The Obernetter family in Germany, which pioneered the use of collodion printing-out paper in the mid-1880s, also introduced the manufacture of gelatin printing-out paper, a very similar product.

Like collodion printing-out paper, gelatin printing-out paper included a baryta layer that was a milestone in the evolution of photographic materials. “Baryta” refers to a combination of barium and strontium sulfates that brightens images by scattering light back through the silver image layer. The baryta layer also prevents impurities from the paper fibers from contaminating the silver layer. With this addition to the paper support, prints were smoother, whiter, and glossier than those made on albumen-coated paper, which soon fell from favor.

 

 

Views from Evan Hall Plantation: Back in the Brulée
gelatin printing out paper; between 1888 and 1895
by an unknown photographer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of James L. McCall Jr., 1978.26.16

These images were taken using the Kodak No. 1 camera, introduced by George Eastman in 1888. The camera came loaded with a twenty-foot roll of film, enough to make one hundred 2.5-inch-diameter negatives. Promoted with the slogan “You press the button—we do the rest,” the entire camera, containing the exposed film, was returned to the factory for the film to be developed and printed. The camera, reloaded with fresh film, was then returned to its owner together with a set of prints.

Views from Evan Hall Plantation: In the quarters
gelatin printing out paper; between 1888 and 1895
by an unknown photographer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of James L. McCall Jr., 1978.26.15

Views from Evan Hall Plantation: Old Sophy
gelatin printing out paper; between 1888 and 1895
by an unknown photographer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of James L. McCall Jr., 1978.26.11

Views from Evan Hall Plantation: Meta
gelatin printing out paper; between 1888 and 1895
by an unknown photographer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of James L. McCall Jr., 1978.26.6

Views from Evan Hall Plantation: Alphonse and Mac
gelatin printing out paper; between 1888 and 1895
by an unknown photographer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of James L. McCall Jr., 1978.26.4

Views from Evan Hall Plantation: Ladis
gelatin printing out paper; between 1888 and 1895
by an unknown photographer
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of James L. McCall Jr., 1978.26.3