear in a repre- sentation can not be fully appreciated or at least not criticised.
In Fig. I we see the facial values of an old man's head drawn by a master's hand. The name of Titian guarantees painstaking observation and skillful execu- tion. On closer examination we will notice that there are only four distinct values: one dark tint employed
4
PORTRAIT
in the few shadows and the actual drawing of the features; one medium gray and one very Hght gray tint that produced the modehng, and almost pure white for the few high lights on the nose, beard, eye and forehead. And if we pursue this study we will find out that a face rarely needs more than four separate
Fig. I Head by Titian
tones. Of course there may be gradations so subtle that it would be difficult to state whether they belong to the darker or lighter passages, and the more closely the latter are related to each other (i. e. the smaller the range of their color expression is), the more un- discernible the combining tints will be.
In the Boucher portrait. Fig. 2, there are four values and their differentiation is unusually strong. The
PORTRAIT
Fig. 2
Portrait of a Young Woman by Francois Boucher
diagram skeletonizes the division. There is a strong hght tint that monopoUzes almost the entire head. Only the pupils, the shad- ow under the nose, and parts of the neck, mouth and eyebrows show a de- cidedblack. The remainder consists of tw^o middle tints, one particularly noticeable on the cheek and side of the nose, and the other under the eye- browns, at the root of the nose around the eyes, up- per lip and chin. The artist apparently wanted a well Ughted face, but the brightness was keyed a trifle too high, and the result is a somew^iat unnatural and chalky appearance.
The values in the portrait of Frank Eugene (of Secession fame) , Fig. 3, are much finer in that re- spect. In this print the facial values are dominated by a middle tint. There are no direct high lights, the middle tint becomes a trifle lighter along the nose, the cheekbone and the forehead, that is all. The darker passages, on the other hand, are firmly carried out and yet not as deep as in the Boucher reproduction . The white collar in this composition proves to be as valuable a pictorial fac- tor as the black cap on the head Diagram
PORTRAIT
Fig. 3
Frank Eugene Anonymous
of the young woman. Still the photograph has one decided defect, it lacks strength in comparison with the painting.
The merits of these two pictures are combined in the Rembrandt Self-Por- trait, Fig. 4. In this portrait we encounter lum- inosity without any strain- ed effort, and strength despite the softness of gradations. The facial values in a pictorial rep- resentation should impress the beholder as being life- like, like real human flesh, clear and well modeled, and not as manipulated light and shade arrangements. It almost seems as if Fig. 4 was composed only in three tints, and yet the round- ness of the face is more convincing than in any of the other examples. So there is no actual rule to follow. The effect will de- cide. The simplest means, however, are, artistically speaking, preferable to more elaborate ones, as they are more apt to hide the mechanism of tech- nique.
The complexion of a face is in itself so subtle and varied, so constantly
PORTRAIT
exposed to minute changes of color either by moods or atmospheric conditions, even in a room or studio, that it should be handled with particular care and not according to a certain stereotyped plan of Hghting, For it is largely complexion that lends animation and also character to a face, and the more attention an artist will pay to the local values of flesh, the more lifelike his portraits will become.
There is no reason why we should not, even in ordinary portrait photography, distinguish at the first glance whether the sitter had a pale or ruddy complexion, or whether some fair lady was a blonde or brunette, or dark. Artificial means, however, like powder or vaseline for the high lights should be avoided. They do not help the naturalness of expression. The proper and most reliable means are lighting and a judicious choice in the colors of dress, accessories and background.
The New York Association
This year the annual meeting of the New York Pho- tographers' Association will take place in Elmira. The Masonic Temple is the place, and the date has been fixed for February 25, 26 and 27. Preparations have been going on for quite some time, and all the partici- pants will share in the benefits to be derived from the well made plans by the officers for the year. Fred T. Loomis is the Association's president, and he and his board associates promise an educational and interesting meeting. There will be demonstrations and talks by those "who know," and all in all it is Hkely that the promise of a meeting to be long remembered will not only be met, but exceeded. 8
PORTRAIT
Cyko and the Red Gross in Bulgaria
Trevna, Bulgaria.
November 25, 1918. Hon. Ansco Company,
Binghamton, N. Y., U. S. A. Gentlemen:
For four years and until now I have not employed with perfect satisfaction other than your Cyko pho- tographic paper, which I have in the past obtained from the house of Leopold Loebenstein of Vienna. Just now I am using with a great deal of care my little stock of Cyko, and it is with great regret that I see the quantity dwindHng down, inasmuch as the said house is not in a position to furnish us with any more Cyko Paper.
The address of your honorable house I found in one of the direction sheets of Cyko Paper. This enables me to request you to inform me if you are disposed to furnish Cyko Paper by parcel post — naturally, when the post ofhce department is allowed to receive such parcels for carriage to my country. In the event of a favorable response I will thank you to quote me your very best prices and terms.
In addition to this request I wish to be permitted, in my own name and in the name of a large number of my fellow-citizens, to present to you our thanks for the fine treatment and the great humanity of the noble American people toward the Httle and unhappy Bulgaria.
With my very best wishes.
Nicola V. Sirneff,
Trevna, Bulgaria. {Photographer of the Bulgarian Red Cross.)
