Early Work In Photography
A Text-book For Beginners

INTRODUCTORY. IN this instruction book the student is advised to begin his photographic education with silver-printing. In every other hand-book (so far as we are aware) negative- making is the first branch described, apparently because making a negative is the first step in the production of a photographic picture. We are sure, from a wide ex- perience of beginners and their requirements, that our system will save the student both time and money, will render the path to proficiency easier and far more pleasant than it usually is (especially for those who have to work entirely alone), and will result in a larger proportion of competent workers from a given number of aspirants, than any other method. In everything we have aimed at simplicity. The recommendation of the hydroquinone developer arises from the fact that hydroquinone is the best developer for “all-round” work for negatives, lantern-slides, bromide paper and chloride paper, and because one formula may be adapted to all classes of development according to the amount of subsequent dilution. Some of the newer single solution developers might have been recommended; but, if a knowledge of photography is the student’s aim, there is a distinct advantage in beginning witli the use of developer, accelerator, and restrainer, in separate solutions. No attempt has been made to exhaust the subject. Our object is to enable any beginner, who will work, to do well all that is necessary to the production of good photograms. When he has thoroughly mastered the first principles con- tained in this text-book he will have acquired the basis for further work, and may then fearlessly launch into the in- numerable and fascinating branches of photography, and its many applications to the arts and sciences.