Early Work In Photography
A Text-book For Beginners

Tht Dark-Room and iis Fittings. 27 for this particular defect the A Bye-pass Ruby Lantern It must not be a so-called " pocket lantern.” It must not be so small as to become red hot in about five minutes—such lanterns (to avoid risk of explosion, we pre- sume) are usually provided with an inch or two of candle, which melts at a critical moment. The only means of access to the interior must not be through a patented spring arrangement at the top or bottom. It must not have the flame within three inches of the ruby glass. It must not allow the slightest suspicion of light (other than red) to escape. To test best plan is to light the lamp and close it ready for use; then take a piece of card- board, the size of the panes, and hold it over each sheet of glass, examining the sides of the grooves in which the glass is fixed. You will soon see if white light escapes. Instructions have been pub- lished from time to time in the photographic journals whereby a suitable lantern can be made at a small outlay. Having decided upon the lantern, let us now turn to the general fittings of the developing room. If the student is fortunate enough to have a fair-sized room (say 10 by 8 feet) fitted with a supply of water and a waste pipe it will be well to adapt the place for use as a general photographic workroom, as well as a developing room. The following plan is arranged upon this principle. Plenty of shelving and a large sink are, in our opinion, of the first importance. An excellent sink can be made of matched boards put together in the form of a box about 3 feet long, by 18 inches wide, by 6 inches deep. This should be lined with thin sheet lead, and fixed permanently upon a framework at one end of the workroom. Beneath the sink it is advisable to have a number of racks in which to store the various trays used in tlie work.