PORTRAIT
x\n Automatic Finishing Plant
FOR several years Mr. H. E. Woolever of Crystal Beach, Ont., has employed in his studios a special plate developing machine of his own in- vention, which has resulted in saving the services of one man at each studio, and which in addition has produced better quality work than the ordinary process. This machine automatically develops, fixes, washes and dries each plate in an average time of approximately fifteen minutes. Mr. Woolever 's success with this ma- chine inspired him to pass on his idea to others with the result that about five years ago he decided to make a machine that would develop and handle films in a similar manner which could be sold to the trade and in- stalled in any studio. Several machines were built that worked fairly well, but not until the summer of 191 8 was one produced which seemed to be satisfactory in all respects. Machines of this perfected type have now been built and are ready for the market, Mr. Woolever has also completed a system for handling prints with a minimum of labor , mistakes and spoiled work which is based upon the use of his developing machine . The sys- tem has fourteen years of practical adaptation back of it, and, according to Air. Woolever, those who have seen it thus far have only words of commendation for it. The devices are one automatic developing machine handhng films, packs and plates with equal facility; one film drying reel for rapidly drying films; two im- proved rapid film printers (the inventor claims that he has printed and developed at the rate of $6 worth of work per hour, day after day, from miscellaneous work as received); one revolving hypo table for prints (this is claimed to insure perfect fixation of every print, as it automatically times the work placed in the baths); one print washer (designed to insure perfect washing), and one improved rapid print dryer.
PORTRAIT
The details of the system include methods of book- ing in work, checking for errors and bad prints, and an account of all business done. This is said to assure the user and his customers of a minimum of mistakes and to give them the benefit of everything pertaining to good work and service.
Mr. Woolever claims that the automatic developing machine will handle films, packs or plates at the rate of one per minute, 60 per hour, 500 per ten hours, allowing thirty minutes to clear the machine of films placed therein.
The operation is said to be very simple, merely un- rolling the film, inserting it in a ''carrier" and placing the "carrier" in the machine. This operation is re- peated until the films emerge, when the operator hangs them up to dry. The films are inserted alternately in the carrier so that the operation is continuous. The development, fixing and washing operations are each automatically timed.
The other devices of the system are said to be sim- ple and easy to operate, especially the printer. The operator may stand on both feet to operate the machine , and has both hands at liberty all the time to handle paper, films and do his own print developing; or, if he desires, he may operate the machine when seated, or alternately sitting and standing, to make the work easier. There is no lifting the foot all day and resting the entire weight of the body on one foot when using this machine.
We are informed by the inventor that he alone as printer has produced over $6000 worth of work in twelve months. Mr. Woolever claims that one outfit with two printers will turn out work to the extent of $100 per day (including enlarging).
What Mr. Woolever insists is the best claim for his system is that all work received up to two hours before
PORTRAIT
closing time may be finished that same day. Three hours is the minimum time of deUvery after receiving films, and the work has been done a great many times by the inventor without interfering with any of the other work in progress. The idea is that one may do rapid service or regular 24-hour service at his option with this system without altering any part of the plant, and to the inventor's knowledge with no other system in use can this be accomphshed.
Mr. Woolever will gladly supply any further infor- mation in regard to his perfected system upon receipt of enquiries from persons interested.
All Roads Lead to Pittsburg
On the evening of January 14 at the Hotel Schen- ley, Pittsburg, one hundred forty- three photographers and their guests attended a "Booster Dinner," the object of which was to plan for the success of the Middle Atlantic States Convention, which is to be held at the same hotel on March 18, 19 and 20, 1919.
In attendance at this dinner were the officers of the P. A. of A., as well as those of the Middle Atlantic States Association, representatives of several manu- facturers and a large number of out-of-town photog- raphers.
Judging from the tremendous enthusiasm which pre- vailed at the meeting and banquet the M. A. S. Con- vention has every prospect of being a record-breaker for the Association and a rival of many meetings that have been national in their scope.
Every photographer who wants to learn all about whatever is new in the profession, and who desires to have a wonderfully pleasant time among his brother craftsmen will do well to arrange to go to Pittsburg for the coming convention.
PORTRAIT
Making Pictures Abroad
Without any question the desire is strong in the hearts of many photographers in this country to go to Europe for the main purpose of taking pictures of those places figuring in the recently made history of the world.
Of course the big opportunity is right now — before any very great amount of reconstruction work is done to change the aspect of those portions of devastated country. But going overseas now is not so easy as it would seem. First, it is necessary to apply for a pass- port to the Passport Bureau of the State Department at Washington, by letter, stating clearly the object of the trip decided upon and the camps one is desirous of visiting. When the passport application for a photog- rapher is approved by the State Department the case is then referred to the Military Intelhgence Depart- ment, which automatically issues a permit. After that a response is awaited from General Pershing or the commanding officer of the camp in which the visiting photographer wishes to operate on the other side. It is not known at this time the position General Pershing takes in regard to this matter.
It is quite certain that until the middle of the sum- mer there will be several hundred thousand troops in France, and such lasting memoirs as may be made by professional photographers under the existing circum- stances will be more highly prized as time goes on.
Are we giving our best efforts to the country, or do we think that because the war is over we can take life easy ? Prosperity is up to us ! Keep the wheels turning !
— Wm. B. Wilson, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Labor.
PORTRAIT
Cyko Portrait by Lee Brothers
PORTRAIT
Our Cover Portrait and the Hall of Fame
THE name of Lee Brothers has for more than thirty years been associated with a business which ranks first of its kind in a city of many top-notch enterprises and industries, Minneapohs. For the past seventeen years Thorwald Lee has been at the head of the business, his brother Peter having retired from the firm in 1901.
The studios, located at No. 527 Marquette Avenue, right in the heart of the business district, occupy two entire floors of the building. There are operating rooms on each floor, a magnificent reception room and model workrooms.
One of the finest tributes to the photographic talent